Department of Children and Families Publishes Annual Program Report on NJ4S Services
On April 15, 2025, the Department of Children and Families published the Annual Program Report on NJ4S Services for the 2023- 2024 school year.
Executive Summary: SCHOOL YEAR 2023-2024
What is NJ4S? To address growing concerns about youth mental health and wellness, DCF launched an innovative new program, the NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) Network in September 2023. NJ4S features a “Hub and Spoke” Model, in which 15 regional Hubs throughout the state provide specialized prevention and brief intervention services to meet the needs of students, parents/caregivers and educators in school and community locations. Services are delivered in tiers and cover topics such as mental health and wellness, life skills, substance use prevention, and bullying.
Youth in the United States are facing unprecedented mental health challenges. In 2023, 40% of U.S. high school students reported feeling consistently sad or hopeless, up from 30% in 2013. Additionally, one in five students seriously considered attempting suicide. - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2024
276,118 Total participants were served.
- Tier 1 Universal Supports: 239,702 students, caregivers and staff served
- Tier 2 Small Group Programming: 15,352 students, caregivers and staff served
- Tier 3 Brief Clinical Intervention: 1,120 students and caregivers served
What we learned after one year of implementation:
- 34% of eligible school districts received NJ4S services in the first year of implementation.
- 292 schools received Tier 2 or Tier 3 services through NJ4S. 45% of all schools who received services were considered high need.
- 277 Tier 2 interventions were delivered to students, staff and parents; 65% were evidence-based.
The top Tier 2 program topics requested by schools were:
- mental health (30%)
- social connections (13%)
- substance use prevention (12%)
- anti-bullying and violence prevention (9%)
- classroom management (7%)
Questions? For more information, contact: Sanford Starr, MSW Assistant Commissioner Division of Family and Community Partnerships [email protected] Jennifer Hourin, PhD Lead Evaluator Office of Applied Research & Evaluation [email protected]
