• October 6, 2022

     

    Dear Families, Students, and Members of the RBR Community,

     

    On Thursday, September 29, I was informed by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) that state funding for the SOURCE, the School Based Youth Services Program at RBR, will be eliminated effective June 20, 2023.  Funds will be redistributed and used to fund a new statewide student mental health system known as “NJ4S.”

     

    This is potentially devastating news for our school and community. Without this funding, the SOURCE and all of its programming and services could be eliminated. Since 2000, the SOURCE has been funded primarily through the DCF grant and local matching funds from the Red Bank Regional High School Board of Education.

     

    While it is commendable that Gov. Murphy and DCF are working to strengthen mental health services for all New Jersey students, it is counterproductive to eliminate exemplary school-based programs, such as the SOURCE. Since its founding, the SOURCE has excelled in providing mental health services and other support to all students. It continues to build public and private partnerships to ensure quality services that are effective, culturally aware, and responsive to the diverse and changing needs of students and our communities. (Learn more here: www.thesourcerbrhs.org).

     

    Eliminating the SOURCE on June 30, 2023 with no concrete alternate plan in place is short-sighted and will undermine, not strengthen, access to mental health services for New Jersey students. 

     

    We fought this battle two years ago and won. I am asking for your help once again. On the attached sheet please find information on how to contact government officials and provide your feedback.  The deadline for ALL community input is October 14.  

     

    Please reach out to myself or Suzanne Keller (skeller@rbrhs.org), who oversees the SOURCE, if you have any questions.  Time is of the essence so please do not delay.

     

    Sincerely,

     

    Louis Moore

    Superintendent

    lmoore@rbrhs.org

     

     

  • How to Help Save the Source:

     

    Email Feedback on NJ4S by October 14:   NJ4SFeedback@dcf.nj.gov 

     

    Sample Email: 

     

    I am NOT in support of NJ4S.  Eliminating evidence-based and highly successful school based youth service programs is not the answer,  especially when these programs are often responsible for executing the mental health/wellness mandates required by the State.  

     

    The Source at Red Bank Regional High School is committed to supporting the mental health, well-being, and educational success of all students. It builds public and private partnerships to ensure quality services that are effective, culturally appropriate, and responsive to the diverse, changing needs of our students. Do NOT take SBYSP out of RBRHS.   

     

    I encourage you to re-evaluate the implementation of a one size fits all approach to advance access to mental health services for all students and families. 

     

    Call the Governor's office and make the following statement: 609-292-6000 (Call often)

     

    Hi, my name is ______. I live at__________.  Do not take The Source, a SBYSP out of Red Bank Regional High School.  The NJ4S proposed expansion is an elimination of services that students, families and community members have relied on for over 20 years.  A one size fits all, impersonal approach to mental health without local stakeholder input will NOT work!

     

    Write the Governor's office at https://nj.gov/governor/contact/all/ and include the following statement.

     

    Do not take SBYSP out of our schools, including the Source at Red Bank Regional High School. The proposal envisioned under NJ4S will eliminate services that a school community has relied on and trusted for over 20 years. “Hubs and spokes” will not provide the necessary mental health services inside our schools! These programs are effective and essential.



    Write your local legislature (Find legislators here https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts) 

    Sample letter below:

     

     

    Dear________,

     

    I am imploring you to contact Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer to reinstate funding to The SOURCE, a School Based Youth Services Program.  I was recently informed that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) effective June 30, 2023 will be eliminating state funding for the SOURCE, the School Based Youth Services Program at Red Bank Regional High School. Funds will be redistributed into what DCF and the Murphy Administration unveiled as a new, First-in-the-Nation Statewide Student Mental Wellness Support Infrastructure Proposal known as “NJ4S” that will support all NJ students and families.

     

    NJ4S takes a “Hub and Spoke” approach to mental health services.  Hubs would be located in a vicinage.  There are 15 vicinages throughout the state. The Hub will provide the expertise, staffing and service links to students and their families while the “spokes” are sites where services will be delivered.  There are 2,493 schools throughout the state and approximately 1.3 million students they will be responsible for servicing. 

    Eliminating the SOURCE with no regard for the impact this will have on students, families and the greater community at Red Bank Regional High School is unacceptable.  The NJ4S proposed expansion is an elimination of Source services that students, families and community members have relied on for over 20 years. To remove trusted adults from children and the community when they are at their most vulnerable and require help seems unethical.  

    Since 2000, The SOURCE has been funded through a state grant, matched with funding from Red Bank Regional High School BOE, and ancillary financial support from the Source Foundation.  The SOURCE offers comprehensive counseling services, prevention programming, advocacy, academic support, employment services, community forums and more for FREE.  (Learn more here: www.thesourcerbrhs.org )

    I encourage you to speak out against the implementation of a one size fits all approach to advancing access to mental health services to all students and families without stakeholder input at the local level. 

    The SOURCE plays a vital role in our community.  Thank you in advance for contacting Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer to reinstate funding for this program.

     

    Sincerely, 

    Name 

    Address