Gov. Phil Murphy is proposing ‘unexpected and devastating’ cuts to a major South Jersey health center that treats abused children, advocates warn

A major South Jersey health center that treats children who are the victims of neglect or abuse is slated to have its funding eliminated in Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed 2026 budget, which advocates say would threaten the mental and physical well-being of young people in seven counties.

At a time when Medicaid and national public health and research programs face spending reductions under President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress, New Jersey’s Democratic governor’s proposed cuts to the Rowan-Virtua CARES Institute further jeopardize the social safety net for children and families, according to its director, Rachel Silliman Cohen.

“If Medicaid disappears along with the state budgetary appropriation, kids and families will be less well-supported, and that puts children at higher risk for harm,” said Silliman Cohen, a pediatrician with an expertise in treating child abuse.

CARES (Child Abuse Research Education and Service) is housed at Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford, Camden County. It has maintained clinics in Stratford and Vineland, Cumberland County.

CARES serves 1,500 to 2,000 children and families a year with more than 4,000 visits in Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean, and Salem Counties, Silliman Cohen said.

In the current fiscal year, $850,000 was slashed from the program. For the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, Murphy’s budget proposes removing an additional $1.85 million, a $2.7 million loss over two years that would bring the state appropriation to CARES to zero, Silliman Cohen said.

The proposed Murphy cuts constitute a 40% loss in funding, Silliman Cohen said. CARES would not lose its contract with the New Jersey Division of Children and Families, and can still count on other sources, including Rowan University.

As a result of next year’s reduced budget, about 20 CARES employees have already been laid off, 50% of the facility’s medical and mental health providers, according to Silliman Cohen.

In addition, CARE’s Vineland site will have to close in anticipation of the cuts, compelling children and their families to travel 38 miles north to Stratford, too distant for those without access to transportation, Silliman Cohen said.

“It’s unexpected and devastating to a very vulnerable segment of children,” said Diomedes Tsitouras, executive director of the American Association of University Professors−Biomedical and Health Sciences of New Jersey (AAUP-BHSNJ), which represents faculty members at Rowan and Rutgers Universities.

“It’s cruel and it’ll create havoc.”

Representatives for Murphy did not answer questions submitted by The Inquirer. The governor’s office issued a statement, which mentioned that most pandemic-related federal aid has been allocated, while “state revenues are softening.”

Therefore, “belt-tightening is still necessary to ensure that we can continue to meet the State’s vital commitments in future years. For that reason, this budget recommends eliminating most of the uncompetitive direct grant programs in last year’s budget.”

Murphy’s $58.1 billion budget plan, which includes a proposed surplus of $6.3 billion, will not be the final word on how the state’s money gets spent.

Legislators submit resolutions that could eventually replace or realign the governor’s budget priorities.

Burlington County Assembly member Carol Murphy introduced a resolution to return CARES to its original funding level soon after the governor introduced his budget in late February.

“My fight is to get that money restored,” said Murphy, a Democrat and the Assembly majority whip. “Without help, many kids will carry trauma into adulthood.”

Similarly, Democratic State Sen. John Burzichelli, whose district includes Salem County as well as parts of Cumberland and Gloucester Counties, introduced a resolution on behalf of funding CARES.

“Don’t count out CARES just yet,” he said. “We’re only partway through the budget negotiating process.” And if New Jersey loses $3.6 billion in Medicaid funding as is projected under Trump administration cuts, he added, CARES will be needed more than ever.

CARES is one of four legislatively mandated regional diagnostic and treatment centers for victims of neglect and abuse. The others are in Hackensack, Newark, and New Brunswick.

These other centers might see “doubled or tripled caseloads” if CARES is sidelined, said Debbie Riveros, executive director of New Jersey Children’s Alliance, a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding victims of child abuse.

“These cuts can have dramatic and impactful effects,” she said, adding that advocates “may have to cross over to get help from Philadelphia or somewhere.”

Ultimately, the burden of dealing with abuse victims could fall to hospital emergency rooms, where doctors and nurses may not have training to help children suffering from the trauma of abuse, Riveros said.

Silliman Cohen said her biggest worry if the current Murphy budget goes through is that instances of abuse and neglect of children might be missed.

“And if that happens, someone will remain in an unsafe environment, and we won’t even know,” she said.

CARES collaborates with various state agencies, including prosecutors’ offices, law enforcement agencies, and the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. It also trains medical students in child abuse pediatrics.

In addition, CARES provides medical and mental health interventions for patients who have experienced severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological maltreatment, neglect, commercial sexual exploitation of children (more commonly known as child sex trafficking), and other forms of trauma.

Silliman Cohen said the volume of sex trafficking is expected to heighten as New Jersey prepares to host the 2026 World Cup next June and July.

Underwriting CARES “is an investment in New Jersey’s future,” Silliman Cohen concluded. Extreme child abuse correlates directly with long-term societal costs — incarceration, chronic health issues, and generational cycles of trauma.

“Supporting CARES now prevents these devastating outcomes later.”