NNews January 2025

NJAMHAA NEWS Your Voice in Behavioral Health since 1951 NJ4S and SBYSP Work in Tandem to Prevent and Address Mental Health Challenges for Youth (continued on page 4) W hile the School Based Youth Services Program (SBYSP) has been extremely effective since it was established in New Jersey schools in 1988, the increasing need for mental health and substance use prevention and treatment services prompted the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to add NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) to the continuum of programs in 2023. The goal is to “strengthen and expand the reach of school-linked services with an approach that is not bound by bricks and mortar and that holistically addresses the diverse needs of today’s students and their parents/caregivers,” as described in DCF’s concept paper for NJ4S. “SBYSP and NJ4S are different models that work in tandem together,” said Stefanie Richardson, LCSW, Director, NJ4S Burlington County, Legacy Treatment Services. SBYSP’s are located at 90 schools, and NJ4S have a farther reach throughout The Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide: Empowering Youths and Communities PAGE 11 Attitudes InReverse® Saves Lives through Innovative Educational Programs and Partnerships withDogs PAGE 17 NewHope Partners with Schools to Ensure Youth Receive SUDTreatment PAGE 2 3 January 2025 communities. “Both provide prevention and clinical services, evidence-based curriculum for prevention groups and brief clinical intervention,” she said. “For NJ4S, DCF dictates areas of the curriculum to cover: substance use prevention, sexual health and pregnancy prevention, suicide prevention, bullying prevention and others as determined by each community’s needs. Inside this Issue