New Jersey Lawmakers Continue Push for Mental Health Reform

A bill making its way through the New Jersey legislature will help youth address have better access to mental health resources, but opponents say the bill steps on parents’ toes.

The bill, which seeks to lower the age required for someone to legally seek in-person mental health counseling without parental consent from 16 to 14, recently passed through a state Senate committee.

Should the bill become law, New Jersey will join two dozen other states that currently allow children as young as 14 to seek counseling on their own without parental consent. Advocates say this is imperative as communities and families across the nation contend with a post-pandemic mental health crisis, especially among youth.

But the contentious hearing of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee ran for almost three hours, with proponents and opponents alike stating their case.

Mary Abrams, senior health policy analyst for the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, said that while it is ideal for parents to be involved and helpful in their children’s lives, that is not always a reality for many families—particularly when it is the parent who is abusive and causing the issues with the youth.

"In New Jersey and across the nation, we are currently experiencing — and have been for some time — a teen mental health crisis, as well as an ongoing suicide crisis," she said.

Jordan Thomas, a 27-year-old from Jersey City, told the panel he was just 13 when he first called 911 to escape abuse, and that he found support at the local Boys and Girls Club. “As a teenager, I could have easily been another statistic of teen suicide,” he said. “In a world where Instagram and TikTok dominate and children as young as 14 in our community are grappling with gun violence and trauma ... and don’t have people to talk to…I  implore you to support this bill.”

Lowering the age of consent for mental health services is a slippery slope, Rev. Greg Quinlan, president and executive director for the Center for Garden State Families, argued in a blog on the organization’s website. “[This] legislation effectively put[s] a wall between child and parent.”

The bill may “encourage a minor child to consent to unspecified behavioral and other healthcare matters (which can include medical and surgical services) without any parental knowledge or consent, he added” 

Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, the committee’s chairman and sponsor of a similar bill, explained that lowering the age of consent for mental health treatment would not permit teens to obtain prescription drugs or medical care without parental consent.

The only change to current law, he said, is changing the age of consent for younger teens seek outpatient help from a social worker, counselor or other mental health professional if feel they can’t ask their parents for help.

“In the real world, families have issues. They don’t always talk to each other,” Vitale said. “We want them to talk to their parents, absolutely, but we are not going to judge these kids who don’t talk to their parents...Some parents are checked out and for whatever those reasons why, this bill is necessary.”

This is the latest boost for mental health services in the state, going back to last May, when lawmakers allocated $100 million to improve home- and community-based services in the 2024 state budget.

In January, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a measure that allows the state’s mental health professionals to practice in 31 other states and allows licensed counselors from other states to practice in New Jersey through telehealth services, bypassing the need for multiple state licenses.

In October, a law was passed to strengthen mental health support on college campuses throughout the state. Institutions of higher education are now required to ensure that individuals who have training and experience in mental health annually train their faculty and staff on how to recognize signs of depression among students as well as the warning signs and risk factors associated with student suicide. These experts will also make sure faculty and staff are trained on how to refer students to crisis hotlines and mental health screenings.

And in another controversial move, last August, New Jersey lawmakers doubled the length of time people can be held against their will while they are undergoing a mental health crisis if the medical team obtains a temporary court order.