2025 advocacy piece

13 As a nation, the children’s mental health crisis can no longer be ignored. There are stories told every day in the media and publications of all sorts about the tragic number of children and youth with anxiety, depression, other serious disorders and thoughts of suicide. New Jersey has developed a Children’s System of Care (CSOC) that has been a model for the country, yet it, too, is falling short of meeting the needs of all of New Jersey’s children. New programs continue to be rolled out by CSOC and other Divisions in the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in an effort to fill the gaps in services. These range from the NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) program to respite and intensive in-home services for youth with developmental disabilities to Assertive Community Treatment services for youth. These new programs are appreciated, but sustainability and expansion of existing programs are also critical. We Hear Too Many Heartbreaking Stories about New Jersey’s Children and Youth Better Serve Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities In particular, services for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) must be supported and expanded as this population has continued to grow in recent years. Funding should be made available to CSOC providers for specialized training focused on this population and to significantly increase the number of inpatient beds for children with IDD. Strengthen Care Management Organizations In 2023, 33,001 children and youth were enrolled with one of CSOC’s Care Management Organizations (CMOs) – a record high and an increase of over 8,500 above the number served in 2020 (24,478). After receiving a 5% increase in FY2025, the CMO current per child/per month rate is $1,032, still just a couple dollars below the rate of $1,034 CMOs were reimbursed more than a decade ago. In order to recruit and retain the staff needed to meet current demand and cover inflationary increases to the cost of care, the per child/per month rate for CMOs should be raised to $1,200. Based on an average monthly census of 17,000 children, this would require additional funding of approximately $17 million state funds (garnering a federal match of $17 million). Support School Based Youth Services Programs One way New Jersey can address the urgency of the youth mental health crisis is to sustain, strengthen and expand the highly successful School Based Youth Services Programs (SBYSPs) and other School Linked Services programs. These in-school programs are the epitome of meeting youth “where they are” with prevention, treatment and crisis services. SBYSPs simply cannot compete for qualified staff at their current contract levels. These long-established, valued programs continue to face recruitment and retention challenges as they try to compete for staff with other DCF community-based programs, state positions, educational institutions and many other entities, against which they simply cannot match the salaries being offered. A $3 million investment in SBYSP wages will help them do so.