Rule 5:12-1.Notices Regarding Placement of a Child; Form and Contents of Complaint

When the Division removes a child from home, the court has to be told — fully and in a fixed format. The notice of placement carries eighteen items, from the county of venue and the child's address, date of birth, gender and race, through the departmental participant and case numbers, the authority and date of placement, whether it is a repeat placement, its type, the current case goal and the reasons, the local office and the caseworker and supervisor by name, and the names, addresses and relationships of parents, siblings, the current caregiver and anyone else with an interest in the child. The last item is the one that carries legal weight: the reasonable efforts the Division made and the services it offered and provided to prevent the placement, or the specific exception excusing them.

A notice of change follows whenever something moves. It repeats the identifying numbers and names the eight things that may have been updated — venue, a caregiver's new address, a change of caregiver, a change of local office and staff, a parent's new address or phone, a new case goal, the end of a placement and why, or the child's discharge from placement and why.

Both notices are confidential and go only to the court. The law guardian gets a separate confidential statement of the placement. Any other party must ask the court, on notice to everyone else, and release is discretionary — but the caregiver's identity and address stay confidential and are never disclosed to a defendant, though defence counsel may know them and must not pass them on. Filing is electronic, and because only a Division caseworker can enter the information, that filing satisfies the certification requirement without a signature.

The complaint itself is brought summarily, entitled in the child's name, and needs no formal answer. It alleges five things: the child's name, age and birthplace; the natural parents' names if known; who has custody and their relationship if different; a brief statement of the facts relied on; and the exact relief sought with the statutes relied upon. The Attorney General or a designee signs it, except in emergent matters where the Division's Director or a designee may. Emergency relief can issue ex parte where specific facts show the child's life, safety or health will be in imminent danger before notice can be given — though the Division must make reasonable efforts to notify the parties first, and a temporary removal order requires the statutory findings.