NNews April 2024

26 April 2024 Within the past year, NJAMHAA welcomed Children’s Aid & Family Services (CAFS), Cape Assist and Prevention Links/New Jersey Coalition for Addiction Recovery Support (NJ-CARS) to its membership. Collectively, these agencies offer an extensive array of services to a variety of populations, adding to the broad continuum of provider organizations that NJAMHAA represents. Three New Members Add to NJAMHAA’s Collective Continuum of Service Providers ShavondaSumter: There are somany vulnerable populations—vulnerable children and adults, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities —and the service needs are so great, so our wait list for services is extensive and it’s growing. It can appear daunting at times. So, I’ve been focused on partnerships because we can’t be all things to all people. Recruiting and finding talent is a challenge. It’s passion work. NJAMHAANews: Please share how your experience as a legislator and your previous and current roles in different behavioral healthcare organizations have contributed to your perspectives and impact in each of these positions. ShavondaSumter: Understanding policy is critical. My 30+-year career always had elements of policy and regulation. Understanding the needs of people and bringing that to the forefront as far as resources — it brings it all together as a legislator and in the behavioral healthcare space. Families are at their wit’s end trying to navigate the ecosystem. I remember my first enormous act at CAFS was to sign adoption papers for a newborn. We found adoptive parents and kept the child safe. It was seamless. I saw this in real time. You experience the benefits of policy in this field with a connection to individuals. I knowfirsthand the value and the gravity of the need for School Based Youth Services Programs to be available when coming out of the pandemic. We stayed in this battle. CAFS is the lead agency for NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) in Bergen County. NJ4S is about prevention, strengthening parents and building effective habits in teens. We’re using evidence-based programs to teach coping skills because the mental healthcare system can’t handle the explosion of teens. We can’t medicate Children’s Aid & Family Services NJAMHAANews: What inspired you tomake the career change to CAFS? ShavondaE. Sumter,MBA,President andCEOof CAFS , State AssemblywomanandN.J. LegislativeBlackCaucus Chair It’s a complete circle for me. Bob Jones, former long- standing President and CEO, has been a friend since 2015. We met through my role in the State Legislature and we stayed in touch during the pandemic. After leaving Mountainside Hospital and spending my time during the pandemic working with private psychiatrists to set up telehealth, Bob calledme in late 2021. I expected a discussion about policy and advocacy, but he asked me to apply for the CAFS President/CEO position and I started this role in May 2022. It’s humbling to be known for my compassion for vulnerable populations for whom CAFS has been caring for 125 years . It really is all of my passions in one place—a culmination of my life’s work, which is calming. NJAMHAANews: What different rewards and challenges are you experiencing at CAFS compared toMountainside Hospital?’