Allison Blake. Photo courtesy of the Rutgers University School of Social Work.

National Association of Social Workers member Allison Blake has been sworn in as the new commissioner of the New Jersey Children and Families Department, according to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I will do my very best to ensure the safety of the children and families of this state,” said Blake, 47, MSW, DSW, who was director of  the Institute for Families at the Rutgers School of Social Work.

Blake has already worked to ensure New Jersey’s child welfare system emphasizes social work training and social workers are in supevisory positions, according to NASW-New Jersey executive director Walter Kalman.