//interesting story . .. from 4 years ago..

'Kids in crisis' State school in Hudson helps severe cases
by Rick Grossman Reporter staff writer
Hudson Reporter



DHS stands for the state's Division of Human Services. There are 18 DHS Regional Schools located throughout New Jersey, formed under the Office of Education of the Division of Human Services. DHS is the state agency that is responsible for human services-related facilities.



The students at the school have severe disabilities and minimal skills.



Morse said, "They are students who have a variety of disabilities that the district cannot provide an education for. They need a lot of services. They need special feeding intervention. They need nursing services far beyond a Band-Aid or Tylenol, and they're students that appear to have minimal skills."



Traditional students are referred to DHS Regional through their school district. If a Hudson County school district does not believe it has the proper resources to teach these children, they may be referred to DHS Regional School. The school district is responsible for paying all costs associated with the student's education. These costs cover such things as lunch, transportation and education.


"Our school is an out-of-district placement," Morse said. "We are centered in Secaucus, but we service all of Hudson County. We service the most severe students that the county could not provide an education for."



At DHS Regional, the students receive the one-on-one education that they normally would not receive at a local public school. There are 43 students this year.



The DHS Regional School-Hudson Campus was originally called the Hudson County Day Training Center. The name changed occurred when the state changed its philosophy, according to Morse.



"The state kind of ... changed their whole outlook and decided that we could service more than just the typical day-training students," Morse said.



Enrollment trends



The number of students attending the school has diminished in recent years. When Morse started working for DHS Regional School, the eight or nine classrooms were packed with 90 children. By the time Morse became supervisor, there were only 35 students.





Morse attributed the diminishing number of students to lack of funding. She said some districts try to save money by taking back students. These districts believe they have the proper resources to teach these children and can save money by teaching within the student's public school district.



'Kids in Crisis'



DHS Regional School-Hudson Campus is starting a new program this September called "Kids in Crisis." Eight students ages 12 to 18 will participate in the program. The school has dedicated an entire wing of the school to the program. The wing has two classrooms, each with two students. The student teacher ratio will be two to one.

The program is designed for children who have extremely difficult situations at home. They initially go to a facility for treatment. They then go to a group home. A group home is a place where they can get psychological intervention. It is a safe place for them. They will live there up to six months.



While these children are at the group home, they receive their education at DHS Regional School. Their education is paid for by their school district. They are regular education children, but some have learning disabilities.





Morse said, "They're kids from group homes that have difficult situations at home. They are placed in a facility where they get the education that they need and they are released to a group home."



She added, "That's where we come in. While they are in the group home, we'll transport them here and provide their education."



All of the school's teachers must have Handicapped Certification. The children are not taught by grade level, which is how traditional public schools teach children. Instead, students are divided up by age groups.





The preschool contains children ages 3 to 7. There cannot be more than a four-year age difference between students who share a classroom.



Each classroom has one teacher and two technicians. Technicians change diapers, feed students and help the teacher carry out lesson plans. The technicians also assist the teacher with carrying out each student's Individualized Educational Plan, also known as an I.E.P. An I.E.P. contains information about each child's needs.





Every year, the child study team at the student's local school district contacts DHS Regional School. They review the child's history and discuss goals. The student's parents also have an input. The district reviews whether the student belongs at DHS Regional School.



Besides teachers and technicians, other staff members include a speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist and a nurse.



The school is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30.



Cooking and math



The school implements a functional curriculum that incorporates the Core Curriculum Content Standards. Morse said that an example is teaching the children how to cook to improve their math skills or teaching them about plant care.



Every year there is a small number of students that graduate from the school's program. A student graduates when he becomes 21 years old. One student is expected to graduate in June 2005. Three students graduated last year.



According to Morse, there are not a lot of options for students who graduate. Once they graduate, they become the responsibility of the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD). Before that, their local school district is responsible.



Upon graduation, some students go to Adult Day Centers. Others can try to find jobs through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), which is a subdivision of the Division of Human Services. Some students stay at home.



Morse is trying to help one of her 2004 graduates to get a job working at the school doing maintenance work

Severely disabled may be forced back into regular schools
State will close school for Hudson County’s special needs students
by E. Assata Wright..

The state’s child welfare department has announced plans to close all 18 special needs schools in the state, including one in Secaucus that serves the severely disabled and children with behavioral problems from throughout Hudson County. The plan is part of a state effort to restructure the education system for these students.

The first round of school closures will take place in June, when five schools are slated to shut down. Another round of closures will take place in September.

“This announcement was just dropped on us one day in a conference call,” said school Principal Donna Morse a week ago Tuesday. “I expect a call any day telling us when they’re going to shut us down.”

Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (32nd Dist.), whose district includes Secaucus, said he believes the school will likely close sometime next year.

The school primarily accommodates children, teens, and young adults with severe developmental disabilities. A handful of other students with a history of emotional and behavioral problems, who have been removed from their homes, attend the regional school while living in a halfway house in Kearny.

The student body comes from Secaucus, North Bergen, Union City, Jersey City, Weehawken, and other towns in Northern New Jersey.

Currently, the school has 40 students, although it has the capacity to accommodate as many as 90. Students range in age from 3 to 21.

Will go to their own districts

Under the state plan, these students will receive services and will be educated in their home districts. The New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF), which oversees the schools, has said the closures are necessary due to declining enrollment.

“This move was not a budget decision, although I know some people believe that,” said Kate Bernyk, a DCF spokesperson. “We’ve been seeing declining enrollment over the last several years. This is an effort to react to the decreased enrollment and transition these children back to their districts, where their needs can be served just as well as they are currently.”

She also noted that DCF is not legally or legislatively mandated to care for the children who attend the regional schools. By transitioning them back to their home districts DCF, Bernyk said, can “streamline our services so we can focus on the core function of the department…We understand parents’ concerns. As individual schools start closing we’ll be working closely with them to talk through how the transition will work. We’re working with the local school districts and the Department of Education to make sure that these kids’ educational needs are being met.”

Families concerned

But parents fear most school districts are not staffed or equipped to handle their children’s special needs. On Tuesday, April 7, about 60 parents, students, and teachers staged a protest outside the school in Secaucus to demonstrate the anticipated closure.

“Before my daughter came to this school, she was very hyper and easily rattled,” said Secaucus resident Julia Branda whose daughter, Janna Rose, graduated from the school last year. “But she became much calmer when she came here. The teachers were very patient and really took the time to get to understand how she functioned, how she behaved. Every student got individualized attention.”

Branda believes her daughter, who is wheelchair-bound, nonverbal, and has the mentality of a 2-year-old, would not have been well-served in a different setting.

Esther Figueroa of Weehawken, whose son, Casey, attends the school, agreed.

“When my son first came here, he was unaware of his surroundings,” she said. “I could enter a room and he wouldn’t know I was there. Now, he will acknowledge you if he sees you. He can interact with people much more than he used to. There are many challenges that he’s been able to overcome. If he had attended some school in our district, my fear is they would have just stuck him in a room somewhere, and he would have never progressed.”

North Bergen resident Solange Ryan added that the regional schools offer a year-round program, while most other public schools are in session for 10 months, a distinction she believes will cause her daughter, Rebecca, to regress during months when school is not in session.

“We service children who cannot function in a regular public school system,” said Marianne Reef, a teacher who has worked at the Secaucus regional school for more than 25 years.

Students who are part of the school’s “teen crisis” program are also concerned.

“Basically, we have nowhere to go if this happens to us, because some of the kids here have already been kicked out of their old schools and some kids live permanently in the group home,” said student Desiree Mistretta of Fairview. “The teachers here help us a lot. More than anyone has ever helped us.”

State responds

“We’ll be working with the local school districts and the Education Service Commission to identify alternative placement for these students,” Bernyk said. “The regional school aren’t necessarily the only placement available for those kids.”

She said there will not be a “one size fits all approach to placing children.” Some students may be placed in the local public school system, but other students may be educated by nonprofits or other agencies if that makes better sense, she said.

Meanwhile, advocates for the school are hoping for a last-minute deal to prevent the closures.

Assemblyman Prieto said he is working with Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (32nd Dist.) to see if the regional schools can be saved.

Reach E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.

//// WARNING.... RANT FOLLOWS.... ////


To the "brilliant" minds that decided on this mess:


> yeah.. you! how dare you?


You mandate that the district schools take back "their" kids? but you dont tell them how.... Did you not think it neccesary that an Agenda, a plan of action be neccesary?

Did you say to yourself one night.... "Theyll know what to do?"
Great God in Heaven!... If they didnt .. couldnt... wouldnt handle our kids before.. did you think that if you sweetened the deal and threw more abbott money at them they would be compliant? .. guess that worked for sooooooooooome districts.
(... tip toes a little closer... and whispers.... Did you figure on what your going to do when districts choose to do nothing, provide NO services?!

Its happening.. NOW! Parents have been left to find an alternative on their OWN!
(4 letter word of your choice here)until then.. their kid has nothing!?
until the school is ready.. nothing?

Really, how much of nothing do you want these families to have?
.. the no housing for parents of disabled minors?
.. the no subsidy for Home attendents/nurses that we need in order to become employed?
.. the no unemployement that they get?
.. the no foodstamps that they qualify for?
.. the no transportation vouchers that they get?
.. the no clue of where their kids go to school?
.. the no peace of mind?


//takes deep breath

There is NO plan! and you had the money to prevent so much of the pain and suffering your decision is and going to cause... and together lets see how many suffer from the districts "pilot programs"...