ASSEMBLY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND WOMEN'S AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4984

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 20, 2025

      The Assembly Community Development and Women's Affairs Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4984.

      As amended and reported, this bill authorizes the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to expand the services provided by the NJ Statewide Student Support Services program to include eating disorder awareness, prevention, and counseling services.

      Under the provisions of the bill, the DCF would be authorized to require a regional hub contracted with the DCF to administer the NJ Statewide Student Support Services program in the hub’s vicinage, when conducting a community-based needs assessment of the available services relating to the treatment and prevention of eating disorders to review and assess the information and services relating to such treatment and prevention.

      The assessment, which will be conducted in consultation with the hub’s Advisory Group, is to evaluate the needs of a community for services relating to the treatment and prevention of eating disorders and to determine 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.

      As defined in the bill: a “regional hub” means one of the 15 hubs operated by service providers contracted with the DCF to organize and administer social, emotional, youth mental health, and prevention services provided through the NJ Statewide Student Support Services program to students in grades K-12 and their families, and “tiered services” means targeted services offered through the three-tiered system used by the program to provide social, emotional, youth mental health, and prevention services, and referrals to community-based supports and services to students in grades K-12 and their families.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to authorize DCF to require regional hubs contracted with the DCF, when conducting a community-based needs assessment of the available services of the NJ Statewide Support Services program, to review and assess the information and services relating to the treatment and prevention of eating disorders.