Advocates say up to 9,000 children will be dropped from program, a number three times higher than what an N.J. official cited earlier this month
Kim Cristo, right, looks on as her 2-year-old daughter, Ava, receives occupational therapy from Michelle Doonan, an applied behavioral analyst, in this 2010 file photo. Ava was diagnosed early on with autism and receives two hours of therapy at her home.TRENTON — Mental health counselors and a member of a family advocacy group urged state officials today to postpone plans to remove up to 9,000 children from a Medicaid home-based therapy program.
The number is three times higher than what a state Department of Children and Families official cited earlier this month in a Star-Ledger article about scaling back the program. Department spokeswoman Lauren Kidd said late today she could not immediately explain the disparity.
The disclosure came during a hearing of the Assembly Human Services Committee to discuss the plan to discontinue home therapy for less seriously ill children.
Committee Chairwoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) said she also called the hearing to discuss the shortage of treatment and housing services available for children and adults who suffer from both developmental disabilities and mental illness.
The state’s home therapy program sends licensed therapists into homes to work with parents and children to address behavioral problems and help families communicate. The state pays agencies $113 an hour for home therapy, compared to the $83 it pays for therapy in a counselor’s office.
Brian Hancock, deputy director of the Division of Child Behavioral Health Services said that beginning on Feb. 1, an estimated 7,000 to 9,000 children a year "who do not have a complex set of needs’’ will no longer be referred to home therapists.
"Children with significant behavioral and emotional challenges are the focus of these services, and they will continue to have access to these services,’’ Hancock said. About 22,400 seriously ill children a year would continue to get home counseling, he said, while 7,000 to 9,000 others would be referred to out-patient therapists.
Peg Kinsell of the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network said she doubted there would be enough counselors to go around.
Cathy Lawson, a licensed social worker and director of the Progressive Family Services practice in Somerset County, agreed.
"There are waiting lists for outpatient services in my counties that can last three to four months," she said.
Bob Davison, executive director of the Essex County Mental Health Association, said he agreed with the decision to limit the program that has been "exploited by some unscrupulous providers.’’
"But the time line is too ambitious," he said, referring to the Feb. 1 deadline. "We have to ensure the system of outpatient services is there."
The hearing included emotional testimony from mothers-turned-activists, whose children had been placed in institutions temporarily because so few know how to treat people who "dually diagnosed" with a mental illness and developmental disability.
Cyndy Hayes of Princeton said her son Brandon’s bouts of self-injury escalated when he turned 18, but the state’s answer was to institutionalize him for two years. "The state of New Jersey was spending $355,000 annually on his care,’’ Hayes said. "How much money could have been saved with some quality support services?"