ASSEMBLY AGING AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 3016
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MARCH 17, 2025
The Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee reports
favorably Assembly Bill No. 3016.
This bill allows operators of the New Jersey Suicide Hopeline to
place follow-up telephone calls to minors, 16 years of age or older
who place calls to the hotline for counseling and support and who are
identified as being at a high risk of committing suicide, without having
to obtain the consent or authorization of the minor’s parent.
Under current guidelines governing suicide hotlines established by
the National Suicide Prevention Helpline, operators of such hotlines
are prohibited from placing follow-up calls to minors who they
identify as being at a high risk of committing suicide without the
consent or authorization of the minor’s parent.
The bill amends section 1 of P.L.1968, c.230 (C.9:17A-4) to
stipulate that when a minor who is 16 years of age or older believes
that he or she is in need of behavioral health care services for the
treatment of mental illness or emotional disorders and places a call to
the New Jersey Suicide Hopeline for counseling and support, the
minor would be allowed to consent to receive a follow-up telephone
call from the operator of the hotline who received and responded to the
minor’s original call without parental consent or authorization. The
minor’s consent would be valid and binding as if the minor were an
adult.
Presently, minors can consent to certain types of temporary,
outpatient, behavioral health, and substance use disorder treatment
services. Current law does not allow minors to receive follow-up calls
from the operators of suicide hotlines without parental consent.
The bill also amends section 1 of P.L.1968, c.230 (C.9:17A-4) to
mandate that the minor’s consent for receiving a follow-up telephone
call from an operator of the New Jersey Suicide Hopeline would be
considered confidential information between the operator and minor,
and the minor or the operator would not be required to report the call
to the minor’s parent, if the call was the result of voluntary consent.
The bill amends the law to also stipulate that a minor would not need
the consent of anyone to receive a follow-up call from an operator of
the hotline.
The New Jersey Suicide Hopeline is a Statewide suicide
prevention hotline provided in partnership with Rutgers University
Behavioral Health Care and the Division of Mental Health and 2
Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services. In 2018,
the hotline received approximately 15,488 calls from youth under the
age of 25. Research shows there is a significant benefit to follow-up
telephone calls from operators of suicide hotlines to youth who are in
crisis and at high risk for suicide. Allowing the operators of the New
Jersey Suicide Hopeline to make follow-up calls to minors who are at
a high risk to commit suicide would help in the prevention of youth
suicide in the State.
This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 2024-2025 session
pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes
required by technical review, which has been performed.