NH DHHS and Attorney General's Office Response to DRC Report

The Division for Children, Youth and Families manages protective programs on behalf of New Hampshire's children and youth and their families.

DCYF staff provide a wide range of family-centered services with the goal of meeting the needs of parents and their children and strengthening the family system. Services are designed to support families and children in their own homes and communities whenever possible. The major program areas of DCYF are:

Child Protection

The Bureau of Child Protection works to protect children from abuse and neglect while attempting to preserve the family unit. Child Protective Service Workers help prevent further harm to children from intentional physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, exploitation or neglect by a person responsible for a child's health or welfare.

Juvenile Justice

Juvenile Justice Services (JJS) is responsible for providing supervision and rehabilitative services to youth adjudicated under state law as delinquent or as Children In Need of Services (CHINS). JJS provides supervision, case management, and an array of rehabilitative services through its staff of Juvenile Probation and Parole Officers (JPPOs) and a network of community-based providers who are licensed and/or certified by DHHS.

Permanency

Permanency means that a child has a long term, safe, stable environment. This creates a lifelong relationship with a nurturing caregiver to establish the foundation for a child's health development. Permanency Workers are located in each District Office and are trained to assist children and their families to identify permanent, lifelong connections. Reunification is the preferred permanency option. When reunification is not possible, adoption, guardianship or another permanent living arrangement is sought.

Adolescents

The Adolescent program is designed to ensure that the current and former DCYF and JJS youth obtain the preparation, resources and positive youth development they need to establish permanent connections and become healthy, self sufficient and successful adults. Adolescent workers with specialized training lead, educate and collaborate with youth, colleagues and the community to ensure the best practice for adolescents.

Foster Care

The Foster Care Program provides foster family homes and a family experience for children who cannot be safely cared for in their own homes. Specially trained Resource Workers in each DCYF District Office recruit, train and license foster families, and match children in need of out-of-home care with a foster family best suited to meet the specific needs of each child.

Foster Care Health Program (FCHP)

The Foster Care Health Program (FCHP) is committed to meeting the health care needs of children in out-of-home placement. Through healthcare coordination and consultation, children in DCYF out-of-home placements will receive the on-going care they need to achieve and maintain optimal physical, emotional and developmental health.

Adoption

The Adoption program provides an array of services to families who adopt children through DCYF. These services include:

• Case management
• Education
• Information and referral
• Financial assistance
• Support groups
• Assistance to adoptees searching for their birth families
• Community and Family Supports
• Community and Family Support Services provides services both to families in their communities, and to families that are involved with DCYF, including:
  • Funding for community-based programs that work to prevent child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, and out-of-home placement of children and youth;
  • Clinical services and mental health support for children involved with DCYF;
  • Educational advocacy and support for children involved with DCYF.

Child Development Bureau

• Provides technical assistance and support to early care and education programs
• Provides consumer education and child care training programs to help develop and maintain child care programs
• Maintains statistics on the supply and demand of child care throughout NH.
• Develops policy for the NH child care scholarship program.
• Through the scholarship program, parents may apply for payments to subsidize the cost of child care when needed to look for work, remain employed, or participate in training.

Head Start State Collaborative Office

The NH Head Start Collaboration Office fosters collaboration and teamwork among the Head Start community, and state and local public and private partners concerned with pregnant women and families of young children aged birth to five years. To improve long-term outcomes for income-eligible families, the Collaboration Office works closely with the NH Head Start Directors Association to support coordination of efforts in 10 priority areas:

• Health care (mental health, oral health, physical health)
• Child care
• Family assistance (child welfare and family assistance)(two priority areas)
• Early childhood education opportunities
• Community services
• Family literacy
• Children with disabilities & their families
• Education (transition & alignment with K- 12)
• Services for children without homes