New Jersey must fully fund mental health care

3 minutes reading

Debra L. Wentz
| Special to the USA TODAY Network

As New Jersey, along with the rest of the country, continues to face unprecedented mental health and substance use crises, accompanied by epidemics of suicide and overdose, funding for treatment and support of mental health and substance use disorders are among the state’s highest priorities. Budget year 2025.

The New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, or NJAMHAA, recognizes that resources are more limited this year and many charities are competing for finite resources. Not only is the return on behavioral health investments extremely positive for the state’s bottom line, but these investments truly save lives every day.

The money invested in prevention, treatment, recovery support and other forms of behavioral health care saves state dollars that would otherwise be spent on larger numbers of children, youth and adults who go to emergency rooms, are hospitalized, become involved in criminal justice system or end up homeless.

And such investments in services are proving effective and impactful every day, helping New Jerseyans on the road to recovery – to jobs, to better health, to renewed relationships and more. NJAMHAA’s “Diverse Faces, All Are Worthy of Full Investment” highlights the lifesaving work of behavioral health professionals and the need for increased investment to ensure that all of New Jersey’s diverse populations have access to the services they deserve.

COVID may no longer be classified as a pandemic, but its lasting impact on the emotional well-being of individuals, from young children to seniors, remains enormous. The statistics are alarming:

New Jersey’s behavioral health care workforce is on the front lines every day, working to help individuals – individuals who are our family members, friends, neighbors and colleagues – through their crises or on their path to recovery. They are there when help is needed – for you and your loved ones; for all of New Jersey’s diverse populations.

Each and every one of them is worth New Jersey’s entire investment in behavioral health care.

Debra L. Wentz, Ph.D. is president and CEO of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, a statewide trade association representing 164 organizational service providers serving more than 500,000 children and adults with mental illness, substance use disorders, intellectual/developmental disabilities, and co-occurring disorders.