Gottheimer announces new action to fight back against President Trump’s cuts to youth mental health funding

NEW JERSEY — During Mental Health Awareness Month, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) Thursday visited Fort Lee School No. 4 to announce new legislation aimed at strengthening school mental health programs and addressing the growing youth mental health crisis in New Jersey and across the country.

Gottheimer’s announcement follows the Trump Administration’s decision to cut $1 billion in federal funding for school mental health programs — critical dollars used to hire psychologists, counselors, and support staff in schools. As a direct result of these cuts, the New Jersey Department of Education will be forced to end its five-year plan to expand access to mental health professionals, a program that had already reached more than 40,000 students and helped hire 68 school-based mental health professionals over just two years.

“Here in Jersey, and across the country, too many of our kids are facing a mental health crisis. We can get kids the help they need, but we must make the investments necessary to do it,” said Gottheimer. “For some reason, the Trump Administration doesn’t see it that way. Instead, they cut one billion dollars in funding from the Department of Education that helps our schools hire more psychologists, counselors, and other mental health workers who support struggling students. These are critical, lifesaving investments I helped claw back and secure for Jersey.”

“If we’re smart and make strategic investments instead of slashing critical programs with no strategy, we can get our children the help they need, and it’ll make a world of difference for our students and families. This should not be partisan, it’s just common sense. Investing in these resources is not just the right thing to do for our children’s health and wellness, but they are key to our long-term competitiveness as a nation,” Gottheimer said.

NJ Students Facing Mental Health Crisis:

• According to the CDC, 40% of high school students in grades nine through twelve experience depression, with nearly 10% attempting suicide.
  • One in seven children ages 3 to 17 is diagnosed with a mental or behavioral health condition.
  • According to the New Jersey Department of Health, suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth between the ages of 10 and 24 in New Jersey.
  • 37% of students with a mental health condition aged 14 and older drop out of school.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a historic wave of mental health challenges, including a 25% higher rate of anxiety and depression, with many students still feeling the effects.
• The National Association of School Psychologists recommends that schools have a maximum student-to-school counselor ratio of 250 to 1 and a maximum student-to-school psychologist ratio of 500 to 1.
  • Jersey’s student-to-school-psychologist ratio of 659 to 1 does not come close to that recommendation.
  • The national average student-to-school-psychologist ratio is more than twice the recommended amount, at 1,162 to 1.
• Those with access to mental health services in school are 10 times more likely to seek care for mental health or substance abuse than those without access.

Gottheimer’s “Youth Mental Health Strategy”:

• First, Gottheimer is introducing the Training Our Future Act to combat the school psychologist shortage in Jersey and across the country.
  • Gottheimer’s bill would create a national grant program to provide up to $8,000 a year to students studying to become school psychologists.
  • The legislation will require students to work at schools struggling to meet the recommended student-to-school psychologist ratio for at least four years once they graduate.
• Second, Gottheimer is introducing the Saving Students with Software Act to help schools cover the cost of life-saving suicide prevention software.
  • Suicide prevention software can track potentially dangerous messages or searches students make online, which can then prompt calls to parents or home visits by school staff members.
• Gottheimer is supporting the Youth Mental Health Research Act to secure an annual $100 million investment in new mental health treatments.
• Gottheimer is leading 20 of his colleagues in Congress in a letter to the House Appropriations Committee fighting to secure the highest possible level of funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the next fiscal year’s budget.