The New Jersey Department of Children and Families has launched a statewide, innovative hub-and-spoke model of services and resources to support youth mental wellness. The new model, the NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) network, creates 15 regional hubs that provide prevention and brief intervention services to New Jersey public school students, parents/caretakers, and school faculty.

The hubs, staffed by a director, support staff, prevention specialists and licensed clinicians, will be mobilized to deliver services locally, when and where they are needed, both in school and community settings. Most importantly the hub staff will have the ability to connect students and their parents/caregivers with other community resources beneficial to social, emotional, and mental health and well-being, including clinical and non-clinical resources.

NJ4S is a prevention program and is not designed to address severe mental health concerns or crisis situations.