The Implications of the End of Daytop
It’s not hard to find evidence that overdose deaths are rising since the pandemic began. It can be a mere coincidence, or as some say, it can be attributed to the lockdown and apprehension about an uncertain future.
No matter how you analyze things, it seems counterproductive – even bizarre – to close drug treatment centers.
But that’s what happened a short while ago to the adolescent treatment center at Daytop Mendham.
For years, Daytop was not only a respected treatment facility in northwest New Jersey, it was warmly embraced and supported by a variety of influential public officials.
Prominent on that list have been Chris Christie, who lives nearby, and John Sette, the long time chair of the Morris County Republican Committee.
Ironically, the first signs of trouble date back to the Christie Administration. In what seems to be the law of unintended consequences, the state in 2014 moved management of adolescent treatment centers like Daytop from the state Human Services Department to the Department of Children & Families.
That brought care for adolescents under one umbrella but that’s only part of the story.
Daytop also had to deal with changing philosophy.
Under the Murphy Administration, the thinking has been to remove young people from the criminal justice system, which in many ways can be a positive thing. Yet on the other hand, that can make it harder for youth to be identified as in need of substance abuse services. Moreover, current state thinking is that adolescents are better off receiving treatment in their homes.
Critics scoff at this reasoning, noting that “at home” likely is where an adolescent’s problems began.
No matter, the result was that Daytop was getting fewer referrals and eventually had to shut the Mendham facility. Daytop still operates outpatient facilities and adult treatment centers around the state, but in many ways, Daytop Mendham was the focal point of its program.
James P. Curtin, the Daytop CEO, was hopeful back in February that the center had enough political juice to ward off closure.
At the time, he diplomatically acknowledged that Gov. Phil Murphy didn’t create the situation that led to declining clients, but that only he could solve it.
There were even plans for Curtin and other Daytop supporters to make their case at Legislative hearings.
But then the pandemic arrived and pushed all other issues aside.
Respected ?? Haha have you been ? How many nights did you spend with fear of sexual assault not to wake up spend a whole day thinking your ok it won’t happen again but that night your door creaks open ??! How many of these articles praising Daytop must we read as ex residents blackmailed with our addictions to keep quiet ! Daytop was a joke it did more to destroy the minds of those who went then it ever did to rebuild a single one of them. I’ve lost count of the brothers and sisters I’ve lost but i do t forget the names of the sexual assailants. Sahib Brown, Ray , Billy Simone. The others you know who you are !
I am horrified to read this article and learn of sexual abuse alleged at that facility. I feel compelled to speak out as one of Connecticut’s Daytop graduates who has been a success, remaining clean and sober since leaving the program in 1992. Daytop saved my life. Let’s face it, the odds of relapse are over 80%, ,
Speaking on the Mendham location as published on this website, they had a school connected to the facility and it was the worst school to ever graduate from. I was a senior and only needed 2 months to finish my diploma and the school work was 5th grade work. Now I cannot further my education because they have no records on file and I’ve been feeling so much emotional stress, my life has taken a big negative turn. In the behavior and substance abuse program I did not feel that I got the care I needed and had many bad experiences for instance I was an underage female and a male that was also enrolled in the program attacked me. I was passing out meds and when I approached a girl to take her meds, she also attacked me. I did not feel I got the counseling I needed, if anything felt ignored by my counselor and staff. I can only recall 2 directors of the facility that helped me stay positive during my stay which only spoke to me in total between both of them 5 times throughout my yearly stay. I’m not surprised to here about the sexual assualts, which I feel deep sympathy for the victims. The male attendees in the program always spoke how they would wrestle with the staff at night and they allowed them to fight. I heard many bad stories, in which i’m still experiencing one till this day. If their refferals were declining, it’s safe to assume they were not fixing any problems rather than squandering money and not spending the necessary time to care for the youth in which they did more harm then helped. Congratulations to those who got the best of Daytop because I am so distraught!
I was one of the first way of kids to enter Mendham back in 1992 and it is the very reason why I am still alive today. Every day of my life I still apply the philosophy and tools and although it wasn’t an easy experience, I am definitely grateful for everything that it taught me. Shoutout to Noel, Teddy, Joe Hennon, and a few other legends who helped us grow.