3. The Division of Child Protection and Permanency, in administering the provisions of P.L.1951, c.138 (C. 30:4C-1 et seq.), whereby the safety of children shall be of paramount concern, shall:

(a) provide care and custody for children eligible therefor in such manner that the children may, so far as practicable, continue to live in their own homes and family life be thereby preserved and strengthened;

(b) provide necessary welfare services as may be required by such children, so far as practicable, without assumption of custody;

(c) encourage the development of private and voluntary agencies qualified to provide welfare services for children to the end that through cooperative effort the need for such services may be limited or reduced; and

(d) for each child placed outside his home by the division, provide permanency through return of the child to the child’s own home, if the child can be returned home without endangering the child’s health or safety; through adoption, if family reunification is not possible; or through an alternative permanent placement, if termination of parental rights is not appropriate.

L.1951, c.138, s.3; amended 1962, c.197, s.9; 1999, c.53, s.21; 2012, c.16, s.55.