Sorry about that , Susan Lambiase says , explaining with a scratchy voice that her cough is a result of a dual occupational hazard : total immersion in something she calls kindergarten germs -- she has joint custody of her 5-year-old twins -- and in the aftermath of an impassioned argument she made in federal court in Trenton on Tuesday to ask a judge to intervene in reform efforts by New Jersey 's dysfunctional child welfare agency .