Advocacy E-news August 17, 2020
August 17, 2020
NEW JERSEYANS NEED MORE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN THIS TIME OF COVID-19
As families and school districts finalize their back to school plans and parents and employers work on re-opening offices and field operations, the stress, anxiety, depression and other impacts of COVID-19 on both children and adults are soaring. In the face of such critical need, New Jersey must sustain funding for these services. In fact, increased funding is needed to expand capacity and to cover extraordinary expenses incurred to implement safety guidelines during the pandemic.
COVID-19 INFECTION RATES AT PSYCHIATRIC FACILITIES STABILIZING
State psychiatric facilities are reporting no resident of the Ann Klein Forensic Center nor of the Graystone Park Psychiatric Hospital has tested positive in 60 days. No new positive cases have been reported among Ancora Psychiatric Hospital residents in 25 days, and none in 16 days at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital.
YOUNG ADULTS REPORT RISING LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN PANDEMIC
A new C.D.C. survey indicates that young people, as well as Blacks and Latinos of all ages, are showing signs of deteriorating mental health and some are resorting to substance abuse. In the online survey completed by some 5,400 people in late June, the prevalence of anxiety symptoms was three times as high as those reported in the second quarter of 2019, and depression was four times as high.
N.J. TAX COLLECTIONS IMPROVE AS MURPHY READIES HIS BUDGET PROPOSAL
New Jersey tax collections for the first 13 months of the new 15-month fiscal year are less than 1% below the same period a year ago despite the economic and health crisis that’s gripped the state. State Sen. Steven Oroho, R-Sussex, said in a statement Friday the latest numbers are proof the governor’s warnings about catastrophic layoffs of public workers aren’t materializing and that borrowing is unnecessary.
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