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Hunterdon County Commissioner Soloway attends NJCMO suicide awareness event with local legislators

HUNTERDON COUNTY, NJ – Board Commissioner, Susan Soloway, recently attended a forum hosted by the New Jersey Care Management Organization (NJCMO) and legislators from across the state, to learn how the NJ Children’s System of Care (CSOS) is supporting communities in reducing the rising suicide rates among adolescents.

CSOS supports youth up to age 21, with emotional, behavioral, developmental and substance challenges.

NJCMO services are available in all the 21 counties in New Jersey. Their model of care creates an individualized service plan to empower youth and their families in supporting communities in reducing suicide among adolescents.

“Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents, ages 15-19, in New Jersey. To keep Hunterdon County as one of the safest places to live and raise children, we need to ensure that issues of mental health among our youth are addressed before they become a problem. More needs to be done,” Soloway said.

CSOS partners in each county with NJCMO, Children’s Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS), and Family Support Organization (FSO), to provide a family-centered, in-home, “wraparound” care at no cost to families regardless of income or insurance. The goal is to stabilize behavior and offer full face-to-face services and support for youth and their families, all while preventing loss of ability to stay in the home.

“Unfortunately, there continues to be barriers to mental health services, including lack of awareness of programs, limited insurance coverage, high co-pays and out of pocket expenses, staffing shortages for Clinicians and Psychiatrists, and Long Waiting lists for immediate care. NJCMO plays a crucial role in overcoming some of these barriers and in promoting services to at-risk youth in CSOS. Taking care of our children and their families, by providing program assistance and awareness concerning mental health care is a priority for our county. ” Soloway said.

“The County’s Director for Department of Human Services, Meagan O’Reilly, and her staff are home to several divisions, councils, and committees that exist to assist residents and partner with programs that provide mental health services for children and families,” Soloway said.

For more information on Mental Health resources in Hunterdon County, visit www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/285/Resources.

Jay Edwards

Born and raised in Northwest NJ, Jay has a degree in Communications and has had a life-long interest in local radio and various styles of music. Jay has held numerous jobs over the years such as stunt car driver, bartender, voice-over artist, traffic reporter (award winning), NY Yankee maintenance crewmember and peanut farm worker. His hobbies include mountain climbing, snowmobiling, cooking, performing stand-up comedy and he is an avid squirrel watcher. Jay has been a guest on America’s Morning Headquarters,program on The Weather Channel, and was interviewed by Sam Champion.

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