New Jersey Statutes 18A:61D-19. Campus-based mental health care programs, services; access; duties of public, independent institutions of higher education
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 18A:61D-19
- Academic year: means the period between the time school opens in any school district or under any board of education after the general summer vacation until the next succeeding summer vacation. See New Jersey Statutes 18A:1-1
- Higher education: means that education which is provided by any or all of the public institutions of higher education as herein defined and any or all equivalent private institutions. See New Jersey Statutes 18A:1-1
(1) ensure that all on-campus students have access to campus-based mental health care programs and services;
(2) provide assistance and referrals to mental health support services to any student unable to access on-campus services; and
(3) provide each newly enrolled student with information concerning the location and availability of those programs and services.
b. Beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, each public and independent institution of higher education shall establish and maintain, on a 24-hour basis, a toll-free telephone hotline for students. The hotline shall receive and respond to calls from students seeking counseling for depression, anxiety, stress, or other psychological or emotional tension, trauma, or disorder. The operators of the hotline shall seek to identify those callers who should be referred to additional counseling services, and to provide such referrals.
The number for the hotline shall be posted in each dormitory, library, and student center, and any other facility or area on campus that the institution determines to be appropriate.
c. The operators of the hotline shall be, to the greatest extent possible, persons who, by experience or education, are (1) familiar with the emotional and psychological tensions, depressions, and anxieties unique to higher education students; or (2) trained to provide counseling services involving substance abuse, personal stress management, and other emotional or psychological disorders or conditions which may be likely to adversely affect the well-being of students.
d. An institution of higher education may satisfy the hotline requirement established pursuant to subsection b. of this section by providing each student with the hotline number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the NJ Hopeline, or any 24/7 mental health hotline deemed appropriate by the Secretary of Higher Education. In addition to providing students with the hotline numbers, the institution shall post the hotline numbers in each dormitory, library, and student center, and any other facility or area on campus that the institution determines to be appropriate.
L.2021, c.445.