A federal monitor says New Jersey has made continued improvements to its child welfare services during more than a decade of court-ordered supervision.

Children running in a park (Catherine Yeulet, ThinkStock)
Children running in a park (Catherine Yeulet, ThinkStock)
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The report Wednesday from the Center for the Study of Social Policy is the first since a federal court approved a plan in November to begin ending federal oversight of the Department of Children and Families.

The monitor says the agency has exceeded requirements to facilitate weekly visits between parents and children placed in out-of-home care. The monitor says the state still has work to do to reduce the rate of children who are mistreated after returning home.

New Jersey has been overhauling its child-welfare system under federal supervision since 2003.

DCF Commissioner Allison Blake says Wednesday's report acknowledged the "enormous progress" the agency has made.

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