The New Jersey Child Placement Advisory Council
NJ CPAC works to improve the well-being of children and youth in foster care through advocacy, education and outreach.
We are a statewide advisory council of New Jersey volunteers charged with looking at the state’s foster care system to ensure that the thousands of children and youth entering it each year experience foster care as a temporary, not a permanent solution.
Our volunteer council is composed of foster parents, retired caseworkers, accountants, attorneys, adoptees, teachers, executives and individuals like you who understand the need for fostered children and youth to be safely reunited with their families. When the goal of reunification does not serve their best interests, we advocate for placement in permanent, healthy and stable homes.
All NJ CPAC executive board members also serve on their respective county review boards. The objectives of these reviews are to ensure that children and family involved with New Jersey’s family court system and the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (CP&P) receive appropriate services and timely planning.
NJ CPAC’s goal? We want every child in New Jersey to grow up safe and secure with a permanent family.
Established in 1978 with the New Jersey Child Placement Review (CPR) Act, NJ CPAC has several legal mandates, including:
- Review CP&P policies, practices and procedures with respect to the placement of children outside their homes. This includes ensuring that the CP&P provides appropriate services and finds safe permanent homes in a timely manner to all children and youth who need them.
- Submit an annual report to the NJ State Supreme Court, the Governor, and the Legislature on the effectiveness of the implementation of the Child Placement Review Act in promoting the well-being of children and youth in out-of-home placement.
- Advise the NJ State Supreme Court with respect to the rules governing the duties and practices of CPR Review Boards and the establishment of guidelines and procedures for their training.
