State To Fund Red Bank Regional's Source Program One Year More

LITTLE SILVER, NJ — Suzanne Keller, who is the director of Red Bank Regional's Source program, said she was thrilled to hear the state has promised funding such student-support programs in the fiscal year 2024 budget.

But she remains concerned about how the longtime local program will fare as New Jersey begins to establish its Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) network.

The Red Bank Regional High School District serves students in Red Bank, Little Silver and Shrewsbury. It also pulls in students from around Monmouth County in its academy programs.

The Source program is based in the school and supports the mental health, well-being and educational success of all students, its mission statement says.

The planned state network will "integrate prevention and intervention programming for New Jersey’s 1.4 million students and their families," the Governor's office re-iterated this week.

Keller certainly sees the need for such help for all schools. Currently 86 local programs exist in the state, but New Jersey has about 584 districts to serve.

And the need for mental health support and social services support among youth everywhere in the country has been well-established, especially after the isolation of the COVID pandemic.

She just hopes that a program existing successfully in Red Bank Regional for more than 20 years can survive a statewide "one-size-fits-all" approach, she says.

Just last week, she was lobbying for continued funding for the Source. That funding has now been promised by Murphy as the state transitions to the new program - but only for a year.

"Current SBYS (School-Based Youth Services) programs will receive new contracts for July 1 with standardized reporting requirements, monitoring requirements, and program expectations," the state said Wednesday.

The move for the funding came "in response to public feedback about minimizing disruption to these students," the state said.

But the roll-out of the new NJ4S model, as it is called, is a reality and is now underway as the state puts out the call for bids for providers for the so-called "hub and spoke" program.

As Keller sees it, the success of the Source at Red Bank Regional is how it "is embedded into all the school does here."

First, the program is right at the school - not off site as will be the case in a statewide program.

Students can walk in with any concerns, be they emotional crises, family concerns or practical issues such as filling out forms for a job, Keller says.

The program is described on the district website:

"We build public and private partnerships to ensure quality services that are effective, culturally appropriate, and responsive to the diverse, changing needs of students and their communities."

It provides "comprehensive counseling services, prevention programming, advocacy, academic support, employment services, family engagement, basic need fulfillment, free public education and forums, and collaboration with community partners," the district explains.

During the 23 years the program has existed here, "we have built trusting relationships," Keller said.

By being right at the school, students can attend to their needs and get right back to class, Keller said, adding that pursuing the best academics for students is the overall goal.

And the program interacts and coordinates with other social service agencies in Red Bank, such as the Lunch Break social services organization.

Many times the economic worries a family has can impact the student, and the Source can be a way to work out such family issues such as hunger, Keller notes.

There is student and community support for the program too, and the district website links to a petition to "Save The Source."

The Source receives $277,000 from the state and the district provides another $200,000, Keller said. Then there is fundraising and there are grants to supplement the program.

She said the new state plan will set up 15 "vicinages," as they are called. Monmouth County will be one.

"How can one hub meet the needs of all the students in the county," Keller asked. "How can you replace trusted relationships?"

One concept Keller thinks the state should consider is replicating the school-based models, rather than applying a new, more generalized structure to such programs.

But right now, she said she is happy that funding is continued for the program for another year.

But the uncertain future affects getting grant funding, for example.

As good as it is to have this lifeline of a year, the situation still "makes it difficult to do our job," Keller said.