“Building existing initiatives to address the mental health needs of New Jersey students is more important than ever. I am facing mental health challenges exacerbated by years of turmoil,” Murphy said in a statement. “Implementing this new mental health support model will allow us to reach more students and provide them with the evidence-based resources and services they need.”
However, some local superintendents and school officials who have run in-building school-based mental health programs for years have not been consulted when the NJ4S system was created and are currently Thousands of students said they would be devastated if funding for the program was lost.
“This was a deliberate and directed ambush with no opportunity to participate or provide any insight,” said Scott, South Brunswick Superintendent of Education, who runs one of the largest school-based programs in the state. Feder said.
According to DCF officials, in developing the NJ4S model, the department will “create a comprehensive working group that includes school leaders, parents, youth, government stakeholders, and representatives of provider networks. We went through a formal stakeholder engagement process.”
Suzanne Keller, program director at Red Bank Area High School in Monmouth County, said she was “devastated” by the news that her program would be discontinued before the end of the school year.
Keller said her program, The Source, provides 24/7 mental health care for students, as well as scholarships, preventive medicine, dental and eye care, and a food pantry. We operate. Keller said she and her fellow Source staff have even mobilized to help families with rental assistance during the pandemic.
Hub models, she said, will not be able to provide the immediate hands-on help that the 23-year-old’s program specializes in.
“Our program creates a trust and bond with students and the larger school community that a hub-and-spoke model cannot create,” says Keller.
Rather than eliminate school-based programs entirely in favor of the still-unoperating NJ4S model, the state is testing something to ensure that at-risk students do not lose service during the transition. She said she should have gone to
Murphy’s government school-based youth services system for many years. In 2020, amid economic concerns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, The administration proposed to cut funding for the programThe proposed cuts have angered supporters and legislators who argue that funding for mental health programs for students is non-negotiable.
The funds were eventually added to the final budget, but some education advocates and local school officials remain wary of the government’s zeal to change the system.
The current school-based system has existed since the 1980s and is implemented in about 90 schools, providing services such as mental health counseling, employment counseling, substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, pregnancy prevention and sexual assault prevention. It offers.
and concept paper Presented in the state’s NJ4S announcement, DCF Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer wrote that the current school-linked system “has limited scope and reach,” with 25,000 to 30,000 students, or New Jersey Available to 2% of the approximately 1.4 million students in the state’s public schools. system.
Keller said the estimate was an underestimate. Between meetings, outreach programs, informal counseling sessions with students, and advice given to teachers and parents, Keller said that over the years, her program has helped “every student at Red Bank Area High School. ‘, but has also impacted the wider community in some way.
In his paper, Beyer notes that existing school-based systems “provide meaningful support to the many students they serve.” However, she said in the report: , is not in a position to maximize the flow of federal funds. ”
The paper also cites a December 2020 survey, in which a majority of students reported that they “prefer to receive mental health support or counseling remotely or off-campus rather than at school.” increase.
Keller and school leader POLITICO spoke out against the data.
Jeffrey Moore, principal of Hunterdon Central Regional High School, said the idea that students do not want mental health support in school is inconsistent with what teachers and school counselors are experiencing. His school-based programs, as well as many others in the state, have long waiting lists of children who want to use counselors to support the school’s provision, he said.
“The idea that kids don’t want to see a counselor at school doesn’t apply to those of us in school,” Moore said. We understand how they fit into the constellation of support for us. They ignore what they do to their children.In many cases they save their lives.”
Fedder, the superintendent of education in South Brunswick, said he was surprised by how little the Murphy administration knew about the current system after reading the concept paper. He said he was puzzled by the state’s claim that existing services were “not evidence-based” when it had not conducted any research into the program’s effectiveness.
“The state has never looked up, asked or seen what was going on in our district with this model,” Feder said. “Why abandon something whose efficacy you don’t know because you’ve never taken steps to measure its efficacy?”
One of the most obvious concerns shared by Feder and Moore is that the 15 “community-based hubs” won’t be enough to meet the needs of students in New Jersey’s 21 counties.
DCF’s NJ4S program announcement says the hub will be organized by court jurisdiction rather than county and will be broader than existing programs.
Counselors and staff at the Hub “do not only support the needs of the school, but also provide service and support in other areas within the community, such as libraries, community centers, faith-based organizations, social service agencies, and even housing.” ” and “Focus on promoting positive mental health. Teach and strengthen social, emotional and behavioral skills. Support a positive school atmosphere and staff well-being. To do.”
These broader objectives are different than what school-based counselors can offer, Keller said, adding that he didn’t understand how a system of this scope would be up and running by September 2023. .
“By September 2023, who will have that kind of infrastructure to create grants, take over, hire people, train them, and build relationships in schools?” Keller said. “I don’t know how it works.”
Keller said she and other school-based program operators plan to “fight” to save the program during the transition, but the state’s budget will determine whether both programs can be maintained. said it was up to Murphy and state legislators.
According to DCF officials, operating costs for each of the 15 hubs average between $3.1 million and $3.2 million, totaling about $48 million annually.
The state’s Fiscal Year 23 budget has set aside $6.5 million for federal American Rescue Plan funding to build a “state-level data infrastructure network,” Murphy said in a statement, adding that the NJ4S program will further contribute to ARP funding. announced that it had pledged to allocate $8.5 million. of a hub with the necessary staff and programming from the start. ”
The current school-based system operates on approximately $30 million in state and federal funding.
With the future of school-based programs in limbo, Keller, Moore, and Feder all support the intent behind the NJ4S program, despite their concerns, to serve every New Jersey student in need. We hope to get it on track in time to deliver.
“Of course, in the end, we hope that it will be accessible to all students and that no child will miss the opportunity if they need counseling,” Keller said. I don’t know if it will happen.”
Congresswoman Mira Jaycee (D-Essex) was one of the key lawmakers working to restore funding for school-based programs when budget cuts were last introduced, and has been a supporter of POLITICO. In a statement, he said he had “serious concerns” about the Murphy administration’s budget cuts. She plans and “already calls for legislation to legally maintain this important program.”
“This cannot and should not be a one-size-fits-all model. Neither regionalization nor a county-wide approach is appropriate. We should have a wealth of other related services designed specifically for us,” said Jasey. “SBYSP, as it is currently structured, is one of our most effective and successful programs and we are committed to ensuring that it remains in its current form.”
