Care Plus NJ, a leading nonprofit provider of integrated behavioral health services, recently welcomed state legislators for a hard-hat tour of its nearly completed Bergen County Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Center (CRSC). The visit served as a direct appeal for the state funding required to open the facility and complete New Jersey’s under-financed 988 crisis response system.
The tour, which included Senator Joseph Vitale and Assemblywoman Andrea Katz, allowed elected officials to view the facility’s clinical infrastructure and meet with care teams. However, despite being operationally close to ready, the Bergen County facility is one of several planned regional centers statewide that may never open doors to the public due to critical funding shortfalls.
New Jersey’s 988 behavioral health crisis response network relies on three core pillars:
- Someone to call (988 call centers)
- Someone to respond (mobile crisis response teams)
- Somewhere safe to go (Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Centers)
While the state has heavily invested in the first two pillars, funding for the third has lagged. A recent nonpartisan budget analysis revealed that New Jersey requires an additional $33 million to fully fund and operate its five planned regional centers.
The budget gaps come at a time of unprecedented demand. Since its launch, New Jersey’s 988 call volume has skyrocketed from roughly 60,000 contacts in its first year to more than 182,000 today. Projections show that number climbing toward 242,000 contacts in the coming year.
“New Jersey has done the hard work of building a comprehensive crisis response system… All that remains is the commitment to launch it,” Brigitte Johnson, president and CEO of Care Plus NJ said. “We invited legislators today so they could see the infrastructure their investment has already established and understand what is at stake if these facilities remain inaccessible to the communities in which they were created.”
CRSCs are designed as “no-wrong-door” facilities operating 24/7. They are built to accept walk-ins, law enforcement referrals, and mobile crisis handoffs. Once inside, individuals receive immediate de-escalation and stabilization services before being connected to long-term community care.
By acting as a dedicated detour away from crowded emergency rooms and law enforcement holds, these centers are proven to lower costs across the broader health care system while providing more specialized, compassionate care.
Care Plus NJ, alongside advocacy groups like NAMI New Jersey, is calling for an immediate $33 million allocation in the Fiscal Year 2027 state budget to support the five statewide centers. Advocates note that this investment aligns directly with Governor Mikie Sherrill’s stated priority to tackle youth behavioral health in her administration’s first budget cycle.
