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NJ eyes students mental health

Sherrill plans $33M overhaul of system

By: Gene Myers
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Governor Mikie Sherrill has proposed a $33 million overhaul of the system that provides mental health services to troubled students in New Jersey. Not all therapists in the state are on board.
..... Outlined in her March 10 budget address the SPARK program would replace a much-maligned initiative that cost New Jersey $129 million over the last three years but drew criticism for failing to connect children with the help they needed.
..... "We know the current model of care has not been good enough for our kids," Sherill told lawmakers during sunset it, and brings specialized, intensive mental health support back into schools, with a new program called SPARK that meets students in their own environments."
..... Sherrill's proposal, however, has drawn a cautious response from the largest group representing mental health providers in the state, which warned that the switch could cause more chaos for children seeking care.
..... The transition "raises real and immediate concerns," Debra Wentz, CEO of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, said in a statement.
..... Sherrill's proposed $60.7 billion budget for the coming fiscal year [2027] includes $33 million for SPARK, short for School-based Partnerships for Access and Resilience for Kids. The program would expand services in K-12 schools and focus on students with more serious mental helaht needs, the administration said. The goal is to give school districts and students in crisis better access to licensed provides, said a summery released with the budget.
..... "The initiative will establish clear pathways for students with high-acuity behavioral helaht needs and meet students where they are - directly in their schools - ensuring timely access to supports in a familiar and trusted environment," the administration said.
..... The effort will prioritize "high-need districts and require measurable performance benchmarks" with a focus on "timely and high-quality care," the summary said.

Old system was panned

..... That would come as a relief to families and school officials who railed against the New Jersey statewide Student support services program, also known as NJ4S. The 3-year-old initiative began under Sherrill's predecessor former Governor Phil Murphy.
..... Touted as a response to the post-COVID explosion in child mental health complaints, NJ4S featured 15 regional "hubs" around New Jersey with staff members who helped connect students, schools and families to a variety of mental health services, often provided outside the school.
..... run through the state's Department of Children and families., it served 276,000 people during the 2023-2024 school year, said a state report, and 700,000 students, staffers and caregivers over its lifetime, according to the mental health providers' association. the state spent $129 million on NJ4S over the last three years, state budget briefs show.
..... Still, the program was criticized by some as balky and wasteful. Schools and patients struggled to navigate the system and connect with treatment. in an NJ.com report last fall, [2025] one group of school administrators dismissed NJ4S as a "boondoggle."
..... In January, [2026] an assessment by the state noted successes of the NJ4S program, such as the relationships cerated between its staff and schools.
..... But the review also acknowledged problems, including difficulties using the system's Online portal, a paperwork approval process that slowed help getting to children, and "inconsistencies in matching facilitators; skills and expertise with
the needs of specific services."
..... The report called for more training so the staff could handle serious mental health needs.
..... NJ4S also didn't serve children below sixth grade, despite the risk of behaviors like bullying and vaping among younger children, the Department of Children and families said.
..... Sherrill's replacement program would put more licensed mental helaht professionals in schools to provide more counseling and intervention services, the state said.
..... "Our nation is facing a dire youth mental health crisis, and we need to think of new and innovative ways to better support our kids with timely services that meet them where they are," said Maggie Garbarino, a spokeswoman for the governor. "that is why Governor Sherrill is proposing we put specialized, intensive care directly into New Jersey schools through the SPARK program."

Will students get lost in the shuffle?

..... Overall, New Jersey providers are 'cautiously optimistic" about the $7.76 billion earmarked for mental health-related programs in Sherrill's 2027 budget plan, Wentz said.
..... Still, she worries about students and communicates losing the support that NJ4S proved as it winds down.
..... "What happens to the schools where they have these program?" Wentz asked in an interview. "They're suing the resources. they have kids who need help. If they don't get the help that they need, they could turn into high-acute cases."
..... Questions yet to be answered for Wentz include: How will the state decide which schools qualify for the new program, and what happens to students in schools that don't?
..... The state should consider keeping parts of both models rather than replacing one with the other, she added. The providers association also wants to be directly involved in planning the transition from NJ4S to SPARK.
..... "T Hey would be much more successful in tandem rather than causing disruption and dissolving and recreating," Wentz said.

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