February 4, 2022, Trenton, NJ—The New Jersey legislature took a step in the right direction in addressing community mental health needs by passing S-311 out of the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee this week. S-311 will establish a core behavioral health crisis services system in New Jersey in conjunction with the launch of the national 9-8-8 Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Hotline. Provisions in S-311 also establish mobile crisis response teams that will be staffed by licensed behavioral health professionals, among others. Use of the 9-8-8 crisis line will also ensure more individuals experiencing mental health crises will receive treatment in community-based mental health facilities rather than being shunted into the criminal justice system.

Many of the providers in this behavioral health response system will be social workers. Indeed, social workers are the primary providers of behavioral health services in our state. Which makes it especially concerning that delays at the New Jersey Board of Social Work Examiners—the entity responsible for licensing social workers in New Jersey, housed in the Division of Consumer Affairs—has resulted in some applicants waiting more than a year to receive their license to practice. Some recent social work graduates have reported leaving the field rather than try to navigate the arduous licensing process.

“Daily, we field dozens of calls and emails from social workers with degrees who have passed the licensing exams and completed all necessary steps for licensure, but who cannot get a response from our licensing board,” said Jennifer Thompson, MSW and Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers – New Jersey Chapter (NASW-NJ). “These social workers stand poised to help meet needs across our community but can’t obtain their license to practice.”

The impact of these licensure delays is already being felt. Some mental health agencies and individual practitioners are reporting waitlists of 2-3 months or more for services. One community mental health agency leader shared the struggles her agency has had meeting their staffing needs: “We have had to turn away numerous otherwise qualified applicants because they don’t yet have their license to practice. We aren’t able to hire new clinicians, which is seriously impacting our ability to see new patients,” they said.

As we prepare to enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health issues continue to disrupt the lives of New Jersey residents and people across America. An article published recently in the journal Scientific Reports by researchers at the Tulane University School of Social Work found that while a quarter of respondents reported having mental health problems before the pandemic, mental health challenges during the pandemic rose to 33 percent.

Moreover, communities of color are particularly at-risk for mental health issues, in particular suicidality. A December 2021 report by the U.S. Surgeon General revealed Black youths are more at risk of depression, anxiety, and stress due to the pandemic and the recent experiences of police violence against Black people. A 2019 report released by the Congressional Black Caucus ranked suicide as the 3rd leading cause of death in Black men from ages 15-24 and noted Black men are four times more likely to die by suicide than Black women. The recent death by suicide of 26-year old Ian Alexander, Jr., the son of actress Regina King, has further highlighted the increasing risk of suicide in Black communities.

“The systems that control licensure to protect the community must also be responsive to the community’s needs. Right now, those needs include new licensed social workers and licensed clinical social workers to treat the growing number of people seeking care or experiencing mental health crises,” said Thompson. “As much as we need to establish the 9-8-8 hotline and related community services, we also need to ensure qualified professionals are available to staff these services.”

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Founded in 1955, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with more than 100,000 members. The New Jersey Chapter is the second largest chapter in the United States, with more than 6,500 members. NASW-NJ works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies. Learn more at www.naswnj.org.