Community Services provides services that support the development and maintenance of key elements of the safety net for children in New Jersey. Community Services does this through supporting a network of prevention programs throughout the State, screening and direction of reports of child maltreatment and requests for services, investigation of allegations of child abuse and neglect in out-of-home settings, and in-depth evaluation of case practice in matters of child fatality, near fatality and critical incidents involving children under the care and/or supervision of DCF.

Community Services further supports the identification and establishment of best practices and agency accountability through support of the New Jersey Citizen Review Panels required under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

Community Services consists of the following: Division of Prevention and Community Partnerships (DPCP), Office of Education (OOE), Office of Evaluation, Support and Special Investigations (ESSI), Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit (IAIU) and State Central Registry (SCR).