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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2011

CONTACT: (609) 633-8507
Lauren Kidd


CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES GRANTS TO ASSIST CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES
15 Family Success Centers Receive Funding to Provide Family Support Services

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Lori Grifa and New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) Commissioner Allison Blake today announced that nine community organizations received a total of $51,000 in federal funding to help operate 15 Family Success Centers in lower-income communities throughout the state.

Today’s announcement was made in New Brunswick at the New Brunswick Family Success Center at the Puerto Rican Action Board, where the two cabinet officials toured the facility and met with families as part of the Christie Administration’s ongoing “Season of Service” initiative.

The funding was made available through the DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources’ administration of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), a federal, anti-poverty block grant that funds the operations of a state-administered network of local agencies. Five percent of the state’s allocation is reserved for state priorities and special initiatives determined by the DCA Commissioner. The DCF distributed the grants to the Family Success Centers.

“I am so pleased that the Department of Community Affairs was able to provide these grants and coordinate our efforts with the Department of Children and Families to maximize the impact of this funding on families in need through cooperation across government,” said DCA Commissioner Lori Grifa. “This funding will enable Commissioner Blake and her staff to continue to develop an effective network of family support and primary prevention services so that children and families have the ability to get the intensive services they need to succeed.”

Family Success Centers aim to prevent child abuse and neglect by providing families with convenient access to a wide array of resources that can help them keep children safe. The centers are designed to strengthen families and empower individuals to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to raise healthy and happy children.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to provide funds to families in very low-income communities to help fulfill their most basic needs, such as food, housing and utilities,” said DCF Commissioner Allison Blake. “The funding is being awarded to true grassroots-based organizations that meet the needs of kids and families right in their own neighborhoods.”

DCF’s Division of Prevention and Community Partnerships helps fund 38 Family Success Centers throughout New Jersey. The network of Family Success Centers in New Jersey includes both publicly and privately supported centers.

“PRAB is proud to partner with the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Community Affairs to provide services through its New Brunswick Family Success Center that support and strengthen families in the Middlesex County Community,” said Mario Vargas, Executive Director, of the Puerto Rican Action Board (PRAB).

Below is a list of the nine community organizations that received funding and the 15 specific Family Success Centers they run. Each Family Success Center on the list received $3,400.

 

Gateway Community Action Partnership - (3 Centers)

·        Gateway Family Success Center, Bridgeton, Cumberland County

·        Holly City Family Success Center, Millville, Cumberland County

·        Salem City Family Success Center, Salem, Salem County 

Northwest New Jersey Community Action Program (NORWESCAP), Inc. – (1 Center)

·        NORWESCAP Family Success Center, Phillipsburg, Warren County

New Jersey Community Development Corporation – (1 Center)

·        Paterson Family Success Center, Paterson, Essex County

The North Ward Center – (1 Center)

·        North Ward Center Family Success Center, Newark, Essex County

Puerto Rican Action Board – (1 Center)

·        New Brunswick Family Success Center at the Puerto Rican Action Board New Brunswick, Middlesex County

Northern New Jersey Maternal Child Health – (1 Center)

·        Irvington Family Development Center Family Success Center, Irvington, Essex County

Newark Now – (4 Centers)

·        Bradley Court Family Success Center, Newark, Essex County

·        Georgia King Village County Family Success Center, Newark, Essex County

·        Essex County College Family Success Center, Newark, Essex County

·        Aspira Family Success Center, Newark, Essex County

La Casa de Don Pedro – (2 Centers)

·        Family Success Center I, Newark, Essex County

·        Family Success Center II, Newark, Essex County

FOCUS Hispanic Center for Community Development, Inc. – (1 Center)

·        Focus Family Success Center, Newark, Essex County

The DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources is committed to building neighborhoods and to providing financial and technical assistance to municipalities, community action agencies and other nonprofit organizations for community and economic development projects that improve the quality of life for low-income, disabled and disadvantaged residents.

The Department of Children and Families, New Jersey’s state child welfare agency, was created in July 2006 as the state’s first Cabinet agency devoted exclusively to serving and safeguarding the most vulnerable children and families in New Jersey. DCF includes the Division of Youth and Family Services, Division of Prevention and Community Partnerships and Division of Child Behavioral Health Services, and is focused on strengthening families and achieving safety, well-being and permanency for New Jersey's children.

For more on the Community Service Block Grant program, please visit www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/comact.html.

For information on Family Success Centers, please visit www.state.nj.us/dcf/prevention/support/family_support.html.

Visit www.state.nj.us/state/programs/dos_program_volunteerism.html to find ways to donate time.