The mission of the NJPPC
is to transform access to mental health care by empowering pediatricians.
The New Jersey Pediatric Psychiatry Collaborative (NJPPC)
Established in 2015, the NJPPC is a New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) grant-funded program in partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health, Atlantic Health Systems, Cooper University Health Care, and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care to provide consultative support for children with mental health and substance abuse issues statewide free of cost to primary care providers, sub-specialist, and their patients. The NJPPC’s nine Regional Hubs provide timely access to psychiatric consultation and facilitate referrals for patients to access ongoing mental health care.
The mission of the NJPPC is to transform access to mental health care by empowering pediatricians. We achieve this mission through collaboration with pediatricians and sub-specialists to support the early identification of mental health issues and by providing access to Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists (CAPs), mental health resources and care coordination for patients and families in your practice. The program, now in its ninth year comprises over 750 pediatric clinicians. These participating pediatric primary care clinicians have screened over 210,000 patients for mental health issues, and 20,000 patients have received mental health consultation services via the NJPPC Regional Hubs.
The program is available for children and adolescents up to age 18 (or up to 21, if the patient is still being seen by the pediatric practice) and requires participating primary care providers (PCP) to universally provide standardized mental health and substance use screenings at each well visit. Participating pediatricians and pediatric clinicians can consult with the NJPPC Hub Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists (CAPs) and mental health professionals for consults. They can also refer patients with identified concerns to Hub staff for intake and referral to services in their community. In 2020, the NJPPC added psychiatry evaluation services via telepsychiatry.