Your Legislators: Gordon Seeks Funding for Mental Health Services for Children

State Sen. Bob Gordon (D-38) has introduced a resolution in the Senate urging the state to apply for federal funds to establish a pilot program in Bergen County that would improve access to mental health services for children and adolescents.

According to Gordon approximately 70 percent of children and adolescents who need mental health treatment do not receive it and the ones that do primarily receive treatment from their primary care physician which have limited resources for their kinds of needs.

The pilot program would provide primary care physicians with immediate access, through telephone or by some other electronic means, to a child psychiatric team that will assist primary care physicians in their assessment, diagnosis and treatment of child and adolescent mental health issues. Currently there are about 11 child psychiatrists for every 100,000 children therefore most have to wait several weeks to get an appointment.

The state would have to apply for federal grants which are available through the Department of Health and Human Services in order to fund this pilot program. There is a deadline of June 2 to apply.

In other news, Gordon co-sponsored a bill that would make it easier for municipalities to consider the possibility of merging was signed into law last week. The concept of the bill is to make the process of implementing shared services and consolidations easier.

Gordon stated, “Sharing services and consolidation have become necessary in the current economic climate. They can offer significant savings to taxpayers and still ensure efficient services.”

The legislation, S2465, will permit municipalities seeking to petition the Local Finance Board for the formation of a Municipal Consolidation Study Commission to obtain board approval either through voter petition or application by a municipal governing body, in any combination. Under previous law, the Board could accept an application only if each of the municipalities used the same procedure as the other. In other words, all towns had to submit petitions from their residents, or, they had to submit resolutions from their town councils or committees. There could not be a mixing of the two.

Under the new law, if each municipality submits its study commission application through its governing body, any consolidation plan ultimately proposed would be required to be approved by voter referendum in each of the municipalities.