NJP&A Brisbane Report News Conference 5/18
Introduction by NJP&A spokesperson:
Good morning and thank you all for attending today. NJP&A is today releasing a report it has sponsored on the care and treatment adolescents are receiving at the Arthur Brisbane Child Treatment Center in Farmingdale New Jersey. The report is the fruit of a year long study conducted for NJP&A by Nancy Feldman. It provides an in-depth historical and systemic examination of the institution's role in the system of mental health services for children and adolescents.
It is probably important to acknowledge here that mental health services for children and adolescents in New Jersey have been historically cyclical.
In the late seventies amidst growing concerns over the care and treatment of adolescents and children then housed in childrens' units in each of the State's psychiatric hospitals, the State developed a plan calling for the creation of Children's Crisis Intervention Services (CCIS) units as an alternative to inpatient care. Trenton Psychiatric Hospital had an adolescent unit that was used for extended inpatient care and Brisbane was designated for the treatment of younger children.
That cycle broke down though in the mid 80's. Following the death of an adolescent patient at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, the Public Advocate filed a lawsuit to address overcrowded and dangerous conditions at the Trenton unit. That litigation led to a new plan to regionalize psychiatric programs for adolescents and children. It designated Brisbane as the "Statewide Backup Unit" for mentally ill adolescents, began the Youth Incentives Program, and expanded the CCIS units.
Families and advocates throughout the State now recognize that another cycle is beginning. In January of last year, seventeen year old Kelly Young, a patient at Brisbane, died following an incident during which she was physically restrained by a staff member. Kelly Young's death is not an isolated incident. Many critical and long-standing issues at Brisbane are detailed in the report.
Now is the time, and the details of the report support the fact that there is a critical need to examine the role of Brisbane in the system of children's mental health services in New Jersey.
Introductions and brief bios of panelists Mitchell, Feldman and J. Young.
Also joining us today are Kelsie and Barbara Young. Kelsie and Barbara are Kelly's parents. They are here to read a prepared statement on the occasion of the release of the report. They would like to read it at the conclusion of the conference.
News conference opening statement of Sarah Mitchell, NJP&A Executive Dir.
The context for today's conference is the beginning of another cycle in the planning of mental health services for children and adolescents in New Jersey. The Governor recently announced the development of a Children's Mental Health System of Care Initiative, through which she intends to reform the State's system for dealing with children with serious emotional disturbance.
Any proposal promising reform is certainly welcome, but we are concerned that it does not address the long standing problems of Brisbane, or the role Brisbane plays in the children's mental health system. This report points out the critical need to do that.
Chronic documented problems at Brisbane include the over-reliance on physical restraint instead of verbal de-escalation techniques; injuries resulting from the pervasive pattern of rough treatment of patients during restraints; lack of proper staffing and supervision in the living units; verbal harassment of patients leading to patient acting-out; and the often callous, impersonal attitude of some staff members toward patients.
Nancy's report also details the fact that a high proportion of patients at Brisbane should not be there at all. They have a commitment status called CEPP, Conditional Extension Pending Placement. In short, there is no placement available for them. The CEPP status was originally formulated for elderly mentally ill patients who had spent almost their entire adult lives in state institutions. For those patients it was reasonable to spend some additional time in the institution until a placement could be found. On any given day, however, more than half of the Brisbane population should not be there.
Despite all this, and in spite of a shrinking number of patients who are committed to the hospital, the State is steadfast in its commitment to Brisbane, and spends over 10 million dollars annually on the care and treatment Brisbane provides to adolescents.
Frankly, we are perplexed at this posture. Only if the State addresses the profound gaps in children's mental health services that Brisbane serves to mask or cover will these adolescents have hope for the future. On a more immediate note, we are deeply concerned that the needs of Brisbane's adolescent patients, especially their need to be quickly re-integrated into less restrictive environments is being ignored by the State.
News conference opening statement of Nancy Feldman, J.D., Brisbane Report author:
Firstly, I'd like to thank New Jersey Protection and Advocacy, Inc. for the opportunity to do the Brisbane Project that led to the report. I was privileged to have been able to work on the Project, and to work with families and advocates who are so committed to the kids and the services they are getting.
The first thing that struck me as I began work on the study was how much information there already was about Brisbane. So much had been known about what was wrong there.
I was also struck by large percentage of kids not needing to be there, because there had been a legal determination that they did not meet the standard for civil commitment, but stayed at Brisbane because they had nowhere to go, no appropriate services were available.
These things together led me to see that Brisbane is being used by the system as a place to wait. But in Brisbane's case, that waiting means unnecessary prolonged institutionalization, and we know that can be devastating for children and adolescents.
Even CEO Raymond Grimaldi acknowledged that the wait for placement exacerbates the kids feelings of neglect and abandonment and often leads to the deterioration of their mental health.
New Jersey is failing its hardest-to-place adolescents by not providing appropriate residential placement options for them and getting them out of Brisbane. As long as Brisbane continues in its role as a "place to wait," the futures of the waiting adolescents are imperiled.
Kelly Young's Parents
In January of last year, seventeen year old Kelly Young, a patient at Brisbane, died following an incident during which she was physically restrained by a staff member. Kelly's parents, Barbara and Kelsie Young, attended the news conference to read a prepared statement on the occasion of the release of the Brisbane Report.
Statement of Mr. Kelsie Young:
On behalf of my family, we stand before you today, not as angry parents, but as advocates of mental health reform.
In recent months there have been several outstanding news reports, such as "Deadly Restraint" by the Hartford Courant and "Unsafe Haven" on 60 minutes II, which graphically depict the horrors of our nation's mental health facilities.
The Brisbane Report offers insight to one of our State's own centers, that deals with children and adolescents. We know many parents feel, "this could never happen to my child." We also felt this way because we loved and protected our children. Just as many parents before us and many parents since have discovered, it does happen!
We were told early on that mental health was not an exact science. But we need to protect our children while this science is perfected.
Recently, legislation restricting the use of physical, mechanical and chemical restrains was sponsored by Rep. Diane Degette of Colorado. We applaud her courage and leadership, and challenge New Jersey Representatives to step up to the plate in support of this important legislation.
To Governor Whitman, who during one of her reelection campaign ads, stood before us with her son and daughter, leaving us with the indelible impression of a woman with high family values, we say, Mrs. Whitman, these children are not your family, but they are someone's. Just as you would fight to protect your family, you have an obligation to protect ours.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank NJP&A for their diligence in preparing this report, in an effort to protect our State's disabled. And we pray that it was not in vain.