A better system is now being explored in New Jersey
for cases in which someone is suicidal or having a mental health crisis. One pilot program, designed by Bruck, employs social workers who can accompany police on calls to help deescalate; another would connect our state to a universal national hotline staffed by mental health responders.
Family members quickly learn what the criteria is to get their loved one treated involuntarily, Lubitz says, and may play up the idea that the person is being threatening because they know that’s what will get a response. But when the cops arrive, things can explode quickly. Rutgers researchers are now evaluating the pilothe launched with State Police in Cumberland County in November, to send a social worker along with officers on these calls. If it’s successful, it could be replicated statewide.
Sen. Vitale’s bill would hook New Jersey up to the new, universal three-digit number; the equivalent of the 911 system for mental health emergencies. That number is 988. For an imminent threat, like a bridge-jumper, you’d still want law enforcement there, and a trained specialist would immediately put the call through to 911, he says. But in the case of someone who does not pose an immediate threat and might otherwise wind up back on the street, 988 could be a godsend for families.