Here are some good resources for coupons and rebates that i would like to share with you...


Rebate programs-
Ebates


Mr. Rebates


MoreRebates

rebate tracker

Coupon Clipping Resources-

hotcouponworld
thecouponclippers

smartsource

coupons.com

slickdeals


... more to follow..

Happy Recycling!

Get Free Ice Cream from Friendly's on June 6th

On Saturday June 6th from noon to 5pm, Friendly's is giving away a free scoop of ice cream. You get to choose from 26 flavors.

Black Raspberry
Butter Crunch
Butter Pecan
Chocolate
Chocolate Almond Chip
Chocolate Chip
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Chocolate Soft Serve
Coffee
Cookies ‘n Cream
Forbidden Chocolate
Hunka Chunka PB Fudge
Maple Walnut
Mint Chocolate Chip
No-sugar-added Vanilla
Nuts Over Caramel
Orange Sherbet
Purely Pistachio
Raspberry Swirl Fat-Free Frozen Yogurt
Strawberry
Twist Soft Serve
Vanilla
Vanilla fat-free frozen yogurt
Vanilla Soft Serve
Vienna Mocha Chunk
Watermelon Sherbet

Posted by hrpufnstuff on 06/04/09 at 4:25PM

If only the SUV had rolled one or two more times, we might not be having this conversation.

SOURCE

The Communications Workers of America acknowledged today that they’ve agreed to a wage freeze and 10 furlough days in exchange for no layoffs and seven bankable paid personal days.

“Given the realities of the current economic crisis, and soaring levels of unemployment, our two top priorities in these negotiations were the protection of all of our members’ jobs and preserving the integrity of the collective bargaining agreement,” said CWA District One Vice President Chris Shelton. “We achieved those goals.”

The agreement was subject to some controversy after The Star-Ledger reported that the Corzine Administration rushed to finalize it to avoid a potentially embarrassing demonstration in front of his campaign kickoff -- a picket line that the guest of honor, Vice President Joe Biden, might be hesitant to cross. Corzine yesterday dismissed that as “speculative” and said that part of the sense of urgency in getting a deal arranged was that layoff notices were posted on Friday.

Republican State Committee Chairman Tom Wilson didn’t buy that, however, and sent a letter to Attorney General Anne Milgram asking for an investigation into what he titled a “Biden buy-off” to see if it constituted official misconduct.

“Clearly, Governor Corzine’s desire to avoid the embarrassment of having the Vice President cancel his appearance motivated Corzine to reach an agreement with the CWA,” wrote Wilson. “The fact that the governor agreed to less than he originally said was needed to meet the growing budget crises means that Jon Corzine placed his political needs ahead of his public responsibilities. “

Meanwhile, the Governor’s office touted the agreement as saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars in labor costs while avoiding layoffs.

“The agreement averts layoffs in this time of a deep national economic crisis and allows the state to continue to provide with minimal disruption the vital public services the people of New Jersey depend on,” said Corzine.

Matt Friedman is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at matt@politicsnj.com.

SOURCE

// apparently someone called open season on our nations disabled //




From The Providence Journal. In the picture, Nathan Madison, of United Cerebral Palsy, puts on a T-shirt after helping Bill St. Pierre with his at the June 2 rally at the State House to support funding for programs for the developmentally disabled.


PROVIDENCE –– An estimated 2,000 people rallied outside the State House June 2 afternoon to send a message — “No More Cuts” to programs and services for the developmentally disabled.

The protesters, wearing orange T-shirts that said “Keep the Promise” and “No More Cuts,” said they began a grass-roots effort after “an official with the House Finance Committee” said he would not rule out sweeping cuts to human-service programs for the elderly and disabled as the legislators grapple with the state’s budget deficit.

They referred to comments made last month by Rep. Steven M. Costantino, who is overseeing the budget battle as chairman of the House Finance Committee. Costantino yesterday referred questions to Rep. Thomas Slater, D-Providence, chairman of the committee’s Human Services Subcommittee.

“As far as I know, there have been no decisions on developmentally disabled [funding] and on elderly affairs,” said Slater. “There have been no decisions made at this time.”

Slater said of the demonstrators, “Either they’re misguided or premature or somebody heard something or told somebody else. They have not come to talk to me about it. They know I’m in charge of the DD budget and the elderly budget. They’ve got to realize how the system works.”

Rally organizers said they ran out of T-shirts after handing out 2,000 of them. Demonstrators, including dozens of people in wheelchairs, filled the stone plaza outside the main State House entrance.

The rally was preceded by a 72-hour vigil that began Sunday on the grounds of the former Ladd Center, the original “Rhode Island School for the Feeble-Minded,” which federal authorities closed 15 years ago after an investigation revealed deplorable conditions.

Tom Kane, president of the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island, said that while no one foresees a return to such institutionalization, “if there are cuts, people will be segregated in their homes.”

Kane, who is also president/CEO of CranstonArc, said, “All Rhode Islanders deserve to live with dignity and to be cared for by family and trained professionals. These funding cuts to services will cause irreparable damage to the individuals the developmental disabilities’ system is designed to protect — the most vulnerable of Rhode Islanders.”

Steve Reeder, associate director of Ocean State Community Resources Inc., of Rhode Island, stood in the crowd with client Mildred Hayes, who uses a wheelchair.

“We don’t want to see residents lose any services,” said Reeder. Budget cuts would threaten day programs that allow people “to be out in the community,” participating in programs such as music, art and pet therapy.

Reeder said Hayes “has the opportunity to go to a knitting group one night a week,” and has also had a volunteer job.

“The way these cuts are going — you’d have to look at [cutting] staff. In some cases they’re making nine or ten dollars an hour. What do you cut after that?”

SOURCE

Letter from CWA DIstrict 1 Vice President Chris Shelton about the settlement reached with the State.


Please read this very important letter carefully.







June 4, 2009



Dear CWA Member,



As a result of the worst recession since the 1930s, New Jersey’s revenues have dropped by 25%. The April 15th income tax revenues were 42% lower than last year’s. The economic recession is real and the threat of job loss to thousands of our members is also real. CWA has been negotiating with the Corzine Administration in order to prevent the layoff of thousands of our members and to address the issue of unilateral furloughs and the possibility of losing our contractual wage increases and increments at a time when the New Jersey Legislature and Governor are closing a $9 billion shortfall in order to enact the State Budget.



The CWA Bargaining Committee has negotiated an Agreement with the Corzine Administration. The Agreement maintains the integrity of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, it treats all of our members equally, and in doing so provides for job security for our members.



What follows is a Summary of the Agreement:



Wage Deferral:



We will defer the July 1, 2009 3.5% raise until January 2011.We will receive the July 1, 2010 raise on time as well as all scheduled increments.



No Layoffs:



There will be No Layoffs of any CWA represented workers from the date of ratification of this Agreement at least until January 1, 2011. (The Layoff Plans submitted to the Civil Service Commission laying off thousands of workers, and causing the bumping and demotions of thousands of others will be void upon ratification of this agreement.)

The Department of Children and Families will rescind its current plans to close the Regional Day Schools and there will be no layoffs of those workers consistent with this Agreement. There will be a committee set up to explore the future of the Regional Day Schools and CWA will be represented on the committee.

SOURCE

as per this document.. regional day schools will not.. repeat will not be closing..
parents.. please contact your local districts to verify that your children will not be transitioned..

SOURCE

The state's largest public employee union would accept a wage freeze and unpaid furlough days to help reduce spending under a tentative deal, Gov. Jon Corzine said yesterday.

Corzine called the agreement with the Communications Workers of America "very important for our budget to make sure that we get something that is a very substantial giveback." He said negotiations are continuing with other unions along with the CWA.

With his Republican opponents quick to criticize the accord -- and link it to the politics of Corzine's re-election campaign -- the governor and the union defended it as a compromise amid a recession-ravaged state budget.

"There is a tentative agreement on wage givebacks and furloughs that has yet more details to be ironed out, and that has to be appropriately negotiated with other unions," Corzine said yesterday following a news conference on school construction in Newark. "I expect there will be an agreement on the terms that are negotiated at the collective bargaining table, not just with CWA but with all of the various parties that are involved."

Corzine did not provide details on the terms of the deal, but senior Democratic officials told The Star-Ledger Tuesday the pact would include 10 furlough days in the budget year starting July 1, along with a wage freeze and some "bankable" paid personal days that workers could take in the future.

Union officials issued a statement yesterday, saying that negotiations "have created the framework for an agreement that will deliver significant savings to the state and provide job protections to our members."

"But we are still working on language, the document is not finalized, and the characterization of the agreement in the press is incomplete," the statement from CWA District One said.

Representatives of other unions that represent state workers, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, could not be reached for comment on the tentative deal yesterday.

Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee chair Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) said the tentative agreement, if approved by other unions, would lead to at least $300 million in savings for the $28.6 billion budget proposed for the new fiscal year.

The deal would remove "a major obstacle in passing a budget," she said.

"It's not even debatable that this is historic -- that we opened a previously negotiated contract and achieved right-on-the-nose budget savings without people losing their jobs," Buono said.

Corzine imposed two furlough days before the current budget year ends June 30 and was seeking 12 more days in the new budget.

Union members have protested the furloughs and criticized the governor. The CWA planned to protest outside Corzine's re-election kickoff event in West Orange on Tuesday night, but later called it off.

The Democratic officials, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the negotiations, previously said the specter of a union protest raised concerns for the White House because Vice President Joe Biden was on hand to praise Corzine.

Republicans said the decision not to force the pro-labor Biden to cross a picket line cost New Jerseyans money.

"It was a taxpayer-funded political event because his giveaways to the CWA -- in order to have the vice president not have to worry about crossing a picket line -- is typical of the timidity of Jon Corzine," said Chris Christie, Corzine's Republican opponent in the fall election.

Corzine called reports of Biden's concerns about a picket line "speculative" and stressed that the vice president did not alter the terms of the accord with the union.

"Not one single I or T was dotted or crossed differently with regard to the direction that we're taking," said Corzine, who has spent months pushing for a wage freeze-furlough combination as an alternative to more than 7,000 layoffs. He said the urgency of resolving a deal was accelerated because "layoff notices were actually posted last Friday."

The CWA statement also swiped at Christie, saying his "inaccurate and uninformed speculation about yesterday's events betrays a troubling disregard for the facts."


Statehouse Bureau reporter John Reitmeyer contributed to this report.

SOURCE

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's largest state worker union and the Corzine administration say they have struck a tentative deal on wage freezes and furloughs.

No details were released Wednesday.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine threatened to lay off thousands of state workers unless he got about $400 million in concessions from labor as he grapples with a budget shortfall.

On Wednesday, the governor said details of the agreement have yet to be worked out. He said other unions besides the Communications Workers of America have yet to sign on.

Bob Master, of the CWA's District 1, described the agreement as a framework "that will deliver significant savings to the state and provide job protections to our members."

The two sides have been in negotiations for weeks.

SOURCE

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's largest state worker union and the Corzine administration have struck a tentative deal that freezes wages for 18 months and requires 10 furlough days but guarantees no layoffs through 2010.

The proposed memorandum of agreement, obtained by The Associated Press, would modify the existing contract between the Communications Workers of America and the state, if members ratify it.

Facing a severe budget shortfall, Gov. Jon S. Corzine threatened to lay off as many at 7,000 state workers unless he achieved millions in concessions from labor. The tentative deal would achieve $309 million in savings if the other unions agree, according to a person familiar with the talks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the administration.

The tentative deal defers the 3.5 percent pay increase union workers were due in July until Jan. 1, 2011. Workers also will be required to take 10 furlough days before July of next year, including the day after Thanksgiving and Lincoln's Birthday. They will not have to take a furlough day this month.

In exchange for the concessions, totaling 7.5 percent of employees' salaries, the administration has pledged not to lay off state workers through the end of next year. The state also will create a Paid Leave Bank, in which workers who take the unpaid furlough days will be credited with seven days off they can use any time after 2010.

The governor on Wednesday confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached, but said details had yet to be worked out. He said other unions had yet to agree, even in principle.

"There is a tentative agreement with regard to a wage freeze and furloughs, but the details need to be ironed out," Corzine said. "I expect we will have an agreement. It will be an agreement on the terms that were negotiated at the collective bargaining table not just with CWA, but with all parties involved."

Bob Master, of the CWA's District 1, described the agreement as a "framework," and said it would "deliver significant savings to the state and provide job protections to our members."

The two sides have been in negotiations for weeks, but the talks intensified as the gubernatorial primary drew near.

Some union workers will be exempt.

Bill Lavin, president of the state Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association, which represents municipal firefighters, said police and firefighter unions have gone to court to protect public services workers from being furloughed.

The CWA reportedly had planned to protest outside the West Orange arena where Corzine was accepting the Democrats' nomination for a second term Tuesday night, but canceled their plans, indicating that a deal was near.

That drew criticism from Corzine rival Christopher Christie, the GOP candidate for governor, who called the governor's victory party "a political rally at the taxpayers' expense."

And, Assembly Republican leader Alex DeCroce, R-Morris Plains, said Corzine hurriedly struck a deal with the union to avoid the political embarrassment of having Vice President Joe Biden cancel his appearance with the governor rather than cross a union picket line.

SOURCE

just got news... school is not closing... repeat.. school is not closing... dont have details yet... will forward once avail!

if it wasnt for the migraine id be screaming my head off!
this is incredible!

CONGRATS ALL... THIS BLOG HAS 1000 HITS!

ive been discourged by the lack of news lately.. no news usually is not good news..
im not just talking about rumors.. or hearsay.. im including actual news coverage in any media type..

now if you allow me to be paranoid for a moment..

no news means that the flow of information or commuication has ceased..

no news means that if there is information its beeing censored or covered in someway where its more difficult to find or able to link it to the "real" story.

no news could also mean.. that we are not the important story anymore..

the third... can never be allowed to happen... even if the powers that be would wish it otherwise...

dont let this story die.. or kids are depending on us..

/end paranoia

no news could also mean...... drumroll... that something just awesome is happening and we havent heard about it yet!!

either way... ill keep ya posted... :)

I had a nice visitor from the Census today..

Very nice and professional representative sat with me at the foot of my stairs (its cooler down there) and took all of my data (we just data nowadays anyway).. 20 minutes and pretty painless..

While she sat there and pecked away we discussed what her experiences have been like working for the census in the urban enviorment..

1% of the people she runs into she would rather not run into again.. but mostly..
She commented how many dont open the door becuase they assume she is with immigration or just outright refuse to participate due to some myth or another as to what the census "really" is..

Please.. if census comes to your door.. take a moment.. the data they collect is used to determine the services that are avail in your area..

/end public service announcement

I just recieved an update regarding the protest we had scheduled for the below...
it will not.. repeat.. will not be taking place..

i dont know the details yet.. but will post when i have them avail..


================================================
We need to inform Corzine's big money donors
about how our governor is trying to close the
schools for special needs children!

This, after he included in his speech to the
state that he would protect our most
vulnerable children and citizens.

Come out and let his donors see whose back he
is trying to balance the budget on. Come out
in full force! We need all of the parents and
children to come out on June 4th to let
Corzine and his donors know who is being most
affected by his budget cuts.

What: Picket at Bon Jovi's Fundraising
concert to get Corzine re-elected!
Where: NJPAC in Newark
When: June 4th, 2009
Time: 5:45 pm
***Make sure you wear comfortable shoes!

hey all..
the letters are done..

and its too hot to sit here..
check you out tuesday!

im working on another batch right now.. please..im not asking for money to prepare the documents.. if you want to send funds to cover postage thats fine.

If you are unsure.. or you need copies of the forms.. please feel free to contact me testcardkids@gmail.com

SOURCE

An organization called The New Jersey Coalition for Special Education Funding Reform testified before the Assembly Budget Committee last month and started a letter-writing campaign among parents and special education advocates last week. What’s their beef? First, the new D.O.E. regulations, A6, give the Executive County Superintendents of each county in New Jersey the authority to review student placement, which is supposed to be decided by the Child Study Team.

Of course, imposing the E.C.S. on the highly-personalized and deliberative process of developing an Individualized Education Plan reeks of rank interference. Word is that, in fact, the E.C.S. will only review placement decisions to put pressure on districts to reduce “out-of-district” placements, but there’s already plenty of pressure to do so to save money. Surely our beleaguered E.C.S.’s have enough to do without randomly searching through speech and developmental evaluations to see if the Child Study Teams are witlessly placing children in extravagant programs. (It’s sort of like asking police officers to take their attention off criminal activity to check for expired registration tags.)

The N.J.’s Coalition’s other beef is that Corzine’s new funding formula neglects special education:

For more than a decade, our coalition has been asking for an independent study to examine the full cost to taxpayers of special education services in New Jersey…When SFRA was drafted, special education funding was not studied as part of the “costing out” effort. And when the Department hired experts to look at their plan, they specifically asked all three independent researchers NOT to look at special education…

We urge this legislature to commission a study to look at the full actual costs of special education, so that funding policy can be developed based on facts, not assumptions.

If they’re right, we’re neglecting a pretty expensive piece of the pie. The 230,000 classified students in N.J. cost over $3.3 billion a year to educate, according to the NJSBA. In fact, we classify a higher percentage of kids and spend more per special needs kid than just about anywhere in the country. Seems pretty reasonable to look more carefully at these children.

But the problem’s not the kids: it’s our educational infrastructure. We’ve got so many little districts that it’s mathematically challenging to come up with an cheaper and more inclusive program. Let’s say a kid is classified as autistic. In order to serve that child in-district, you’ll need at least a half dozen kids at the same age level with the same educational needs. How likely is that in one of our typically small districts? Or say you have a kid who’s hearing-impaired? Can you come up with 6 or 8 more kids who need similar instruction? How about behaviorally challenged? How about developmentally disabled? Most likely the district will send those kids out to (more expensive) placements.

So N.J. has also developed a hefty layer of private special education schools that like things just fine the way they are, thank you very much. These schools (see here) provide the services these kids need and that local districts can’t muster because they can’t come up with the cohorts. So our kids shlep miles away and local taxpayers pay the costs. It’s just another way that we segregate our children in order to preserve our home rule filigree.

SOURCE

Corzine is trying to make his decision to delay school aid payments more palatable to school districts by fast-tracking legislation that would allow districts to borrow money and the State to pay the interest. The Asbury Park Press reports that the bill was introduced Monday and passed the Assembly Budget Committee on Tuesday, “bypassing a committee hearing entirely.” The vote comes before both the Assembly and Senate tomorrow.

Reactions from legislators are predictable. Democrats defended Corzine’s decision to defer payments and Republicans threw tomatoes.

From Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Camden:
Delaying a payment for which nobody misses a dime, for which all the costs are incurred, for which no school suffers a lost day, for which no school is closed a day, where teachers' pay is not docked 13 percent as is being done in other states.

From Republican Budget Officer Joe Malone, R-Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean (quoted in New Jersey Newsroom):
Only in New Jersey government can you hear someone say that 19 payments instead of 20 is not a cut. We cannot continue to play the same game and repeating the same mistakes that have led to our current budget problems. ‘Deferring' this payment is like playing musical chairs and when the music stops someone is going to be without a seat.

source


//this story was originally posted on 04-01-09 but for some reason it was never active.

More than 500 Bloomfield residents crowded Town Hall Tuesday night to debate job cuts in the school district's special education programs as part of next year's budget.

The 2009-2010 schools budget, which passed in a 6-3 vote, requires that all 71 full-time special education aides in the district move from fulltime to part-time, accept paycuts and lose their benefits. District officials said the measure would save $800,000.

Tensions were high as students, parents and special education teaching aides accused the Board of Education of a lack of sympathy toward special needs students who require consistency in their learning environments.

The crowd was so large that the meeting was relocated to the 881-seat Bloomfield High School auditorium across the street.

The budget also cuts custodial jobs and facility repair projects, such as a broken cornice in front of the Bloomfield High School auditorium. The budget will rise 3.2 percent to a total of $85.5 million next year. For the owner of the average assessed home of $140,700, that will translate into a $174.06 tax increase, according to the superintendent's budget presentation.

All the cuts in next year's budget, said Superintendent Frank J. Digesere, are necessary because of a state cap on property taxes.

That didn't make the cutbacks in special education any easier for parents to digest.

Susan D'Andrea read aloud a letter written by her 9-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. The letter praised her aides at the Demarest Elementary School and pleaded that the district keep their jobs intact.

"That [letter] in itself speaks to the success of the paraprofessionals in this district," said D'Andrea. "This child could formulate thoughts without any assistance from me."

Bloomfield High School aide Joe Sambataro said at the meeting that he is responsible not only for mental health issues but for physical problems such as diabetes. Sambataro said he monitors the blood sugar levels and carbohydrate intake of students, and he listed possible side effects, including kidney disease and blindness, if medical attention is not administered properly.

Other critics said the aides would leave the Bloomfield School district and that incoming part-time aides would be untrained and uninvolved.

Digesere said if the board did not pass a budget by midnight, the state would write the budget for them.

"I don't want to put this in the hands of the state, because I dont trust some of the things they've done," said Digesere. "The state won't even allow us to say that we want these people to keep their jobs even if it raises our taxes...we're not even allowed to dictate our own wants anymore."

Board members Joseph Lopez, Laura Curcio and Nicholas Rizzitello voted against the budget and cited personal experiences in working with special education aides. Lopez said his son matriculated under aides at Fairview Elementary School and that he was chastised by other board members when he proposed alternate solutions.

"I want these aides to keep these jobs 100 percent," said Lopez. "I've seen the great progress these aides have made to enable my son to be part of the school system, and I really appreciate that."

Go there

like Wendys frostys?

Get your Coupon Here

SOURCE

TRENTON | Gov. Jon S. Corzine acknowledged Wednesday that suspending rebates for most homeowners next year would be painful for residents, but said the state cannot spend money it doesn't have.

"It hurts them and we understand that, but we don't have the resources to be able to fund it," Corzine said Wednesday at a public event in Sayreville, N.J. "If you don't have the resources, you can't spend money you don't have. I know the public understands that."


State Treasurer David Rousseau announced Tuesday the one-year rebate suspension for all non-seniors would be needed to help close an unexpected $1.6 billion shortfall in the fiscal year 2010 budget, caused by plummeting revenues since the introduction of the spending plan in March.

New Jersey residents -- who have been receiving the rebate checks since 1977 -- pay the highest property taxes in the nation at an average of $7,000 per household. That's about twice the national average.

According to the state Treasury Department, eliminating the rebates would cost homeowners $950 on average, while renters would miss out on an average $75 rebate. Cutting the rebates is projected to save the state $943 million.

Corzine emphasized Wednesday that the rebate suspension would be temporary.

"We use the word suspension for a very real reason," Corzine said. "It will be one of the very first things that we do restore because I think property taxes are a challenge for people in this state."

Corzine already proposed scaling back rebates in March for homeowners making more than $75,000 a year, down from last year's $150,000 annual salary threshold.

GOP calls rebate cut a middle-class tax hike

Republicans criticized the move immediately, recalling the state shutdown in 2006 in which the state sales tax was increased by a penny, half of which was supposed to go toward property tax relief. Assemblyman Joseph Malone said the Democrats gave the impression that the relief was "set in stone."

On Wednesday, Republicans ramped up attacks on the proposal.

Lawmakers called the suspension a tax increase on the middle class and claimed the rebates would never come back "under a Corzine regime."


The Republican Governors Association launched a radio ad telling voters to "watch what he does, not what he says." And the Republican State Committee released a Web video showing clips of Corzine promising to increase rebates 40 percent over four years while campaigning in 2005.

'Political hit' for Corzine

Ingrid Reed, of the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics, said while Republicans are taking political shots at the governor, it is difficult to tell how voters will respond to the elimination of most rebates for next year because public opinion varied on the checks.

Some called them a fiscal gimmick, she said, while others said they were needed relief.

Benjamin Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said slashing the rebates for most homeowners next year is a "huge issue" given the dominance of property taxes in the public arena.

"Any time you deny property tax relief, you're going to take a political hit," Dworkin said. "Jon Corzine, by virtue of being governor at this precarious time, has taken a lot of political hits because of the very tough and unenviable decisions he had to make in the budget. So this is just piling on top of everything."

The Legislature is debating the budget. It can amend the plan, but it must be passed by the Legislature and returned to the governor for his signature by June 30. The fiscal year begins July 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trish Graber is Trenton correspondent for The Express-Times. She can be reached at 609-292-5154.

SOURCE


"It hurts them, and we understand that, but we don't have the resources to be able to fund it," Corzine said Wednesday at a public event in Sayreville, N.J. "If you don't have the resources, you can't spend money you don't have. I know the public understands that."

A recent visitor to lehighvalleylive.com doesn't seem particularly understanding.
"Our property taxes are so outrageous here in New Jersey, that if the economy was better, I would definitely sell," saffire62 writes.
"New Jersey is not that big of a state, so why is it so hard to create a budget that would work for all of us and not just some. We, as homeowners and taxpayers, get a double whammy."

Republicans have been very critical of the rebate suspension plan, recalling the 2006 state shutdown and half-penny sales tax increase that was supposed go toward property tax relief.

The Republican Governors Association has launched a new ad telling voters of Corzine "watch what he does, not what he says."

Corzine could face a strong challenge from Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Chris Christie this fall. The state primary is June 2.

You can watch the RGA ad below:

SOURCE


TRENTON -- Property tax rebate checks billed as long-term relief just a few years ago are the latest casualty of New Jersey's budget woes.

Treasurer David Rousseau said Tuesday rebate checks would be canceled this year for all but senior citizens and disabled residents because the state budget is suffering a record loss in tax revenue in the bad economy.

The state would also raise income taxes on people earning $400,000 to $500,000 and those earning over $1 million and cancel the expansion of a preschool program as part of Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to close a multi-billion-dollar budget gap, the treasurer said.

"We face the most daunting challenge of any budget in state history," Rousseau told the Assembly Budget Committee. Corzine's budget and tax plans require approval by lawmakers.

Last year more than 1.3 million rebate checks were sent out -- averaging more than $1,000 to household and tenants earning under $150,000. The budget Corzine presented in March proposed keeping property tax rebates for households making less than $75,000, as well as for seniors and the disabled. This latest cut would save $943 million.

Rousseau billed the decision to hold back rebate checks as a one-time suspension.

"Unfortunately, due to the severe revenue decline, we're going to have to, for this year, suspend" most of the rebate program, he said.

Cutting the rebates, along with other budget adjustments announced by Rousseau -- including the shelving of a proposed $25 million preschool initiative Republicans have targeted -- puts the proposed budget at $28.6 billion. In March, Corzine proposed a $29.8 billion spending plan.

The budget is now in the hands of lawmakers, who must approve it by June 30.

Rousseau said the state would take in $400 million in new revenue for the budget by hiking the tax rates on more affluent residents.

The tax rate would go from 6.37 percent to 8 percent for households earning $400,000 to $500,000. People who earn $1 million or more would see their tax rate rise from 10.25 percent to 10.75 percent.

Corzine's plan would also increase taxes on insurance premiums and health maintenance organizations, Rousseau said.

Rousseau's presentation also made official a concession on the budget Corzine announced in March after he initially proposed eliminating the property tax deduction on state income forms for all but senior citizens and disabled residents. The new version of the budget allows households making up to $150,000 to keep the deduction.

Budget Committee Chairman Lou Greenwald (D-Camden), an outspoken proponent of the rebate program, blamed the cut on revenue collections that are at "unprecedented, historic lows."

Mel Evans/AP
Legislative budget analyst David Rosen, of the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, projects figures on a video screen today during a budget committee.

"The program isn't being eliminated," he said. "It's obviously being maintained for senior citizens and the disabled."

Earlier Tuesday, David Rosen, the budget and finance officer for the nonpartisan state Office of Legislative Services, predicted that over the next 15 months, revenue will come in nearly $3 billion less than what Corzine had projected in March.



"This is certainly the worst revenue report that I've ever given to the Legislature," Rosen said.

The latest version of the property tax rebate program was rolled out in 2007, when, as is the case again this year, the Assembly was up for reelection.

The 2007 rebate program provided checks to households earning as much as $250,000 using a $2.2 billion budget allocation. Last year, however, the rebate program was restricted to households making up to $150,000.

Corzine proposed scaling back the rebate program to just households making $75,000 or less when he proposed the new state budget in March.

Cutting rebates for all but senior citizens and disabled residents leaves only $640 million in the budget for rebates this year.

Democrats made the inflated rebates a big part of their 2007 election message, contending they were sustainable. "The rebates are substantial, but they are only a down payment on a long-term commitment to tax relief and tax reforms," Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union) said at the time. Cryan, a member of the budget committee, also chairs the state Democratic Party.

Assembly Republican Budget Officer Joe Malone said today the Democratic promise from 2007 "just evaporates like it's never been said."

"There is no value and there is no integrity in people making a commitment or a promise," said Malone (R-Burlington).

Corzine, who also faces re-election this fall, has already announced $1.2 billion in spending adjustments for the current budget to ensure the state closes the fiscal year on June 30 without a deficit, something that's required by the state constitution.

They include deferring pension contributions and school aid payments, raiding surplus funds and making changes and cuts to department budgets.

The committee, meanwhile, voted today to advance a bill to allow school districts to borrow money to offset delayed state aid payments Corzine has proposed. It cleared along party lines, with Democrats approving and Republicans voting no.

SOURCE



The main event wasn’t really a disappointment, because there were some staggering figures thrown out today. But when State Treasurer David Rousseau presented the budget for FY ‘10 to the Assembly Budget Committee, the surprise wasn’t in the declining revenues.

We know that it’s an unprecedented economic climate. Revenues are down in every category – biz tax, sales tax and an astounding 19% down in income taxes.

But here was the May surprise: property tax rebates will be taken away for all but seniors and the disabled. There I said it.

This is going to be interesting to watch politically. Will the voters punish the Governor for this? Hard to say.

Here is what we do know…the proposed budget’s final number is $29.6 billion. That is $1.2 billion less than what the Governor laid out in his Budget Message March 10. And that is roughly $4 billion less than the orginal ‘09 budget.

That is a significant reduction, and maybe the public will understand. Then again, maybe they need someone to blame.

GO THERE

SOURCE

VINELAND - The state Department of Children and Families Regional Day School on Sherman Avenue has operated in relative anonymity for decades, providing services to physically, developmentally and emotionally disabled children.

On Monday, workers at the school and members of the union representing them set up a table at the curb to try to raise awareness of the small school - and to build support to keep it open.



The DCF plans to close 18 regional schools over the next year, saving about $4 million.

"We want to try to get out to the public that these children need this school," said Mattie Harrell, president of AFSCME Local 2215, which represents workers at the Vineland and Egg Harbor Township schools. "Many of them tried a regular school, and it just didn't work. This is the last stop for them."

The schools were created to help disabled children who are wards of the state, but few of those children remain. Most of the 560 students statewide are placed at the schools by their public school districts, which pay tuition to cover the bulk of the cost. Other area Day Schools are in Middle Township and Toms River.

The Atlantic County Regional Day School houses a Project TEACH program for teen mothers and their children and is scheduled to close this summer. The Atlantic City School District is in talks with the state to take over the program.

Parents at the Vineland school, which serves about 26 severely physically and emotionally disabled students, are concerned because there is no other specialized school for their children in Cumberland county. They are worried their children might get moved back to a regular public school or be required to travel to another county to attend a special-services school.

"I think we did get some attention," said Grissel Ayala, whose son attends the Sherman Avenue school. "A lot of cars slowed down and beeped."

DCF spokeswoman Kate Bernyk said the Vineland school will be in the second phase of closings, and the DCF will work with local districts to find appropriate placements for all the children. She said the Statewide Parents Advocacy Network, or SPAN, also has volunteered to assist in the process.

Harrell said some students tried to attend regular public school but returned to the Day School.

"They have serious problems, and other kids can be mean," she said. "This is a safe haven for them."

State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, visited the Vineland school last month and spoke to DCF Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts. He said last week that he wants to be sure the students get the services they need, but he could not say whether the school might remain open. He said it is ironic that with all of the criticism of state government, the DCF wants to close schools that have gotten only praise from parents.

"The parents are saying the DCF is doing a good job here, and they just want it to continue," he said. "We need a commitment to these children. They cannot just be integrated into a regular school."

Ayala said parents also plan to attend Wednesday's hearing on the DCF budget. A rally by all the schools is planned for June at the Statehouse.

E-mail Diane D'Amico:

DDamico@pressofac.com

source

The Assembly Budget Committee will meet today to review the Governor's proposed FY 2010 budget for the state departments of Children and Families and Community Affairs. Here's the schedule for you to follow along:
DCF Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts is scheduled to testify at 10 a.m.

Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria will make his presentation at 2 p.m.
The budget proposals were all made before we learned that growing revenue shortfall is worsening and now collections are down nearly $2 billion.

In the initial budget proposal, the Department of Children and Families received $10 million less than requested at just over $754 million. The Department of Community Affair's budget was proposed at almost $10 million more than requested allotting just over $65 million. After last week's budget hearings, Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman offered this weekly message on the importance of preserving pre-K through 12 education, though I know there have also been many questions raised about Higher Education Funding:



Even that video is out of date now because they talk about the $3.5 billion in cuts that have been made, but who knows what further cuts may lie ahead. All of these proposed departmental budgets may receive a second and third look with the way the numbers are coming back in. Speaker Roberts once again said yesterday that all options are on the table. As always, you can listen live to the hearings from the comfort of your home streaming through your speakers.

Download here

SOURCE

ATLANTIC CITY — Contrary to the purpose of his sweeping state furlough program, Gov. Jon S. Corzine will not save taxpayers one penny by forcing hundreds of employees at two New Jersey casino agencies to take two days of unpaid leave in May and June.

That’s because the operations and salaries at the Casino Control Commission and the Division of Gaming Enforcement are funded entirely by Atlantic City’s $4.55 billion casino industry, not the taxpayers.

Corzine plans to furlough tens of thousands of state workers for one day in May and another in June to help close a deficit in the state budget. The state Treasury Department estimates the savings at about $25 million.

In the case of the Casino Control Commission and Division of Gaming Enforcement, the furloughs will not result in taxpayer savings because the 11 Atlantic City casinos finance the expenses of the two regulatory agencies through licensing fees and assessments. The furloughs will be done anyway, forcing both agencies to close on those days.

“The governor’s office has asked all state employees to share in this effort to address the state’s budget crisis,” Casino Control Commission spokesman Daniel Heneghan said. “We are being treated as any other state employees are.”


Robert Corrales, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office, referred questions Monday from The Press of Atlantic City to the commission and the Division of Gaming Enforcement. Josh Lichtblau, director of the DGE, declined to comment.

Commission employees will take their furloughs May 15 and June 12, while workers at the DGE are scheduled for May 22 and June 29.

Interestingly, casinos will save money on the furlough days because they will be relieved then of the operating and salary costs at both agencies.

However, the casinos will not shut down on those days because some state inspectors will remain on the job to oversee gaming operations. Furloughs involving the gaming inspectors will be done on staggered dates to avoid having the casinos close.

“Careful consideration was given to the selection of all furlough dates with an emphasis upon minimizing any disruption to the public, the casino industry and its employees and business partners,” commission chair Linda M. Kassekert said in a notice posted on the agency’s Web site.

The commission has about 290 employees. The DGE has nearly 300, although about 65 of them are state troopers who exempt from the furlough program. Together, the two agencies oversee state gaming regulations and conduct investigations of casino licensees and their vendors.

When the offices are closed, members of the public will not be able to apply for casino licenses or be fingerprinted as part of the background checks to work in the industry. The DGE will also have to shut down a facility in Atlantic City where new slot machines are tested before they are allowed on the casino floor.

SOURCE

//... guess our teachers are not essential//

Dozens of New Jersey casino inspectors won't have to take two-day unpaid furloughs in the coming weeks.

The 151 inspectors employed by the state Casino Control Commission have been designated as "essential" state employees, meaning they will remain on the job when other commission staffers take their unpaid leave this month and next.

Mark Perkiss, a state Civil Service Commission spokesman, said Wednesday that the change was made due to a recent appeals court ruling that blocked New Jersey from using staggered layoffs to carry out the furloughs.

Inspectors must be at the casinos at all times.

SOURCE

Stop budget cuts aimed at centers for independent living
Guest Column • Anita Clavering
Iproudly work as a systems-advocacy and social-recreation program coordinator for the Alliance for Disabled in Action Inc., which is a center for independent living, serving and empowering people with disabilities of all ages in Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties. I have written this letter not only as a staff member of the alliance but also as a consumer who has benefited from the services and programs it provides to people with all disabilities. If it wasn't for the alliance, I would have never had the information, resources and programs that I am able to use so I can live a full and independent life as a voter, taxpayer and contributing member of the community.

Unfortunately, five centers for independent living (or CILs), including the alliance, that are funded by the state are faced with a severe and devastating budget cut of $125,000, from $625,000 to $500,000.

The proposed budget cut will seriously affect funding of CILs by decreasing the number of staff members and reducing operations in four core services they provide as advocacy, peer support, instruction in independent living and information and referral, as well as transition programs for young people with disabilities ages 16-35 and various services and programs including deaf outreach, assessments for Access Link, adjustment to vision loss, social recreation and others … or they may even close altogether.

All of New Jersey's 12 CILs, which cover 21 counties, already operate on limited budgets. But for the CILs that are affected the most, a reduction of $125,000 in state funding will seriously impede their operations. According to statistics from the New Jersey Association of Centers for Independent Living, the five state-funded CILs serve 58 percent of the geographic area of the state, which includes 48 percent of New Jersey residents with disabilities residing in the community. The five CILs only receive 36 percent of the total independent living dollars in the state.

This proposed cut will drastically impact the CILs abilities to help people with disabilities become economically self-sufficient. CILs are the only resource where people with all types of disabilities can go for assistance. This cut will do nothing to close the state's budget gap, but may and will cause a further dependence on state entitlement programs.


I have been very fortunate to be in a job I truly love by working at the alliance both as a systems-advocacy coordinator who helps people with disabilities individually to empower themselves and working with groups to coordinate efforts that will ensure accessibility, services, and other policies, and as a social-recreation coordinator who arranges activities that help people meet with friends and make new acquaintances while participating and being included in the community. My only wish is that I could work more than the two days I am scheduled to work at the alliance every week so I can advocate for more people to be independent and do more research on finding answers to help them solve their issues.

Services for people with disabilities in our state are already minimal, and centers for independent living are already underfunded. I strongly believe that the proposed cut will especially affect my job at the alliance as well as all my other colleagues there who work very hard in their positions to help and empower people with all disabilities.

I am strongly and firmly urging Gov. Jon Corzine and members of our state Legislature to please help restore funding to centers for independent living, which are indeed vital and necessary organizations that provide people with all disabilities with the information, support and services they need to empower and make choices for themselves so they will be able to live full, productive and independent lives in the community as contributing citizens.

For more information on the proposed cuts, please contact the Alliance for Disabled in Action office at 732-738-4388, email ctonks@adacil.org or aclavering@ adacil.org.

Anita Clavering is a resident of Old Bridge.

SOURCE 5-20-09

TRENTON -- New Jersey lawmakers have advanced legislation that would force state-chartered health care providers to cover certain autism treatments.

The treatments include physical, speech and occupational therapy, as well as behavioral intervention, which advocates said is more expensive than the other three. Both the Assembly Appropriations and Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens committees approved the measure today.

Autism New Jersey clinical director Suzanne Buchanan said one example of that treatment is teaching an autistic child how to make a sandwich. Each step is taught individually and paired with some kind of reward.

The full Assembly will consider it Thursday. The Senate version goes to the Senate budget committee.

SOURCE

Gov. Jon Corzine and the Democratic-controlled state Legislature seem bound and determined to keep the state No. 1 … in property taxes. The 3.7 percent increase seen in the average residential property taxes last year brought the average bill to more than $7,045. That should certainly keep us in the lead. Go, New Jersey!




Leave it to the state to try and sell the lemon as lemonade. Corzine's Budget-in-Brief document stated: "While higher than the desired goal of 4 percent, it was the lowest rate of growth in a decade.'' That should certainly cheer up those in the 81 towns … up from 67 a year earlier … with average tax bills in five figures, topped by a stunning $19,225 in tiny Tavistock in Camden County.

The average tax bill rose in 529 municipalities … at least 10 percent in 20 of them and between 5 and 10 percent in 191 more. The fell in just 36. The average property tax levy increased 4.9 percent, exceeding the 4 percent cap enacted in 2007. Unfortunately, that cap has too many exceptions and can be waived by the state at the town's request. So much for the word "cap.''

The facts belie Gov. Corzine's attempts to pin the blame for the state's budget troubles on his predecessors and the national economy. Since taking office three years ago, property taxes in New Jersey have increased 18 percent.

A 2008 Tax Foundation report found that New Jersey had the highest state and local tax burden in the country for the third year in a row. New Jersey not only had the highest property taxes in the nation, but the third-highest income tax rates … a rate that will increase this year under Corzine's budget proposal … the 10th-highest sales tax and the 11th-highest corporate tax rate.

Taken together, the tax burden relative to other states is worse than it was under the McGreevey administration.

Last week's budget proposal will likely put even more distance between New Jersey and the other states. Cuts in municipal aid and frozen aid to most school districts will create even greater upward pressure on local property taxes. And Corzine plans to eliminate property tax rebates for nonsenior households with incomes of more than $75,000 and suspend the ability of taxpayers to deduct property taxes from their income taxes.

Corzine has taken taxation to a new level - one that will indeed allow him to proclaim New Jersey as a leader.

SOURCE 05-20-09

According to the Star-Ledger, State Treasurer David Rousseau announced yesterday that one of the ways that Corzine is balancing the budget is by eliminating the $25 million for new preschools for non-Abbott districts.

That must hurt. Corzine is bound by the State constitution to produce a balanced budget. Yet, one of his most ambitious initiatives during his term has been to overturn the budget-breaking Abbott decisions in favor of his School Funding Reform Act. A pillar of the S.F.R.A. is that it will fairly distribute money and services to all poor kids, regardless of zip code, and the one of the proofs was the preschool money: aid intended to provide Abbott-like services (like free full-day preschool) to non-Abbott students. With preschool available to all low-income children, Corzine and the D.O.E. could elegantly argue to the courts that Abbott designations were obsolete. So much for that argument. With that $25 million slash, the only poor youngsters guaranteed free full-day preschools are those lucky enough to dwell in Abbott districts.

So, does the School Funding Reform Act, undermined as it is, have a pulse? Can Corzine and the D.O.E. uphold this initiative without equitable funding? Are we willing to recognize that no State can sustain this level of educational spending without going broke?

DOWNLOAD DCF 2010 BUDGET HERE

Pay special attention to page 17

ASBURY PARK PRESS EDITORIAL • May 18, 2009

Two budget cuts announced last week by Gov. Jon Corzine show just how out of touch he is with what is "essential" and what is "extra."




He now wants to close 18 schools for pupils with disabilities and behavioral problems, sending 560 children back to their home districts, a move projected to save $4 million. He also wants to slash funding for 12 rehabilitation support centers for people with devastating injuries by 20 percent, saving $125,000.

In the meantime, Corzine insists on budgeting $77 million on top of the $544 million now being poured into full-day preschool in the Abbott districts — a program whose long-term merits are debatable. Of the additional $77 million, $52 million will be directed to the Abbotts, the state's poorest districts. The remaining $25 million will go to other low-income districts, which will be forced to expand school buildings and hire teachers, aides and bus drivers to accommodate the preschoolers.

At Wednesday's Senate budget hearing on the proposed cuts, the mother of a 14-year-old child with a heart condition and a chromosomal abnormality who is 3 feet tall and weighs 41 pounds was among those opposed to the cuts. Corzine should tell her personally it's more important to teach 3- and 4-year-olds their colors and shapes than to provide a specialized school for her daughter. And he should tell the mother of her daughter's classmate who has daily seizures that local and county districts will be equipped to deal with them, even though local personnel say there is no plan for these children.

The $125,000 cut to the support centers is an insult. Corzine should tell the former firefighter who crushed his spinal cord in a diving accident, or the woman in the wheelchair who held up a sign at a Statehouse rally that said "Budget cuts mean I stay at home," that pouring millions of dollars into a program that will put 3-year-olds onto buses early in the morning and send them home in late afternoon is more important.

In announcing the handicapped school closings last week, Department of Children and Families Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts said enrollment has plunged in the past decade. Then consolidate. But closing all the schools for handicapped and troubled young people while pouring millions of taxpayer dollars into expanding preschool for children makes no sense. Ricketts added insult to injury when she stated that running the schools is not part of her agency's core mission of child protection. Nice.

Corzine often bemoans the need to make tough budget decisions. Yes, they are tough. But the two he announced last week are foolish and callous. They will hurt two of the state's most vulnerable populations. Hopefully, state lawmakers will exercise better judgment and restore the cuts.

The state is playing with us.. and i really am beginning to believe that its time for a lawyer..

If there is a law firm out there, reading this.. or if you know of a lawyer that can help us.. now is the time..

Thank you!

Letters from anonymous persons have been written to ACNJ - Association for Children of New Jersey, thinking that they could help, this is the response that was received...




Dear (Name withheld)

I am responding to your email regarding the closing of DCF Regional Schools. I spoke to a staff member at the Office of Education at the Department of Children and Families (DCF) regarding the issue of the closing schools. I understand your concerns and worries.

However, I was told that in fact this change will occur. I was informed that the Bergen County Regional School is due to close in September along with other Regional Schools and that the remainder of regional schools are due to close in June 2010. I was also told that the closings are dependent upon the local districts or the local county having programs/placements for the students leaving the regional programs. I was also told that local school districts/county may end up with different ways/plans of educating the children coming from these programs. For example a local district/county make take over the site of the regional school or perhaps a local school district will identify space for their students and bring them back into district to a facility/placement that meets their needs in district. Other children may go to private out of district placements. I also understand that DCF’s Office of Education is working closely with school districts/counties to help them transition the children and to give them technical assistance in developing programs. Finally, I was told that they are working on having a longer extended school year for the children transitioning from the regional programs

I suspect this information is not what you would like to receive. Again. I can understand your concerns that the programs may not be as good/expansive as the regional programs. I do however believe that the Office of Education staff are trying their best to do whatever they can to make the transition for children to new programs as smooth as possible.

If I can assist you in any other way or if you have any other questions, please telephone me at 973-643-3876.

Very truly yours,

Nina C. Peckman

Staff Attorney

A person that wishes to remain anonymous has been writing to each member of the legislature since March 09... below is that letter.

The New Jersey Department of Children and Families Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts did not provide the Assembly or Senate Budget Committee members with accurate information about what the closure of the 18 schools across this state known as DCF Regional Schools will mean for the students we serve and the taxpayers of New Jersey. Quite frankly, I was appalled at how little she knows about these schools. I was angered by how much she talked without ever answering the questions presented.
I am a (position withheld) at the DCF Regional School – (Location Withheld). I have been involved with these schools in one professional capacity or another since (year withheld). I currently work with (grades withheld) students who are DYFS and SFEA students. I would like to provide you with accurate information about these schools by writing about key points brought up at the hearings.

1) Declining Enrollment
Within the last ten years, several schools saw a decline in the number of students with severe disabilities because our Office of Education (OOE) told these schools to stop accepting new students. (Note: OOE is the office within DCF that runs the schools. It was moved with DYFS from the Department of Human Services when DCF was created). The reason OOE did this is because they began to cut expensive contracted educational services they had previously and brought the students who attended them into our schools. These are children who are aged 5-21, in DYFS and/or live at one of several Behavioral Health Services residences. These students are state-responsible and the state decided to save money by educating these students within our schools. All of these students are working below grade level and present some of the most challenging behaviors you can imagine. Many of them have an educational classification. When one child leaves a residence and our school, another child takes their place within days. Cutting those contracts and bringing them to our school was a great idea! As a result of their inclusion in our school all available monies are going directly to their education.
Another program that came into our schools then was Project TEACH, a program for pregnant and parenting teens. Regional Schools which have that program provide an avenue for these young women to get their diploma while receiving mentoring and parenting classes. The babies are at the school as well. Adding Project TEACH to our schools was another great idea because these students were not being served elsewhere.
Many of our schools have NOT seen a declining enrollment of students with severe disabilities. They have continued to accept students because, in their area, there are NO OTHER services available to this population. Our schools in Passaic County, Essex County, Union County, and Regional Schools serving Camden as well as the Wanaque Campus and Children’s Specialized Hospital program are filled with these students and continue to enroll new students.
As you can see, there is no decline in enrollment at some of our schools and merely a change of students served at others which keeps enrollment steady.



2) Duplication of Services and Costs
There is NO duplication of services going on here and I can’t believe how many times Commissioner Ricketts stated that there is.
Yes, in some counties there are special services school districts which serve children with disabilities. However, they are not 12 month programs which integrate physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy into the classroom as we do. They are not programs with over 30 years of experience and expertise. The local school districts and parents who pay tuition for these students choose us. Our tuition includes transportation and a 12 month program. County programs have separate costs for tuition and transportation and are 10 month programs. County programs are more expensive and they do not exist in every county in New Jersey. If our schools close, local town districts will see a huge increase in the charges for each of these students. Parents will scramble to Medicaid for in-home help to cover the increased time their children are not in school yet they have to go to work and so those costs will increase as well.
There are NO programs for state-responsible children. Any other program would have to be contracted by DCF to provide services. We have become the program for them; state owned buildings, state teachers and therapists, state money being spent on state kids. If we close, the state would have to contract services and pay tuition for each student they enroll. They stopped doing this because it was too expensive. How can it be less expensive now? Our programs for these students are educationally based programs with a special emphasis on behavioral change. The contracted services placed behavior management before education and many students spent more time in the “Quiet Room” than in the classroom. Contract services place profit before students. I am told that I have more books on one bookshelf in my classroom than the contracted service had in the entire school! If our schools close, the state will have to revert to expensive, inferior contracted programming. Children with difficult emotional and severe behavioral challenges due to abuse, neglect, and abandonment need specialized, intense education to progress. They need a behavioral system that is fair and provides rewards frequently.
There are no programs where a pregnant or parenting teen can complete her high school education with her baby present, receiving parenting and mentoring classes with full academics. Where else does this happen? Without child care how many of these young women are going to be able to finish high school? How many will end up using the system instead of working?

In closing, I want you to know that we are successful schools who have a rich history of providing innovative educational services to the most vulnerable children in the state who do not have other educational programs to go to. We have been expanding over time to include students who were once in expensive contracted services that did not provide adequately for them. Everyone is happy…students, families, local districts, and the staff.
Since Commissioner Ricketts admits this as a policy change, not a budget savings matter, I can’t help but wonder who stands to profit from this change? Why close these schools? Move us back to DHS where we flourished or move us to the Department of Education.
Please come visit our schools and spend some time with our students.

Sincerely,
(Name withheld for privacy)

Hello All..

Hmm.. where have I been you ask?


unbeknowest to me.. during the small victory we all felt after LAST Wednesday's testimony in front of the senate budget hearing with kimberly ricketts....on my way to my mailbox was a denial letter regarding the mediation form.

By know you must of heard of this form, that is sent to The local district school superintendent and NJ Office of Special Education. This form is supposed to start an investiagtion at the state level regarding the placement or other difficult situation between the student and the school/service provider.

We were hoping that this form will help keep our kids in the placements that they currently have, instead of moving them under the jurisdication of the local school districts..

The denial letter stated that the mediation form request did not comply with NJ law.
Im looking into this.. will post when i have some acceptable answers.... which i doubt there will be any.

SOURCE
05-08-09

New Jersey's Department of Children and Families (DCF) has announced plans to close 18 regional day schools for disabled and troubled kids by June 2010, including one in Gloucester County.

DCF Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts told the Assembly Budget Committee this week that the decision was not based on economics but on declining enrollment and the department's desire to focus on its core mission of child protection. When children transfer to county or local districts, she said, tuition money would follow them.

Currently, DCF provides year 'round education and support to special-needs children and young adults ages 3 through 21. According to the DCF Web site, the "severity or uniqueness" of their needs requires removal from the public school setting.

Of the 560 students currently enrolled, 248 are said to have "severe disabilities," some of which are physical in nature, requiring constant care. The question posed by parents and legislators is whether local school districts are any better prepared to handle these children than they were in the past. It does not appear to have been answered sufficiently.

Other than those who are severely disabled, DCF students probably could be integrated into other alternative programs operated by local districts and nonprofit agencies. DCF, for example, is charged with educating children with moderate learning disabilities, those who are pregnant or parenting, and abandoned or homeless students with no district of residence.

DCF also operates some unique residential schools that will not close. But in several of these categories, it may be duplicating other services. If the regional schools close, more than 500 employees would lose jobs, but Ricketts expects many to be hired by local districts.

It's appropriate for the Department of Children and Families to transfer educational services to the Department of Education. It's not appropriate, however, to dump about 250 students with highly individualized needs onto unprepared local districts. It's not at all clear that local districts can provide equivalent services, or that the costs won't be higher when they try.

The Legislature and the public deserve more information about the regional schools and the children they serve before DCF shuts them down.

SOURCE

05-13-09


(AP) — TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's child welfare chief is again being criticized over plans to close 18 schools that serve students with disabilities.

Kimberly Ricketts, commissioner of the Children and Families Department, says the closures are a "policy decision." The closures would be complete by next June.

She says enrollment has plunged over the past decade, and the county or local school districts that would absorb the students are capable of serving them.




The plan was discussed Wednesday at a Senate budget hearing, where some lawmakers questioned its necessity and timing. Parents and teachers from the schools expressed frustration.

At an Assembly budget hearing last week, lawmakers raised similar questions and a protest was held nearby.

GO HERE

Click on May 13, 2009 10 am.

05-06-09
SOURCE

TRENTON - The New Jersey child welfare agency's plan to close 17 schools and two programs that serve children with disabilities, at-risk youths, pregnant teenagers, and teen parents drew intense questioning from lawmakers at a budget hearing yesterday.

Department of Children and Families Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts spent much of the hearing defending the decision to close the schools and two satellite programs at hospitals.

Nine of the schools, including the Burlington campus in Mount Holly, are to close by August. The remainder, including the Cherry Hill and Gloucester campuses, are scheduled to close by the summer of 2010. The Burlington school has about 24 students, Cherry Hill 70, and Gloucester 14, according to department spokeswoman Kate Bernyck. About 560 students attend the schools statewide.

Ricketts said the department was closing the schools for policy reasons, not budgetary ones, and made the decision working with the state Department of Education. Department officials say the move is expected to save $4 million annually when all the schools are closed.

"We are absolutely committed to the appropriate transition to placements in the public sector for each child," Ricketts said. She said the department decided to close the regional schools in part to focus on child welfare and child protection and in part because of declining enrollment.

In the late 1990s, the state had more than 1,200 students in state-run schools with severe disabilities, compared with about 248 students today, Ricketts said. The remainder of the students are at-risk youths and teens who are pregnant or parents.

Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D., Passaic) asked whether local school districts would have the expertise and ability to deal with the children.

Ricketts said 7,000 students with severe disabilities were being served by local school districts. "We no longer see a need for there to be two systems" providing the same types of educational services, Ricketts said.

Ricketts said the department had sent parents with children in the regional schools two letters informing them of the changes. Next, school officials will meet with families to determine where a child will be sent after a school is closed, she said.

Ricketts said several local school districts had expressed "enthusiastic interest" in hiring state employees who are working with the students. Some school systems have proposed incorporating entire facilities within their districts, Ricketts said.

About 400 full-time state employees and 100 part-timers work at the schools and satellite programs, according to Bernyck. She said she could not say how many would lose their jobs.

Assemblyman Joseph Malone of Burlington County, the Republican budget officer, asked the department to consider extending the transition to ease the process for students and their families.

Much of the hours-long hearing focused on the school closings.

At one point, parents and staff members from some of the schools held a news conference in a room one floor below.

Parents, some in tears, said they were grateful to be able to send their children to the regional schools, where they said they receive special care from knowledgeable and responsive teachers.

Jocelyn Reyes, the parent of a child at the regional school in Essex County, said districts were scrambling to find places for the children.

"They are trying to slap together a plan," Reyes said. "They don't want our children. They keep stating they are only following orders. I think our kids deserve better. I believe they should be where they are wanted."

Nancy Brooks, who teaches at a regional school in Bergen County, spoke of the dedication required to teach students with special needs.

"We are teachers who have answered a special calling, teachers who are adept at forming relationship so that we may hear children who cannot talk, nurse hearts that are broken, build confidence where there is none, reach children who have retreated, and inspire children to work toward their greatest educational potential in the face of overwhelming obstacles," Brooks said.

Joe Finch, an 18-year-old Camden County resident who attends the regional school in Cherry Hill, said the district where he was supposed to attend school made it clear he was not wanted there, telling him he would not make it.

Finch, who has struggled with drugs and cut his wrists, resulting in multiple school suspensions, numerous hospitalizations, and a nine-month stay at a group home, said the teachers at the regional school helped him with schoolwork and problems at home.

Finch is graduating this year and hopes to attend college to study literature. For the younger students, he said, he is sorry to see the state close the schools.

"Even though I am graduating, I think it would be in the best interest to keep the group-home kids at DCF," Finch said. "It is not a want, it is a need."

05-06-09
SOURCE

Children with special needs have, well, special needs.

for 30 years the state has had a seperate school system for the severely disabled and other children with behavioral issues.

Known as Regional Schools, they currently fall under the purview of the Department of Children and Families. And that, my friends, brings me to this blogpost because Kimberly Ricketts from DCF testified before the Assembly Budget Committee yesterday.

The issue of these regional schools dominated the hearing, which was ostensibly about next year’s budget.

As it turns out, there are 560 students in these 18 regional schools. They are all are scheduled to close just in time for the next school year forcing these students into the care of the local school districts.

Parents of these children are furious. They say the state is doing this hastily without a proper plan. They say school budgets have already been approved, and thses new students are going to cost additional money.

The state counters that it will save $4 million ( which by the way, is not whole heck of a lot in a $30 billion budget ).

Ricketts claims this plan has been in the works for more than ten years, and obviously they will not allow children to slip through the cracks. Everyone will have a place to go.

But it does raise questions about how prepared local districts are to handle an influx of new students who have previously needed a special kind of care.

Let’s hope someone has a plan because if there is one, the parents say “we haven’t heard it.”

5/13/09
SOURCE


TRENTON, N.J. — The help that Maria Zevallos found for her son Jaime's daily seizures - a school for the handicapped, where the staff got to know him well and could help treat him - is going away.

That school will be closed, along with 17 others run by the state that serve handicapped or troubled young people.

The closures, by the state Department of Children and Families, will start this year and be complete by next summer. Students will be sent to local and county school districts, but staff members say there is no concrete plan for them.


Department Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts said Wednesday the closures are a "policy decision," not a budget cut. She said enrollment has plunged over the past decade and the school districts are capable of serving the students. She has also said running the schools is not part of her agency's core mission of child protection.

She said staff and faculty can apply for other state jobs or try to work for the school districts, which have shown interest in hiring them.

The closures were discussed Wednesday at a packed Senate budget hearing, where some lawmakers questioned its necessity and timing. Parents and teachers from the schools attended and expressed frustration at Ricketts' comments.

At an Assembly budget hearing last week, lawmakers raised similar questions and a protest was held nearby.

"You can tell me the district can provide services for my child? I don't think so," said Deborah Cox, whose 14-year-old daughter Bethany attends the same school as Jaime Zevallos, in Passaic County.

Bethany, who has a heart condition and a chromosomal abnormality, is roughly 3 feet tall, weighs 41 pounds and was being pushed in a stroller Wednesday. At times she stuck her bare right foot in her mouth.

Scattered throughout New Jersey, the schools offer 12-month programs for students between the ages of 3 and 21. They serve physically and mentally handicapped, juvenile delinquents and others who did poorly in public school.

Students can learn math, history and other general topics, and if need be, "lifestyle" lessons on, say, feeding themselves or putting items away in a kitchen.

Staff say they know the students intimately and can better serve them than public school districts, where there is less individual attention.

Amalio Rodriguez, who teaches at Jaime's and Bethany's school, said the staff there are trained in CPR and specific emergency procedures for each student.

Once in the school districts, the students would be in unfamiliar settings and could be harassed by other pupils, said Sen. Dana Redd, D-Camden. She drew applause from the audience when she asked whether the plan was needed if saving money was not its goal.

"Is this something that we really have to do?" she said.