This bill authorizes the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to expand the NJ Statewide Student Support Services program to include services focused on eating disorder awareness, prevention, and counseling. The DCF will require regional hubs, which are contracted service providers, to conduct community-based needs assessments regarding the treatment and prevention of eating disorders. These assessments will evaluate the availability of such services for students in grades K-12 and determine if they are receiving adequate support. Based on the findings, the regional hubs will develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that students have access to necessary eating disorder services.

The bill outlines that the policies and procedures must include guidelines for providing eating disorder services according to a tiered system, which categorizes services into three levels: Tier 1 (universal supports), Tier 2 (targeted interventions), and Tier 3 (individualized clinical interventions). Additionally, the DCF is tasked with adopting rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this act. The bill is set to take effect on the first day of the third month following its enactment, although anticipatory administrative actions may be taken by the Commissioner of Children and Families to facilitate its implementation.