CHILDREN AND FAMILIES INITIATIVE

Progress

Ranked 20th of 21 counties in New Jersey in 1991, Atlantic County had climbed to 16th position by the time the Kid’s Count report was issued in 1995. While the report showed the well being of children remained otherwise unchanged state-wide, the Association for Children in New Jersey called Atlantic County’s progress “one of the few bright spots” of the 1995 report (The Press of Atlantic City, Dec. 30, 1995). In the six-month period from Jan. 1 to June 30, 1996 over 4000 people from more than 2200 families received services from the Atlantic County Family Centers.

Since the inception of the Children and Families Initiative, the Family Centers have helped make a difference in the lives of thousands of Atlantic County children and their families. As of June 2009, 100,479 people from 70,045 families have been served at a level of 10,888,045 units of service. According to the New Jersey Kids Count County Data 2008, the overall population in Atlantic County has increased 5% since 2002. Although the overall child population has not increased, the number of children receiving welfare has increased 28% and the number of children receiving food stamps has increased 45% since 2003. This seems to be a reflection of the problematic economic trend. The percent of babies born with low birth weight decreased 11%, the number of infant deaths decreased 3%, and the number of all births to girls ages 10-19 decreased by 9% since 2000. Medical coverage through NJ Family Care and Medicaid has increased 34% and 15% respectively since 2003. The number of children in out-of- home placements decreased by 46% since 2003 which is perhaps one of the strongest indicators that there is a concerted effort to keep children at home and success at keeping them at home and safe. Also juvenile arrests have decreased by 20% since 2002.

Collaborative Partnerships
As the project has matured there has been a trend toward utilizing the Family Centers as focal points in the community. Local government entities and service providers reach out to the centers to collaborate in grant writing, collocation of services, community meeting and development of new undertakings that will meet the individual communities’ needs.

Teen Choice:  The Teen Choice program began as a collaborative effort in 1999 with Atlantic County Government and Inwood House, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Teen Choice is a program designed to teach participating students to make appropriate life choices from pregnancy prevention to resolving conflicts. Currently Teen Choice serves students at Buena Regional High School and through DHS funding, Mays Landing’s Oakcrest High School. As of January 2005, through SBYSP dollars, Inwood House is running a part time Teen Choice program at Cleary Middle School in Buena.

Division of Youth and Family Services:  DYFS workers have been utilizing the case management services and programs of the family centers in an effort to reduce child abuse and neglect.  Parents have utilized services such as economic assistance, anger management classes, parenting classes, literacy services and employment services.  Family center case managers keep in close contact with DYFS workers to monitor progress, and certificates have been made available for program participation and completion.

Weed and Seed:  Through the sharing of resources, federal Weed and Seed dollars have been awarded to create Weed and Seed districts in both Atlantic City and Pleasantville.  The Pleasantville Family Center serves as the Weed and Seed Safe Haven, while the Atlantic City Family Centers provide case management support to Weed and Seed residents.

United Way of Atlantic County:  Through efforts of the United Way of Atlantic County’s Success by 6 coalition, partnerships have been established to improve immunization rates and dental services as well health and safety issues throughout the county.  These partnerships have extended their resources and support into the faith based organizations and grass roots organizations.

Healthy Families, Strong Communities (PAT): Through six “Abbot” schools in the Pleasantville School District, the Healthy Families, Strong Communities Social Worker Supervisor has overseen the delivery of services to children and their families during the 08-09 fiscal year. This is a literacy based program designed to enhance neurocognitive development in children between the ages of 0-5. Parenting skills are also developed into activities which reduce the rate of child abuse and neglect. The program has sites at the Egg Harbor Township and Hammonton Family Centers. AtlantiCare Center for Community Health is currently supporting the funding for this project.

For more information contact Leesa Seymour, Project Coordinator at (609) 645 7700 ext. 4332, email: seymour_leesa@aclink.org, or Cindy Hamer, Project Director at (609) 645 7700 ext. 4529, email: hamer_cindy@aclink.org.