Bedford Central: Inaction on mental health partnership spurs outcry

By JEFF MORRIS

The Bedford Central Board of Education’s failure to authorize a previously approved partnership with Northwell Behavioral Health Center has led to criticism and controversy within the community.

The board voted 3-2 on Oct. 8 in favor of authorizing Superintendent Robert Glass to sign an agreement with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES that would make BCSD a partner in the Northwell clinic in Mount Kisco. However, with two board members abstaining, the “yes” votes failed to reach the four needed to achieve a majority, which meant it did not pass.

Though the agreement had been discussed as part of the budget that was approved by voters in May, with $65,000 earmarked for it through BOCES — which made it eligible for the remainder to be subsidized by state aid later — board scrutiny of the contract made several members uncomfortable with what they saw as potential risk of litigation.

However, information shared at the Oct. 8 meeting suggested that even without the partnership, BCSD students were still eligible to receive Northwell services — and that, in fact, some 50 district students had already done so. That was cited as a key factor by some board members as to why signing the contract was not urgent, even in the face of what everyone agreed was a burgeoning mental health crisis.

Critics of the board’s decision contend that while there were references made to a Q&A document that was provided by Northwell the morning of the meeting, that document was not made available to the public. And, they say, the assertions about mental health services being available to all are, at best, misleading, and at worst, simply untrue.

Some of the confusion may stem from there being two distinct Northwell behavioral health practices located in the same building at 657 East Main St., Mount Kisco. In an Oct. 15 press release, Northwell stated the practices, operational since July 1, offered complementary services: one for long-term outpatient care and the other for short-term care and referrals.

The Recorder reached out to Vera Feuer, M.D., medical director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Northwell Health. She leads all five sites that support the Northwell School Mental Health Partnership, including in Mount Kisco. (The others are on Long Island.) She was asked what services are, or are not, available to all students whether or not their school district enters into a partnership.

“Students in nonpartnering districts still have access to our Northwell Health Physician Partners outpatient practice, which operates like any other medical practice,” Feuer wrote back. “Those services include ongoing care, like individual and group therapy and medication management for a wide range of behavioral health conditions such as anxiety, ADHD, trauma, depression, OCD and mood disorders.”

She noted the service is subject to availability, “and while we are hoping to minimize wait times, we will likely have lag times (like most practices).”

On the other hand, said Feuer, “Students and staff in partnering districts have access to the Behavioral Health Center and benefit from an added layer of integrated support, consultation and prevention, starting with crisis (within 24 hours) and routine (within a week) assessments and care navigation for students needing mental health evaluations and support.” She added that partner districts also receive comprehensive programming, including community education and support groups for parents; health education and advocacy program for students; and robust professional development for school staff.

“This level of integrated, systemic support and education coupled with crisis and rapid access and care navigation is what is uniquely available to our partnering school communities,” Feuer said.

Asked whether these services are available at different levels, and/or reductions in insurance coverage, depending on a district’s status, Feuer replied, “For both practices, we accept all major insurance plans. The decision to accept all major insurance plans for all patients is made possible by Northwell’s significant philanthropic efforts.”

Additionally, she said, “due to the financial contributions from our partnering school districts through BOCES we are able to serve uninsured or underinsured students at the school BHC and support families to navigate obtaining insurance for their children if needed.” 

A point made at the Oct. 8 school board meeting by trustee Lisa Mitchell, who voted for the contract, was that “40% of our kids are economically disadvantaged; that’s almost half of our students who very well may not have access to insurance, or have the mechanisms to navigate how they can be insured despite their economic circumstances.”

Feuer said the school partnership program is designed to expand the safety net for children and families. “By building strong partnerships with schools through BOCES, we can provide a much deeper, more integrated, and preventive approach to mental health, helping not just the individual child in crisis, but strengthening the entire school community.”

The Oct. 15 Northwell press release made the point that nationally, one in five young people experience a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder, “with suicide rates for school-aged children more than doubling since 2000.”

“The need far outstrips available resources, leading many families to seek care in emergency departments, which can be crowded and frightening for children already in distress and often don’t have the resources to make sure families get essential follow-up care,” the release stated. “The alternative is often prohibitive waitlists stretching four to six months for essential services, leaving too many children and families without timely, appropriate support.”

Northwell specifically made the point that the BHC “delivers crucial short-term care, including same-day or next day crisis assessments, therapy and care navigation for students living within school districts participating in the Northwell School Mental Health Partnership. Students only need to reside in a partnering school district, not necessarily attend public school, to be eligible.” It said the BHC offers “a compassionate alternative to emergency departments.”

When asked whether students experiencing a mental health crisis who reside in nonpartnering districts can obtain immediate care at the Behavioral Health Center, or would need to either wait for an appointment at the Physician Partners practice or go to the hospital emergency room, a Northwell spokesperson said the latter two would be the only options.