skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, February 17, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

At Least 11 Dead After Severe Flooding Sweeps The South; Hundreds Of Thousands Without Power; Abandoned Mine Land program frozen as Appalachia faces severe flooding; Solar power gives MN resort new blood, new life.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Top Trump officials set to meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia over the Ukraine war. The GOP budget resolution is at risk as moderates weigh out consequences. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he's "going nowhere."

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural America struggles with opioids and homelessness in unexpected ways, Colorado's Lariat Ditch could help spur local recreation, and book deliveries revive rural communities hit by Hurricane Helene.

NJ spending on student mental health is up, challenges remain

play audio
Play

Wednesday, January 22, 2025   

While New Jersey has made gains in K-through-12 mental health support, advocates said the state needs to do more.

In recent years New Jersey has passed legislation and seen a mix of state and federal grants awarded to help expand access to school based mental health services. In December, Montclair State University was awarded a federal grant to recruit and train school psychologists. Last fall, Rutgers University announced a similar grant aimed at increasing the number of highly trained school counselors.

Angela Kimball, chief advocacy officer for the mental health advocacy organization Inseparable, said for many people accessing mental health services can seem intimidating.

"When we offer mental health services in schools, it serves to actually normalize the idea of getting support for your mental health," Kimball explained. "That really reduces stigma, and it reduces other barriers to people getting the kind of support they need to thrive. "

The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 counselors per student. New Jersey has improved its ratio from 2019 when it was near 350 counselors per student. In 2024, the number was just under 300 to one.

The state is currently in the second year of the New Jersey Statewide Student Support Services network, which offers support to all students in the state through 15 regional hubs. The hubs are staffed by prevention specialists and licensed clinicians, and can deliver services in schools, other community settings and virtually.

The hubs offer three tiers of services ranging from workshops in tier one, to prevention services in tier two for groups of at-risk students and individualized intervention services in tier three. The program was intended to replace existing school-based services in place since the 1980s at 90 schools throughout the state. The school-based programs were preserved after some pushback and Kimball noted research points to benefits for keeping services in schools.

"Research is showing that youth who get school-based services are six times more likely to complete a full course of treatment than with community-based treatment," Kimball reported.

Last year, the New Jersey Department of Education found 13% of 12-17-year-olds in the state reported at least one major depressive episode in the past year, with 8% reporting a severe episode.

Disclosure: Inseparable contributes to our fund for reporting on Criminal Justice, Health Issues, Mental Health, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Data from Penn Medicine finds as of January 2024, more than 30,000 people in the U.S. have received CAR T-cell therapy since it was approved for use in 2017. (Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Some New York doctors are working on new ways to treat advanced cancers. Chimeric Antigen Receptor, or CAR, T-cell therapy treats certain blood …


Health and Wellness

play sound

The incidence of drug overdose is decreasing in Indiana and one reason could be the efforts of an organization offering free training to anyone willin…

Social Issues

play sound

By Kim Kobersmith for The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Brett Peveto for South Carolina News Service for the Daily Yonder-Public News Service Coll…


More than 48% of Wyoming is public land, owned and managed by the federal government on behalf of U.S. residents. Several state bills this session were written to try to decrease the percentage. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Wyoming is one of several Western states where some lawmakers arguing states should have more control of the federally managed public lands within the…

Environment

play sound

By S.E. Smith for Yes! Magazine.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Yes! Magazine-Public News Service …

A home burns in a Los Angeles neighborhood during recent wind-driven wildfires spreading throughout several Southern California communities. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Amy McDermott for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for for California News Service reporting…

Social Issues

play sound

February is Library Lovers Month - and libraries across the Commonwealth are encouraging their long-time and new patrons to celebrate. Lisa Varga…

Social Issues

play sound

According to the Immigration Policy Tracking Project, the Trump administration has taken 130 actions on immigration so far this term. Groups in …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021