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Dear friends,
This holiday season, I just wanted to take a moment – apart from the regular hustle and bustle of gift-buying or holiday parties; of hosting family and friends or planning for New Year’s Eve – to say how much your contributions to the success of New Jersey’s child welfare system matter. Thank you so very much for all your partnership, throughout this past year, and throughout the many years that you have served children and families in New Jersey.
During this time of year, whatever holiday you celebrate, I think it’s common for individuals to reassess their work and their place in the universe. Think of George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, discovering how much his life meant to his friends, family, and neighbors in Bedford Falls – to the very trajectory and geography of his hometown.
I think about this in the context of child welfare. One person – just one person – can have an oversized impact, when they’re willing to choose compassion over cold bureaucracy, when they’re willing to choose innovation over the status quo.
Here at the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, we are fortunate to partner with individuals who embrace vision, who listen – really listen – to families about what they might need, and who go above and beyond to provide the services and supports that families are asking for. We have a dedicated and talented workforce within the department who is defining what it means to be a child- and family-serving system, through long hours, endless patience, and creative problem-solving. We have a thriving network of contracted service providers who understand that this work is a calling, and who step up to stand with us as we fundamentally transform the work for the sake of children and families that come to us for help.
And all these efforts are not going unnoticed. This past year, after nearly 20 years, we were able to negotiate the terms of exit from federal oversight for our Division of Child Protection and Permanency, having reformed our system into an agile, data-driven leader in the field of child welfare. We are on the threshold of this amazing victory for New Jersey. It has been one of the longest relay races ever! Every worker and supervisor and leader passing the baton to the next for two decades to bring us closer and closer to the finish line.
On behalf of the DCF Executive Leadership team, I want to say thank you for everything you have done for our system and our families throughout the past year. You are bringing hope and light into the lives of children and families who have been challenged by darkness, fear, stress, and instability. You are making a difference, in big ways and small, in the success of our system, and more importantly in the outcomes we can achieve for families.
Wishing you a season of peace, joy, laughter, and love. Have a wonderful holiday and looking forward to working with all of you in the new year, as we continue our efforts to help all New Jerseyans to be safe, healthy, and connected.
Sincerely,
-Christine
Christine Norbut Beyer, MSW
Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Children and Families
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