S 3862 —

S3862 1R FISCAL ESTIMATE   LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE [First Reprint] SENATE, No.

3862 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 221st LEGISLATURE   INTRODUCEDDATED: NOVEMBER 18, 2024     Sponsored by:

Senator JANUARY KRISTIN15, M.    SUMMARY   Synopsis:

CORRADORequires DistrictDCF 40to (Bergen,expand Essexservices andprovided Passaic)by Senator NJ CARMENStatewide F.Student Support Services program to include eating disorder services.

AMATO,Type JR.of Impact:

DistrictPotential 9annual (Ocean)State  expenditure Co-Sponsoredincrease by:from the General Fund.

SenatorsAgencies McKnight,Affected: Timberlake and Turner         SYNOPSIS      Requires DCF to expand services provided by NJ Statewide Student Support Services program to include eating disorder services.

 Department CURRENTof VERSIONChildren OF TEXT      As reported by the Senate Budget and AppropriationsFamilies. Committee on January 8, 2026, with amendments.

    An  ActOffice concerningof StatewideLegislative studentServices supportEstimate servicesFiscal andImpact supplementingAnnual Title  30Potential State Expenditure Increase Indeterminate         ·       The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that this bill may increase State costs by an indeterminate amount due to the Revisedprovision Statutes.of eating disorder awareness, prevention, and counseling services under the NJ Statewide Student Support Services program, to the extent that such services are not currently provided under the program.

 These     services Befall Itunder Enactedthe byscope of the Senateprogram’s andcurrent Generalmission Assemblyto provide mental health services to New Jersey youth.  ·       The OLS assumes that any costs for a program hub to assess the need for eating disorder related services within the hub’s vicinage, as required under the bill, would be incorporated into the hub’s existing operating budget.  This task largely aligns with each hub’s current responsibility of responding to the Stateneeds of Newthe Jersey:hub’s community.

       BILL 1. DESCRIPTION a.   Notwithstanding      anyThis law,bill rule,authorizes or regulation to the contrary, the Department of Children and Families shall be authorized to 1) expand the services provided by the NJ Statewide Student Support Services program to include eating disorder awareness, prevention, and counseling services,services; and to require a regional hub contracted with the department to administer the NJ Statewide Student Support Services program 1[to conduct] , when conducting1 a community-based needs assessment of the available services 1pursuant to subsection b.

ofand this2) section,require a regional hub, contracted with the department to reviewadminister andthe assessNJ Statewide Student Support Services program, to assess, in consultation with the informationhub’s andAdvisory services1Group, the needs of the hub’s community for services relating to the treatment and prevention of eating disorders 1[pursuantand to subsectiondetermine b.whether the students in the community, grades K through 12, are receiving such services.  Based on the results of the assessment, the regional hub is to develop and adopt policies and procedures, as outlined in the bill, to provide students in grades K-12 with eating disorder awareness, prevention, and counseling services, as appropriate, according to the tiered services administered by the hub.

of      thisThe section]1.NJ Statewide Student Support Services program delivers prevention and mental health services to youth across the State.  The program is administer by 15 regional hubs who are contracted with the department to receive service requests from, and provide linkages to community-based support services and programming to, students in grades K through 12 and their families.

      b.   InFISCAL consultationANALYSIS with  itsEXECUTIVE AdvisoryBRANCH Group,  a      regionalNone hubreceived. shall assess the needs of the community it serves for services relating to the treatment and prevention of eating disorders, including eating disorder awareness, prevention, and counseling services, determine whether the students in the community, grades K through 12, are receiving such services, and based on the results of the assessment, develop and adopt policies and procedures to provide students in grades K-12 with eating disorder awareness, prevention, and 1referral to1 counseling services 1and treatment1, as appropriate.

      c. OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES         The policiesOLS andconcludes proceduresthat developedthis bill may increase State costs by an indeterminate amount due to the provision of eating disorder awareness, prevention, and adoptedcounseling pursuantservices under the NJ Statewide Student Support Services program, to subsectionthe b.extent that such services are not currently provided under the program.  These services fall under the scope of the program’s current mission to provide mental health services to New Jersey youth.  The OLS assumes that any costs for a program hub to assess the need for eating disorder related services within the hub’s vicinage, as required under the bill, would be incorporated into the hub’s existing operating budget.  This task largely aligns with each hub’s current responsibility of responding to the needs of the hub’s community.

of      thisThe sectionNJ shallStatewide include,Student atSupport Services program is operated under a minimum:tiered service system:

    tier (1)1 guidelinesare foruniversal theprevention provisionservices; of eating disorder awareness, prevention, and counseling services according to the tiered services administered by each regional hub;

andtier     2 (2)are protocolstargeted forgroup assigning the mental health clinicians, prevention specialists,services; or other service providers who will be responsible for providing eating disorder awareness, prevention, and counseling services to students in grades K through 12, as appropriate.

    and d. tier 3 are targeted individual mental health services.  Only tier 1 services are available for public view.  As usedof inMarch this22, section:2025, no tier 1 services are directly related to eating disorders;

    however, “Regionalcertain hub”services meansfocus oneon ofself-image, thebody-image, 15 hubs operated by service providers contracted with the Department of Children and Familiesnutrition toeducation. provide and administer social, emotional, youth mental health, and prevention services, and referrals to community-based supports and services, provided through the department’s NJ Statewide Student Support Services program to students in grades k-12 and their families.

     In “Tieredaddition services”to meanstiered targetedservices, serviceseach offeredhub throughis thestaffed three-tieredwith systema usedlimited bynumber theof NJprevention Statewidespecialists Studentand Supportlicensed Servicesclinicians programwho incan thebe Departmentmobilized of Children and Families to providedeliver social,services emotional,locally, youthwhen mental health, and preventionwhere services,they andare referralsneeded, toboth community-basedin supportsschool and servicescommunity tosettings.  studentsEach inhub gradesalso K-12has a director and theirsupport families.staff.

Tier      1The services areeach comprisedhub ofprovides on-demandare universalbased supports,upon includingthe butexisting notneeds limitedof to,the in-personcommunity, oras virtualdetermined workshopsthrough andcollaborating schoolwith assembliesa forhub-specific students,Advisory onlineGroup seminarscomprised andof tutorialsstudents, forparents, parentscaregivers, and appropriate school staff,personnel, andsocial social-emotionalservice learningagencies, curricula. businesses, Tierfaith-based 2organizations, servicesand areother comprisedcommunity of targeted small-group interventions and preventioncivic supports,leaders.  including,Under butthe notcontract limitedwith to,the workshops,Department extracurricularof activities,Children and mentorshipFamilies, programs. hubs Tier 3 services are comprisedto ofsolicit assessmentinput andfrom briefthe individualizedAdvisory clinicalGroup interventionson forexisting youthcommunity inresources distress in order to stabilizedetermine the youth’sfocus, mentaldesign, healthand ordelivery addressof anhub immediateprograms, problem,supports, and connectservices. the youth and their family to community-based providers to support the youth’s ongoing mental health needs.

           For 2. reference, in FY 2025, the NJ Statewide Student Support Services program was supported by a $43 million appropriation from the General Fund.  The DepartmentFY of2026 ChildrenAppropriations andAct Familiesmaintained shallthis adoptlevel rulesof andfunding regulations,for inthe accordancecurrent fiscal year, with $8.4 million from the “AdministrativeGeneral ProcedureFund Act,”and P.L.1968,$34.6 c.410million (C.52:14B-1from etthe seq.),Cannabis toRegulatory, effectuateEnforcement theAssistance, purposesand ofMarketplace thisModernization act.Fund.

 Section:      3.  This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment, except that the Commissioner of Children and Families may take anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

Human Services Analyst:

Sarah Schmidt Principal Research Analyst Approved:

Thomas Koenig Legislative Budget and Finance Officer     This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

  This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).