Executive Director
Carolyn Beauchamp, ACSW

For Immediate Action: Expansion of the Children’s Initiative is in Jeopardy

Problem

Acting Governor Donald DiFrancesco announced on November 21st that $15 million from the Fiscal Year 2002 budget, designated for the Children’s Initiative, would be "reserved" as part of an attempt to deal with the decline of state revenues. The withdrawal of this money would seriously jeopardize the advancement of the Children’s Initiative.

Background

The Department of Human Services' Children’s Initiative is a statewide reform that restructures publicly funded systems serving trouble children by pooling resources, tailoring services for individual children, and providing rapid access to a broad array of services -- wrapping the service(s) around the child instead of making the child and their family negotiate the maze of agencies. The implementation plan encompasses up to five years -- beginning the project in three counties in 2000/2001, introducing six more counties/regions in 2001/2002, and the remaining six counties/regions in the end of 2002/2003. Currently, three are fully functioning, with the second phase of the next six under contract to begin.

Impact

• The project would be at best, delayed, at most, not implemented statewide;

• The most vulnerable children and families would be deprived of service to make up for the government’s budget shortfall;

• Needed new programs and services would be curtailed or not developed;

• Federal draw-down money, Medicaid, would be compromised since the implementation to statewide programs would be curtailed; and

• Continued lack of early intervention and treatment would produce devastating results which include the child’s inability to function in social or educational environments, subsequent mental health and substance abuse problems and the criminalization of mental health needs.

Your Immediate Action is Needed

Call or Write Acting Governor DiFrancesco and Mayor Elect James McGreevey. When you call or write, tell these elected officials that:

1. You are a registered voter;

2. That the landmark N.J. Children's Initiative, the first and only state-wide system of care for some of the most vulnerable members of our community, is in jeopardy;

3. That without their quick action, reinstating the $15 million to the initiative, the state wide wrap-around system of care for children may never be realized delaying treatment and the relief from the struggle and pain for those the smallest and most vulnerable among us, children with mental illness; and, if you can

4. Provide any anecdotal evidence as to why the Children’s Initiative is important, i.e., “There’s a child in my community who without this initiative or because of this initiative is…”

Sample Letter

I, a registered voter in the state of New Jersey, am writing to request that funding for the Children’s Initiative be restored.

One in five children has a diagnosable mental or emotional disorder, and one in ten suffer from severe disorders, yet over two-thirds of these children do not receive appropriate treatment. New Jersey has no comprehensive system of care for troubled children. In addition, the lack of funding and services causes many of our children to actually become trapped in the mental health system. The gaps in the system compound the pain and often exacerbate the illnesses themselves. There was consensus about the solution – a statewide system of care pooling resources for trouble children and providing rapid access to a broad array of services.

Taking $15 million from the Children’s Initiative jeopardizes the expansion of the initiative into the next six counties. Delay in implementation means:

(Draw from the points above and/or from personal accounts or feelings).

For this/these reasons, I feel it is imperative that funding be restored to the Children’s Initiative in this year’s budget.

Thank you.