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S 4050

Authorizes police agencies to charge fees for searching, copying, and mailing police agency generated records

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Kevin Parker and 1 co-sponsor

Allows 16+ minors who call the statewide suicide crisis line or 9-8-8 to receive follow-up outreach (call/text/chat) without parental consent, for suicide-prevention only.

REFERRED TO FINANCE
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Bill Summary · S 4050

Summary — S 4050 (2025)

Status: Introduced January 30, 2025; reported favorably with committee amendments by Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (6/9/2025); referred to Senate Finance.
Primary sponsor: Senator James Skoufis. Cosponsor: Senator Kevin S. Parker. Companion: A3016.

Purpose / Intent

S 4050 authorizes operators of New Jersey’s statewide suicide prevention hotline (now integrated with the nationwide 9-8-8 crisis system) to initiate follow‑up contact with certain minors who call the hotline for counseling and support. The bill is intended to enhance suicide-prevention outreach to adolescents at elevated risk without requiring parental authorization for those limited follow-up contacts.

Key provisions

  • Adds findings and declarations recognizing youth suicide as a major public health concern and describing New Jersey’s transition to the 9-8-8 crisis hotline structure.
  • Amends section 1 of P.L.1968, c.230 (C.9:17A-4) to allow a minor who:
    • reports being 16 years of age or older, and
    • believes they need behavioral health care services for mental illness or emotional disorders, and
    • places a call (or other communication) to the telephone number for mental health and suicide crisis resources (or is transferred to a 9‑8‑8 crisis hotline center), to receive a follow‑up contact from an operator without parental consent or authorization.
  • Follow‑up contact may be a call, text, or chat message (committee amendments broadened the original bill, which only allowed follow-up calls).
  • The statute specifies that such follow‑up communication is to be solely for suicide‑prevention purposes and is not considered behavioral‑health treatment, diagnosis, or clinical care.
  • The minor’s consent to receive the authorized follow‑up contact is treated as valid and binding as if the minor had reached the age of majority and is not subject to later disaffirmance because of minority.
  • Follow-up communications are treated as confidential in the same manner as other voluntary behavioral‑health services consented to by minors under current law.
  • The bill updates terminology (replacing “New Jersey Suicide Hopeline” with “telephone number for mental health and suicide crisis resources”) to reflect linkage with the 9‑8‑8 system.

Who is affected

  • Minors aged 16 and older who contact the state’s mental health/suicide crisis hotline or 9‑8‑8 crisis centers.
  • Operators and participating hotline centers (including those previously operating the Hopeline) — they would be authorized to place follow‑up calls/texts/chats in accordance with the bill.
  • Parents/guardians — the bill removes the requirement for parental authorization for the specified follow‑up contacts.
  • State agencies (Department of Human Services) and contracted crisis‑center providers — will need to incorporate the statutory changes into protocols, confidentiality practices, and training.

Procedural / timeline aspects

  • The bill amends existing minor‑consent provisions in P.L.1968, c.230 (C.9:17A‑4) and adds a new findings section.
  • The introduced version included an explicit new section requiring follow‑up calls for minors identified as high risk. Committee amendments broadened scope (texts/chats), updated terminology to 9‑8‑8, and added the findings/declarations.
  • The bill was reported out of committee with amendments on 6/9/2025 and is pending in the Senate Finance Committee. The introduced version specified the act would take effect immediately; no further effective‑date change appears in the committee report.

Potential impacts / considerations

  • Intended to improve continuity of crisis support and suicide prevention outreach for vulnerable adolescents while preserving confidentiality.
  • Hotline operators and centers will need policies and training governing when and how follow‑ups are made, documentation, and privacy protections.
  • The statute clarifies that follow‑ups are supportive contacts (not clinical treatment), which may affect how centers document and escalate risk or involve emergency services.
  • No new funding or specific operational requirements are detailed in the text as reported; implementation logistics would be handled by affected agencies/providers under existing crisis‑system arrangements.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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