NJ may lower age to seek mental health aid

No parental consent for counseling needed

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

..... The state Senate Health Committee convened a contentious hearing in Trenton on Thursday [02/22/2024] to consider two bills that would lower the age to which New Jersey children can seek mental health treatment.
..... Despite a fiery push-back form parental-rights activists, the committee advanced a measure on a party-line vote to lower the age on consent from 16 to 14 years old.
..... That was a compromise between two bill put forward by Democrats: S1188, sponsored by state Senator Raj Mukherji and S1970, sponsored by Committee Chair Joseph Vitale, which would have permitted minors 12 and older to consent to behavioral health services.
..... The legislation must still will approval from the full Senate and Assembly, and the signature of Governor Phil Murphy, before it cam become law. Similar bills are awaiting a hearing in the Assembly.
..... Proponents argued the legislation would be a crucial step toward providing vulnerable teenage help.
..... They noted rinsing youth depression and suicide res in New Jersey and around the country, what many experts have called a mental health crisis.
..... Opponents said lowering the age of consent would undermine parental rights and lead to unintended consequences. Shawn Hylnad, director of advocacy for the New Jersey Family Policy Center, said parental involvement was critical for children in need.
..... "We strongly oppose these bills because of the well-documented evidence for teenage facing health struggles to have a successful outcome of treatment," he said. "More parental involvement is necessary. Not less."
..... The bill advanced by a 5-2 vote with Democrats Vitale and Mukherji, Tony Singleton, Renne C. Burgess and Angela V. McKnight supporting it while Republican Senator Owen Henry voted "no." Another Republican, Senator Robert W. Singer, abstained.
..... The Democrats were often interrupted by angry parents in the audience. About tow dozen of them testified of their worries that they would be cut out of their kids' lives or that children would be coerced into counseling.
..... But the hearing also featured testimony from those who said they struggled to get the mental health care they needed as minors.
..... Jordan Thomas, a former member of the Boys & Girls clubs of Hudson County, talked of a traumatic youth during which he dealt with an abusive stepfather and mother. he told the committee he tired to get counseling, only to be halted by a mother who refused to help him find support.
..... "I vividly recall the night I called the police for the first time," he said. "My stepfather;s violence unfolded before my eyes. Despite my pleas for counseling, my mother told the staff at the Boys Y Girls Club that I had nothing to be stressed about and that i did not need counseling."
..... Trinity Campbell followed him at the mic and shared a similar story. Campbell, another member of the Hudson County Boys & Girls Club, spoke of growing up with parents who were often under the influence of drugs. she sought refuge at the Boys & Girls Club but faced resistance from her parents, who insisted that what happened at home should stay within the home.
..... "I would think that with this bill, it would help children that went through the things that I went through," she said. "No child should deserve that. I'm sorry - I'm getting all teary - but no child should go through that."

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