DCF on the Air – Details, episodes & analysis

In this heartwarming holiday episode of "DCF on the Air," we delve into the impactful work of One Simple Wish, a remarkable New Jersey-based non-profit dedicated to granting wishes for children in foster care and vulnerable families.

Join your host Jason Butkowski as we explore the inspiring stories behind the wishes, talk to the people who make them happen, and learn how this community-driven initiative is changing lives, one wish at a time.

Join us for another episode of "DCF On The Air," where we dive into the pressing issue of youth mental health in New Jersey. We're thrilled to partner with 2NDFLOOR, an extraordinary helpline that offers anonymous and confidential support to the youth of New Jersey 24/7. Through a heartfelt conversation with the team at 2NDFLOOR, we explore:

• The severity of the youth mental health crisis in NJ, where 1 in 3 teen boys and 3 in 5 teen girls experience persistent sadness.
• The journey of the 2NDFLOOR helpline, now having touched over a million young lives with trauma-informed care.
• How the inclusion of young voices shapes more effective and empathetic services, leading to transformative apps that foster digital engagement and peer support.
• The power of maintaining a safe space where teens feel free and emotionally secure to discuss their struggles.
• How stigma is steadily diminishing, encouraging more youth to seek the help they need.
• Insights into the development process of 2NDFLOOR’s app, which provides personal, confidential engagement while ensuring support in crisis situations through compassionate intervention.
• Understanding the necessity of a solid support system for the staff handling these crisis communications.
• Moving success stories illustrating the app's life-changing impact on New Jersey’s youth.

Tune in as we unravel the development, impact, and future vision of the Second Floor helpline and its continued commitment to fostering a supportive environment for all young individuals.

Family Connects NJ, DCF's Universal Home Visiting program launched in January 2024! Its mission is to improve the physical and emotional well-being of infants, children, and their families by providing supports like parent education, home visit assessments, and more.

We'll be talking to Brandie Wooding, Ericka Dickerson & Dr. Sanjna Shah to talk about how this program will best help new families.

In our first 2024 episode for DCF On The Air, we will be talking with Nancy Carre-Lee & Nooge Hartsfield in our Office of Staff Health & Wellness about New Year's Resolutions.

How can we make wellness an intention through our work with families and staff, and what does it look like in practice?

This month at DCF on the Air, we're welcoming Mark Dinglasan and Dr. Jenny Schrum from the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate to talk about how they're using healing-centered practice and a trauma-informed lens to transform the ways they're supporting families throughout the state  -- including many connected to the child welfare system -- who are challenged by food insecurity.

Secure housing impacts everyone and we will be talking to KerryAnne Henry, Director of the DCF Office of Housing and a representative from the Department of Community Affairs to talk about available housing support programs such as Voucher Programs, KFT, and other supports like LIHEAP that help families in need.

We'll be talking to DCP&P Deputy Director Clinton Page about reunification -- how DCF is honoring its commitment to support reunification as the primary goal in family separations, how kinship caregivers can help support that goal, and avenues for post-reunification support and connecting bio parents to the prevention continuum in NJ.

In this episode of DCF on the Air, we welcome DCF First Deputy Commissioner Katherine Stoehr to discuss child maltreatment prevention efforts in New Jersey and the federal Family First Prevention Services Act which prioritizes proactive, innovative, in-community prevention services in child welfare jurisdictions throughout the nation.

In this episode, we hear from Mollie Greene, DCF Assistant Commissioner for the Children's System of Care (CSOC), the public behavioral and emotional health system for anyone under the age of 21, regarding work to provide deep-end therapeutic support to children and their families in their homes and in the community during a historic youth mental health crisis happening nationally.

In this episode, we're talking with Dr. Rebecca Bryan, Executive Director of the DCF Office of Resilience, around the groundbreaking work happening through her office around Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs), and what they can mean for the lifelong health and social connections of individuals who experience both.