The primary goals our Children & Youth Task Force collaborates to achieve are:

• Every Child is born healthy.
• Every Child is ready for school.
• Every Child stays in school.
• Every Child is surrounded by healthy environments.
• Every Child enters adulthood self-sufficient.

We view our youth across a broad spectrum of life interactions and experiences. We work to provide meaningful connections to safety, health, and stability in the places where they live, learn, and work.

Kicking out Obesity

The Bobadilla Summer Soccer Academy builds the soccer skills of New Brunswick's children on the field and their life skills for off the field.

The Bobadilla Summer Soccer Academy is named after its creator – New Brunswick Police Captain Mike Bobadilla, a long-time city figure dedicated to empowering New Brunswick's youth. Captain Bobadilla created the camp 10 years ago as a volunteer. There was a need for children to be involved in positive, healthy activities because the city had more than 13 active gangs and the lowest graduation rate in the county at 68.5%. Using soccer as a vehicle to engage children and youth throughout the summer months, NBT partnered with Captain Bobadilla. The program also includes workshops and activities focused on building character, resiliency and life skills. Campers also perform community service projects throughout the camp, so they can give back to their own community and make it a better place for everyone. A new addition is a Summer Reading program to prevent Summer Learning Loss and keep kids on track to go back to school in the fall.

This FREE, five-week camp serves approximately 150 children, ages 8-18, and provides a free healthy breakfast and lunch, as well as field trips and lots of other fun activities. High School students are hired as junior counselors. The counselors receive peer mentoring and serve as role models for camp participants. Additionally, many experience their first employment, receiving a stipend and providing temporary economic support for families in low to moderate income communities.

Empowering Teen Parents

Our High School based programs help build bridges to graduation and success for pregnant and parenting students.

Parent Linking Program

The goal of our New Brunswick Bridge or Parent Linking Program (PLP) is to enable student parents to graduate High School. We also encourage them to delay second pregnancies until after graduation. PLP engages pregnant and parenting students in New Brunswick High School in a variety of ways. We provide:

• Individual counseling   
• Intensive case management 
• Parenting education courses
• Parent-child interaction groups
• Life skills training

Parent Infant Care Center (PIC-C)

It is our belief that to be successful, children need to a continuum of care throughout their youth. There are numerous studies that show the devastating effect teen pregnancy has, not only on the teen and the family related to the pregnancy, but on the larger community as well. Unsupported, teen parents are less likely to succeed in life.

The Parent Infant Care Center (PIC-C) is a free day care facility, located on site in New Brunswick High School. Here, children are cared for in a secure, loving environment, while student parents focus on their studies in an effort to graduate high school. Student parents who are enrolled in PIC-C are mandated to participate in many activities that enhance their parenting skills, take care of the center their child uses, attend group counseling, maintain good grades and remain in school. The PIC-C serves up to 22 parents and toddlers.

PLP is a partnership between the NJ Department of Children and Families, New Brunswick Board of Education, PRAB and New Brunswick Tomorrow.

Giving Children A Head Start

New Brunswick Tomorrow's 0-3 Consortium works to ensure that all babies have a good start in life.

The relationships a child has with parents and caregivers dramatically influence brain development, future health and success in school and life. NBT's 0-3 Consortium is dedicated to ensuring that critical resources and services are in place for infants and toddlers. As a working group, our vision is that New Brunswick's children achieve the highest possible levels of cognitive, emotional, and physical development.

Our Goals

A 0-3 campaign is in-development, focused on three areas:

1. Expanding Opportunities for High-Quality Early Care and Education

• Expand parents' knowledge of best practices
• Enhance caregiver competencies
• Connect with professionals through a learning community

2. Supporting Parents

• Expand parents' understanding
• Enhance parent responsiveness and engagement with their child

3. Ensuring Access to Appropriate Healthcare

• Pursuing better systems, services, polices and practices

Building Bridges to Success 

The New Brunswick Bridge program helps students overcome obstacles, discover their strengths and become prepared for adult life.

The School Based Youth Services Program (SBYSP): New Brunswick Bridge, is a comprehensive social service program that provides individual counseling, group counseling, class presentations, youth development and employment preparation. Using a pedagogical and collaborative approach, each school is assigned a team consisting of a Site Administrator, a Mental Health Clinician and a Youth Development Specialist.

The mission of SBYSP is to improve the life prospects of New Brunswick Public School students. We work to assure academic success by building on the students’ strengths and supporting them in overcoming obstacles. Our New Brunswick site is part of a statewide network that began in 1987 to help young people navigate their adolescent years, finish their education, obtain skills leading to employment or continuing education, and graduate healthy and drug free.

SBYSP is located in New Brunswick High School, as well as Lord Stirling Community School, McKinley Community School, and Roosevelt Elementary School.

SBYSP was started in 1987 in partnership with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), to help the young people of New Brunswick. Our goal is to assure academic success by building on students’ strengths and supporting them in overcoming obstacles. Specifically, we help them:

• Navigate their adolescent years
• Finish their education
• Obtain skills leading to employment or continuing education
• Graduate healthy and drug free

We do this by providing the following workshops and services:

• Individual and Group Counseling
• Psychoeducational Groups
• Healthy Youth Development
• Case Management/Family Services
• In-Classroom Educational Workshops
• Employment Services
• Recreation
• Pregnancy, Teen Dating Violence, Substance Abuse, & Suicide Prevention
• Referrals to community-based services providers and other school program

Age Groups	Children Adolescents
Community Services	Arts & Recreation Recreation / Social / Sports Education Early Childhood Education Family & Support Services Child Care / After School Pregnancy / Teen Pregnancy

Last Updated: 09/25/23