Supporting Students, Strengthening Families: NJ4S Passaic County Hub Leads a Powerful Start to the School Year
November 20, 2025
Since September, NJCDC’s NJ4S Passaic County Hub has been delivering supports that help young people feel safe, connected, and ready to learn. The Hub’s prevention consultants and clinicians have been in classrooms, on school stages, at community events, and even on the Atlantic City convention floor, reaching thousands of students and families across Passaic County with meaningful social-emotional learning, mental-health tools, and family support.
NJ4S Passaic County Hub Director Kathy Barreto said the early momentum reflects the Hub’s core mission. “We’re here to meet students where they are — in their classrooms, in their communities, and in their families — and to give them practical tools that make life a little easier,” she said, noting how trust builds quickly when staff work side-by-side with educators. “Whether we’re teaching a kindergarten class about kindness or helping a high-schooler manage stress, our goal is always the same: to strengthen the entire ecosystem around a young person so they can succeed.”
Lifting Up Kindness, Empathy, and School Climate During Week of Respect
During the first week of October, NJ4S Passaic marked New Jersey’s “Week of Respect” by facilitating grade-level lessons and assemblies at schools across the county. Prevention consultants led age-appropriate sessions on empathy, bullying prevention, internet safety, and standing up for others, including “Kindness Corner” for younger students, “Be a Buddy, Not a Bully” for elementary grades, and the comprehensive “The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander” for teens.
At NJCDC’s Community Charter School of Paterson, students embraced the lessons wholeheartedly. One second-grader said he liked that “they talked about feelings, and how being sad can feel like rain but being happy feels like the sun,” while a fifth-grader shared that “the lessons were good because you learned about dealing with your emotions. We talked about bullying too and what to do.” Staff praised the team as well, noting that the presentations were “very informative” and that NJ4S staff “kept the kids engaged” and offered “excellent health and SEL lessons.”
Promoting Healthy Choices During Red Ribbon Week
Later in October, the Hub returned to Passaic School #10 to lead Red Ribbon Week assemblies aligned with the nationwide alcohol, tobacco, and drug prevention campaign. For younger students, NJ4S staff focused on healthy habits such as sleep, nutrition, movement, and screen-time balance. For grades 3–6, the team offered age-appropriate discussions about substance use, vaping, and positive coping strategies, ensuring students walked away with clear information and trusted adults they could turn to with questions.
Connecting With Families at Circle of Care’s Trunk or Treat
NJ4S staff also joined community partners at the Circle of Care CMO’s annual Trunk or Treat on October 28, where clinician Jonathan and Prevention Consultants Danielle and Janki handed out treats and connected with young people and caregivers. These informal interactions, Kathy noted, often open the door for deeper support. “Sometimes a simple conversation at a community event is what leads a parent to ask for help — and that’s exactly why we show up in these spaces.”
Spotlighting NJ4S on a Statewide Stage
In late October, members of the NJ4S Passaic team traveled to Atlantic City for the New Jersey School Boards Association Annual Conference, where NJ4S was a statewide sponsor. Staff met school board members, superintendents, principals, and education partners to share how the Hub supports students’ mental health, wellness, and academic success.
The conference also gave the team a valuable chance to connect with other NJ4S Hubs from across New Jersey, including those representing Monmouth, Camden, and Ocean counties. Together, staff compared notes on outreach strategies, referral processes, and group curricula, and reflected on what they were learning in their respective regions. With several hubs represented, it was clear that NJ4S has quickly become a visible, statewide network of support for students and schools.
Tier 3 Support: Helping a Family Grow Stronger Together
Beyond classroom lessons and community events, the NJ4S Passaic County Hub provides intensive one-on-one Tier 3 support: individualized counseling and case coordination for students and families with more complex needs. This fall, the parents of a Passaic County high-school student shared moving feedback on their experience with an NJ4S Passaic clinician, who worked with their family from March through August.
They originally sought help to understand their son’s struggles at school, improve communication at home, and support his motivation and organization. Over months of counseling, our NJ4S Passaic clinician created space for the family to talk honestly, identify strengths, and practice new tools together. This clinician encouraged them to notice the positive moments, taught the “Cognitive Triangle” to help shift unhelpful thoughts, guided them in setting SMART goals, and helped map out routines that reduced stress, especially during morning transitions.
The family shared that our clinician “went out of their way to help and support our search for outside testing,” “helped us chart priorities,” and pushed everyone — parents and student — to reflect on personal responsibility, effort, and communication. By the start of the school year, their son’s outlook had brightened, his grades were improving, and mornings at home were calmer.
“What we thought would be a simple issue turned out to be much deeper,” the parents wrote, adding that NJ4S helped them overcome challenges they had long tried to solve alone. “It has only been with their help that we were able to surmount many of these problems. We are grateful for their assistance, and our only regret is not having more time with them.”
Their story illustrates something we see often: families are capable of remarkable growth when they have a partner walking alongside them. NJ4S intensive services are designed to be that partner, helping parents and young people navigate difficult moments while strengthening the foundation they share.
A Strong Start, With Much More to Come
As fall continues, NJ4S Passaic County Hub is already planning additional school-based lessons, family workshops, evidence-based prevention programming, and individualized supports. Their early work this year reflects a clear, consistent focus: empowering students with the skills to navigate challenges, supporting families in moments of need, and partnering with schools to build strong, safe, and connected learning environments.
Their experience captures the very heart of NJ4S: giving young people and their caregivers the tools, space, and encouragement to grow together. When families feel supported rather than overwhelmed, everything else — academics, routines, communication — begins to shift in the right direction.
