NJ bill tackles mental health

Teens as young as 13 could get counseling without parents' OK

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

..... Lawmakers in Trenton are advocating for a bill that would enable New Jersey teenagers as young as 13 to seek mental health treatment without parental consent.
..... Assemblyman Raj Mokherji, the driving force behind the bill (A2328), has long championed lowering the state's age requirement from the present limit of 16. The current mental health crisis - exacerbated by the pandemic and surging social Media use - demands immediate action, he argues.
..... His proposed legislation aims to alleviate the burden faced by teenagers who lack access to support at home or are worried about approaching their parents, according to Mukerji, a Democrat from Hudson county.
..... Nationwide the age of consent varies from 12 at the low end of the spectrum in Maryland, Illinois and California, to 18, according to World Population Review, which compoiles governemnt data, would join five other states that grant health treatment right to seek mental health treatment without parenteral approval.
..... Sarabjit Singh, director of behavioral health services for Prime Healthcare hospital in Morris, Passaic and Essex counties, doesn't see a downside to the idea.
..... "The age should be lowered. Middle school is a time when a lot of bullying happens. Everyone's growing emotionally and physically at a different pace, so there is turmoil," he said in an interview.
..... "They are entering adolescence; they don't know how to control their hormones. So there's a lot going on, and I think that kids should be encouraged to reach out without having to fear that parents would get to know."

Mental health crisis

..... Mukherji has been arguing for a lower age limit for almost a decade, having first introduced legislation in 2017. But the proposal hasn't advanced. His latest bill, and its hasn't advanced. His latest bill, and its state Senate counterpart have sat in legislative committees without hearings for months.
.... That's indicative of the fraught national debate surrounding children's mental health. New Jersey and the rest of the nation are in the midst of what Surgeon general Vivek Murthy has called a youth mental health crisis, with reports of depression and suicide soaring.
..... Mukherji's proposal also lands amid a conservative backlash over parental rights, LGBTQ+ recognition and the treatment of transgender kids.
..... Conflicts have erupted in schools and board meetings in New Jersey over issues like the inclusion of LGBTQ-themed books in libraries and the proper age to teach about gender and sexual orientation in schools.
..... In Morris County, the state Attorney General's Office filed a civil rights complaint last month [05/2023] against the Hanover Township school district over a policy requiring teachers to disclose to parents any issues that may threaten a child's well-being. The school board later voted to remove references to gender identity and sexual orientation form the policy.
..... Neither Mukherji nor any of his cosponsors, state Senator Joseph F. Vitale and Assembly-members herb Conaway Jr., and Sadaf Jaffer, returned requests for comments on the age-13 legislation in recent weeks.
..... Mukherji told the New Jersey Monitor website in April [2023] that the legislation was a response to alarming trends among New Jersey kids.
..... "All you have to do is look at the data, and when you see the unmet mental health needs of all our teenagers and our youth, this is a commonsense, simple fix," he said. "Quite frankly, some of the conversations being debated in other jurisdictions distract from the issue at hand."
..... The parents that Peg Kinsell has surveyed agree. Kinsell, institutional policy director at SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, a New Jersey nonprofit, surveyed parents of children who have sought mental health help. They supported lowering the age limit, she said.
..... "It's more important for a young person to have access to confidential services than for parents to be informed," she said, adding that kids dealing at home with physical, sexual or substance abuse issues need a way to get help.
..... "Those kids will avoid seeking help if they have to involve their parents," she said.

Parental rights

..... Critics of Mukherji's legislation argue parents have a right and responsibility to know when their children are dealing with issues serious enough to require professional help. thirteen is too young for teens to make such decisions without parental involvement, they say.
..... "A child is 12 years old one day and 13 the next and you're telling me that child now has the cognitive ability to take care of their issues? I don't think so," said state Senator Joseph Pennacchio, a Morris County Republican.
..... If there's "something that can cause physical or mental harm to a child," he said, parents should be notified right away, he said. He noted that New Jersey schools are required to notify guardians of bullying issues under Mallory's Law, which was inspected by the death of a Morris County middle school student.
..... "Do we have to wait until they get to the hospital or morgue? These are important issues. You don't want to let them percolate," said Pennacchio.
..... "they are trying to make this an outing of a child," he said of the Hanover Township policy. "But if you take a look at the LGBT population itself.50% of these children actually have thoughts of suicide in some cases. Why in the world would you not want to share that with a parent? who is going to help them after hours? The school? the government?"

Do kids know best?

..... Singh, understands that point of view. After all, parents get notified when a child is sick or injured at school; why shouldn't it work the same way when it comes to mental health? But that misses the point, he said.
..... "These things become very controversial because of the question: At what age will a child be able to know for sure how they feel? At what point do you say that a kid knows better in terms of how he or she feels? My answer is pretty much at every stage they know better than the parent," Singh said.
..... Scott Chesney, a father of two from Verona, is a life coach and motivational speaker who addresses local schools weekly. He said he often hears about mental health issues from students.
..... "I would love it if a mother, a father - whatever the adult is at home - was that person that a teenage could go to and get advice," he said. "T hat would be the ideal situation. But some of these kids feel like they have to figure this thing called life out on their own. They have to solve their own problems."
..... His presentations for K-12 students focus on self-esteem. He advises parents and kids alike that building a strong foundation is better than seeking help after problems arise. Kids need to have someone they trust to talk to and sometimes parents and guardians need to trust the people their children approach for help, Chesney said.
..... "Around eighth grade is one of the most exciting times in our lives, and it's one of the most critical. It's when we really start recognizing our power to choose," he said.

..... Gene Myers covers disability and mental health for NorthJersey.com and the USA Today Network. For unlimited access to the most important news from up our local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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