New Jersey Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) Collaboration

The New Jersey Department of Children and Families launched a new statewide school-based prevention program in 2023, the NJ Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) network.  With the goal of supporting youth mental wellbeing, 15 regional hubs were created across the state. The regional hubs employ a cohort of prevention specialists who deliver evidence-based programs and connect students to professional care as needed and to support in the community.

Five of the regional hubs have subcontracted with Partnership to End Addiction to provide professional development, parent education, subject matter expertise, and technical assistance.  Part of Partnership’s work is to ensure that the funds are being used to maximize impact by training the preventionists working at each hub to be well-informed about prevention science so that that the services they deliver to students and their families are of the highest possible quality.

An internal evaluation is planned at each hub to measure knowledge gained and satisfaction with the professional development offerings. Findings from these internal evaluations are expected in late summer 2024. Feedback from prevention specialist staff during the live trainings, coupled with the results from the more formal evaluations, will inform modifications to the curriculum for subsequent NJ4S trainings.