Corzine's Block of Federal Takeover for DYFS Wins Support

New York, NY —

The child advocacy group that successfully sued New Jersey to reform it's Division of Youth and Family Services is expressing support for the Corzine Administration's early efforts to prevent a Federal takeover of the beleagured agency.

Marcia Robinson Lowry, director of Children's Rights said after a court conference on the pace of the state's reform efforts that Kevin Ryan, the new Commissioner of Human Services was making a good faith effort to reform the DYFS. But Lowry warned that failure by the legislature to approve millions in new funding proposed by Governor Corzine for the agency could find the state back in Federal court.

In 2OO3 the state signed a stringent Federl consent agreement after several cases of children under DYFS scrutiny were badly abused, some even fatally. Key legislators have expressed sceptisim about the reform effort which had fallen behind schedule despite the commitment of hundreds of millions of dollars in new money siince 2OO3.

Commissioner Ryan will take his case to the Assembly budget makers tomorrow. The Corzine Administration wants to create a cabinent level agency that deals only with child welfare issues.