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)