NJ's Last Teen Drug, Mental Health Treatment Center Could Close

MENDHAM, NJ - The last remaining addiction specialty long-term residential care facility available to at-risk youths in New Jersey is in imminent danger of closing this spring, and there is a movement afoot to save it.

The Morris County Board of Freeholders passed a resolution Wednesday asking Gov. Phil Murphy to intervene in a situation that has endangered the continued operation of the Daytop Mendham adolescent substance abuse treatment center.

"For 30 years, Daytop in Mendham has enabled thousands of young people to transform their lives, helping them to leave drug addiction behind and to become productive adolescents and young adults," said Morris County Freeholder Director Deborah Smith. “We respectfully ask the Governor to intervene so these life-saving services for our youths from across New Jersey will not disappear."

Many counties, including Morris County, have partnered with Daytop, providing funding and facilities to maximize the life-saving services it provides. County officials noted that treatment, education, and social structure provided by facilities like Daytop is significantly more beneficial than warehousing children in juvenile detention centers or putting them in out-of-school suspension.

The risk to the facility has come in the wake of a 2014 decision by the state to transfer oversight of adolescent substance use disorder treatment providers from the State's Department of Human Services to the Department of Children & Families. Adolescent residential services at Daytop, Integrity House, Newark Renaissance House, New Hope Integrated Behavioral Healthcare, Straight and Narrow and the Lighthouse began operating under the DCF.

In 2016, DCF implemented policy changes that resulted in a significant reduction of referrals to New Jersey's state-funded, long-term specialty treatment programs for youth with substance use disorders.

The net effect resulted in the closing of five of the original six residential substance abuse disorder treatment facilities in the state.

And now Daytop Mendham, the last bastion for treatment, is facing closure.

James P. Curtin, the president and CEO, told InsiderNJ that the center has 70 beds, but they were less than half filled. The facility has a staff of 60, so the financial problems are easy to grasp. Daytop receives Medicaid funds for each child residing at the facility of $287 per day and Curtin noted the state can provide an infusion of needed cash and also increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate. Curtin noted that Murphy was not the one who caused this problem.

"But it’s only you who can fix it,” he said in the report.

The facility also has public support behind it.

A Change.org petition with north of 4,000 has been launched. The initial goal of the campaign is to garner 5,000 signatures. Some who signed have had personal experiences with Daytop.

"I'm signing because Daytop was a tremendous help to our family," Debbie Bracaglia said. "My son spent a year there and is happy, healthy and independent today.

Melinda Bennington echoed those sentiments, noting that her son was a resident during his high school years.

"It is crucial that teens have residential programs. We don't need to lose this one we need more like it," she said.

Beth Varano said she was signing because her daughter battled with addiction as a young person and as a parent she knows the importance of programs to help in recovery.

"She is now an adult and over two years sober," she said. "Her recovery facility was instrumental in her journey as I’m sure Daytop has been in the lives of many young people who struggle with addiction."

Anne Scypinsky was an employee at the facility.

"Used to work at Daytop and saw first hand how they help teens overcome addiction and become happy and productive adults," she said.

For their part, the Morris County freeholders believe the solution is to have DCF recognize Daytop as a Specialty Adolescent Residential Treatment Provider along with the development of both a cost-based reimbursement mechanism, coupled with the blending of other funding methods to enable this program to remain viable.

For now it appears the ball is in Murphy's court.

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