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Dear friends,
Let me tell you about a group of freshmen boys at Union High School.
Last year, they were skipping classes, disrespecting staff, and their parents were at their wit's end. Nothing was working. Not discipline, not redirection, not anything the school could offer on its own.
Then they joined Mental Hop, a program we run through NJ4S with Dr. Sconiers. Today, their teachers report dramatic improvements in behavior and academics. Their parents have called the school just to say thank you. Their counselor, Jill Hall, told us: "It's the best part of my day these days to see them in the hallways."
That is what prevention-forward youth mental health looks like. And Governor Sherrill's proposed FY27 budget would end it.
Let me be clear: the Governor is right that New Jersey needs more clinical mental health support in schools. We agree. Kids who are in crisis deserve fast, expert care. But the answer is not to eliminate prevention in order to pay for it. We need both. The counseling that catches kids who are already struggling, and the prevention work that keeps the next wave of kids from getting there in the first place.
Since NJ4S launched, we have served over 37,145 participants in Union County alone. The Governor's plan zeros out our funding on July 1 and replaces NJ4S with a clinical-only program. I told the New Jersey Monitor last week: how are we ever going to get out of a youth mental health crisis if all we are doing is putting out the fires?
The state budget must be signed by June 30. We have about ten weeks. Here is what I am asking of you:
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