Schools Could Lose Mental Health Center Funding In South Brunswick

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — As New Jersey is set to overhaul its student mental health system, South Brunswick Schools is among 62 school districts that face closure of mental health programming.

Superintendent Scott Feder informed the community about the possible impact on student mental health services, including the BRIDGE program, in a letter to the community on Monday.

In the 2023-24 academic year, the state is seeking to create regional “hubs” of mental health services. As a result, the school-based youth services program will be defunded. The regionalized “hub” model will be operated by the state Department of Children and Families.

The model will be called the New Jersey Statewide Student Support Services network, or NJ4S.

According to the Murphy administration, the new network will have a wider reach and offer standardized care for more students, concentrating resources in districts that need them the most.

But critics say the “hubs” are not expected to provide immediate access to mental health and prevention services, that has existed in schools for the past 35 years.

Feder said the school district got to know of the decision on Sept. 29.

“Without getting into all of the specifics, the DCF and DOE ambushed districts at the above meeting announcing a complete overhaul to the funding that would strip South Brunswick of its support for school-based youth services that currently funds our BRIDGE program and direct partnership with Rutgers Behavioral Health,” Feder said.

While reform to the state’s student mental health system is needed, the state’s plan takes away funding from South Brunswick, Feder said. South Brunswick is set to lose over $550,000 in aid which could result in the closure of the critical mental health programming, including the BRIDGE program in the high school and middle school, Feder said.

South Brunswick runs one of the largest school programs in the state.

“The plan is ill-conceived, lacks detail and most importantly is being based on misused and faulty data. For example, the survey they used to justify some of their decision making has already been denounced by its own author as non-scientific and was not designed or intended for the purpose that the DCF and DOE have elected to use it,” the Superintendent said.

The state’s move to defund school-based programs goes against best practices in how to support student mental health needs, district officials said.

South Brunswick School District has teamed up with Save Our Schools NJ and other state organizations to tackle the issue.

“Please know that we are not sitting idle. Rather, we have engaged with the Governor’s office and will be testifying against these changes,” Feder said.

A change.org petition is urging the state to give students “the priority they deserve” by saving the School Based Youth Services Programs.

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