# Mental Health Care in South Plainfield, NJ: A Local Guide > South Plainfield mental health help: which county crisis line applies, the borough Social Services office on Maple Avenue, and school clinical counselors. Source page: https://psychmentalhealth.com/articles/mental-health-south-plainfield-nj/ Published: 2026-10-14 · Last fact-checked: 2026-10-14 If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health crisis in the U.S., call or text 988. > **Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger.** For thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, call or text **988** at any hour. South Plainfield is in Middlesex County, and Middlesex County's 24-hour psychiatric emergency screening line, run by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, is **732-235-5700** for adults. For a child or teen, call PerformCare at **1-877-652-7624**. More numbers are on our [crisis page](/crisis/). South Plainfield sits at the edge of Middlesex County. Plainfield, next door, is in Union County. A family here can live in one county, shop in another and end up at a hospital in a third. For mental health care that matters, because New Jersey organizes crisis screening by county, and several programs a family is pointed to afterward serve only their own county's residents. **Quick answer:** Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. For thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, call or text 988 at any hour. For an adult who may need a hospital evaluation, South Plainfield's county screening line is Middlesex County's, run by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care at 732-235-5700, 24 hours a day. For a child or teen, call PerformCare at 1-877-652-7624, the same statewide number in every county, and dial 911 if the situation is life-threatening. For an adult in crisis who can safely stay home, Rutgers' walk-in program for Middlesex County residents is at 667 Hoes Lane West in Piscataway, 732-235-4422. In the borough, the Social Services office on Maple Avenue is on call through the police department at any hour. ## Which crisis line belongs to a South Plainfield household? Call **911** first for an overdose, a suicide attempt in progress, a weapon, someone who will not wake up, or anyone about to act on a threat to hurt themselves or someone else. If someone is thinking about suicide or is in crisis but nobody is in immediate danger, call or text **988**. Between those two sits the county screening service. New Jersey designates one for each county. The state's list, updated October 8, 2026, gives two for Middlesex: - **Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, 671 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, 732-235-5700.** This is the primary screening service. Rutgers lists it as an adult service that runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Rutgers' page does not post walk-in instructions, so call before you go. - **Raritan Bay Medical Center, 530 New Brunswick Avenue, Perth Amboy, 732-324-5289.** The state lists it as an Affiliated Emergency Service. Hackensack Meridian Health says its crisis team there evaluates adults and children 24 hours a day. Call screening when someone may be a danger to themselves or others, or is too unwell to stay safe at home, and no one is in immediate danger. Our [Piscataway guide](/articles/mental-health-piscataway-nj/) explains the Hoes Lane service. You may have seen other numbers. The district's 2025 community resource guide lists Trinitas Psychiatric Services at 908-994-7131. On the state's list, that is Union County's screening service, in Elizabeth. The same guide prints a Rutgers "Acute Psychiatric Services" hotline that is not the number on the state's list. We use the state's number, 732-235-5700, for Middlesex adults. ## What changes if the hospital is in another county? State rules give each screening service a geographic area. Its job is to assess people "throughout the geographic area served by the service, including such sites as other emergency services, jails, and nursing homes." So a hospital across the county line sits inside another screening service's area. The state's list shows who holds those areas next door: - **Union County:** Trinitas Regional Medical Center/RWJ Barnabas, 655 East Jersey Street, Elizabeth, 908-994-7131. - **Somerset County:** RWJ Barnabas Health - Somerset, 110 Rehill Avenue, Somerville, 908-526-4100. The borough's own hospital page lists three hospitals: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Saint Peter's, both in New Brunswick, and JFK Medical Center in Edison. None of the three appears on the state's screening list. In an emergency, that changes nothing: call 911 and let the responders decide where to go. The county line matters most after the crisis. The programs in the next section are for Middlesex County residents. If someone is leaving a hospital in Union or Somerset County, tell the staff before discharge that you live in South Plainfield, Middlesex County, and ask for a Middlesex referral by name. ## Programs that ask where you live **Rutgers Early Intervention Support Services (EISS).** This is a short-term program for adults in crisis who can be safely treated at home, offered as an alternative to an emergency room or a hospital stay. Rutgers runs separate EISS programs in several counties. The Middlesex program at **667 Hoes Lane West, Piscataway, 732-235-4422**, serves Middlesex County residents 18 and older who have acute mental health symptoms and can be safely served as outpatients. People enrolled in PACT or RIST are not eligible. Its Middlesex brochure lists walk-in hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Its Spanish-language brochure lists shorter hours, so call before an evening visit. Rutgers says the EISS team provides crisis intervention and support 24 hours a day. Treatment lasts up to 30 days. The brochure says EISS is grant funded, so services are provided regardless of a person's ability to pay or insurance. The Somerset program, in Branchburg (848-334-0501), describes itself as serving residents of Somerset County. If someone from South Plainfield is referred there because of where a hospital stay happened, ask about the Middlesex program instead. **The George J. Otlowski, Sr. Center for Mental Health Care**, 570 Lee Street, Perth Amboy, is the county-sponsored community mental health center. Middlesex County residents 5 and older can be seen there by appointment, in person or by telehealth. Medicaid, Medicare and some private insurance are accepted, and people without insurance pay on a sliding fee. The county's main page for the center lists 732-376-6789 to schedule an appointment; its other pages list 732-442-1666. For substance use, the Middlesex County law enforcement community runs **Blue Cares**, a 24-hour hotline for people with an addiction and their families, at **732-596-4199**. The borough posts its flyer; no insurance is required. ## Children and teens: one statewide number For a child or teen, the county line matters less. Call **PerformCare at 1-877-652-7624**. The state's hotline page calls it the Children's System of Care statewide hotline. For a life-threatening emergency, PerformCare says to always dial 911. A PerformCare mobile response team can be sent at any hour. It may reach your home within one hour of notification and can stay involved for up to eight weeks of stabilization. When a child needs an evaluation for hospitalization, PerformCare sends the family to a local screening center. In Middlesex, Raritan Bay's crisis service sees children. Rutgers' screening service is for adults. The schools are the other route. **South Plainfield High School**, 200 Lake Street, lists a clinical counselor and a student assistance counselor alongside its four school counselors. The counseling page gives the school phone as **908-754-4620**. **South Plainfield Middle School**, 2201 Plainfield Avenue, **908-912-5802**, lists a clinical counselor and a student assistance counselor as well. The district's resource guide also names a Thrive Counseling Services contact for middle and high school students, and an ASSIST program for students working through substance use; ask your child's counselor about either. For what comes after a school referral, see our guide to [teen and child mental health help in NJ](/articles/teen-child-mental-health-help-nj/). ## What the borough itself offers None of these offices provides treatment, but each can help. **Social Services - Welfare Department**, 90 Maple Avenue, **908-226-7625**. The office is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is on call through the South Plainfield Police Department 24 hours a day. It offers financial help to residents in need and guidance in looking for work, and runs a food pantry by appointment for South Plainfield residents. **Senior Center**, 90 Maple Avenue, **908-754-1047**. Its Information and Assistance program keeps a resource directory, available for free at the center, that covers counseling and mental health assistance among other topics. The borough's senior transportation program offers free curb-to-curb rides to medical appointments in South Plainfield and in Edison, Plainfield, North Plainfield, Piscataway, Dunellen, Fanwood and Scotch Plains. Rides run on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., should be booked 48 hours to a week ahead, and medical appointments get priority. Piscataway is on that list, so ask whether a ride to Hoes Lane can be scheduled. Perth Amboy is not on it. **Police Department**, 2480 Plainfield Avenue, non-emergency **908-755-0700**. The department posts a Special Needs Registry form that asks about a registrant's special need, with mental illness among its examples, along with how the person communicates and what triggers them. If someone in your home has been in crisis before, call the non-emergency line and ask how to submit the form. ## Weekly care in and near the borough **Clear Conscience Counseling**, 2509 Park Avenue, Suite 2B, call **973-434-7830** or text 973-454-6711. It offers individual, couples and family therapy, EMDR, outpatient groups and an intensive outpatient program, with hours Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. In-person visits at the South Plainfield office are for adults 18 and older. Teens 12 and up are seen by telehealth only. Its home page says it accepts most major insurance plans. For adults, its program page lists Medicaid, United, Horizon, Aetna and AmeriChoice, plus private pay and a sliding scale. For children and teens it lists private insurance and self-pay only. AmeriChoice is an older name for UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, according to the state Department of Banking and Insurance. The list does not name Wellpoint or Fidelis Care, so if your NJ FamilyCare card shows either, ask Clear Conscience whether it takes that plan. It is not a 24-hour crisis service. **Hackensack Meridian JFK University Medical Center, Center for Behavioral Health**, 65 James Street, Edison, **732-321-7189**. It treats teens and adults with therapy, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, and runs an adult substance use intensive outpatient program. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No insurance plans appear on its page, so ask about yours before the first visit. Our guide to [levels of mental health care](/articles/levels-of-mental-health-care-explained/) explains weekly therapy versus intensive programs. On a tight budget, see [NJ FamilyCare mental health coverage](/articles/nj-familycare-medicaid-mental-health-coverage/) and [therapy without insurance in NJ](/articles/therapy-without-insurance-low-cost-options-nj/). For more Middlesex options, see the [Middlesex County resource page](/middlesex-county/) and our [Edison guide](/articles/mental-health-edison-nj/). If you are stuck choosing among these, **NJMentalHealthCares**, **1-866-202-4357**, offers free, confidential emotional support and referrals. It answers 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, and it is not a crisis line. Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. Before 8 a.m., after 8 p.m., or if things get worse while you wait, call or text 988. ## Keep one page of numbers by the phone In a bad hour, nobody wants to search a guide that mixes three counties. Write one page now and tape it inside a cabinet door. Put 911 and 988 at the top. Under them, write the Middlesex adult screening line, not the one for the county where you work or where the nearest emergency room happens to be. Add PerformCare if there is anyone under 18 in the house. Then write the walk-in program for Middlesex adults with its hours, so you know whether it is open before you get in the car. Below that, add the people who already know your family: your child's school counselor, by email, and your own therapist or doctor. Add one borough number that answers at night, the police non-emergency line, which also reaches Social Services after hours. Last, copy your insurance plan's name exactly as the card shows it, because offices will ask. ## Sources - [Designated Screening Services in New Jersey (updated October 8, 2026)](https://nj.gov/humanservices/dmhas/documents/pdf/MH_Screening_Centers.pdf) — NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services - [Request for Proposals: Designated Screening Services, Burlington, Cumberland, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris and Sussex Counties (October 5, 2026), Contract Scope of Work quoting N.J.A.C. 10:31-2.1(a)](https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/notices/documents/rfprfi/DSSRFP2026.pdf) — NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services - [Psychiatric Emergency Screening Services (PESS)](https://ubhc.rutgers.edu/pess/) — Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care - [Early Intervention Support Services (EISS)](https://ubhc.rutgers.edu/eiss/) — Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care - [Early Intervention Support Services, Middlesex County (brochure)](https://ubhc.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/EISS-Middlesex-brochure.pdf) — Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care - [Early Intervention Support Services, Somerset County (brochure)](https://ubhc.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/EISS-Somerset-brochure.pdf) — Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care - [Emergency Services and Screening](https://www.performcarenj.org/families/emergency-services) — PerformCare New Jersey - [Carrier Behavioral Health at Raritan Bay Medical Center](https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/locations/carrier-behavioral-health-at-raritan-bay-medical-center) — Hackensack Meridian Health - [Hotlines and Helplines](https://nj.gov/humanservices/dmhas/help/hotlines/) — NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services - [Municipal Profiles](https://ucnj.org/municipal-profiles/) — County of Union, New Jersey - [Hospitals](https://www.southplainfieldnj.com/spnj/Community/General%20Info/Hospitals/) — Borough of South Plainfield - [Social Services - Welfare Department](https://www.southplainfieldnj.com/spnj/Departments/Departments/Social%20Services%20-%20Welfare%20Department/) — Borough of South Plainfield - [Senior Center Services](https://www.southplainfieldnj.com/spnj/Senior%20Center/Services/) — Borough of South Plainfield - [Senior Center](https://www.southplainfieldnj.com/spnj/Senior%20Center/) — Borough of South Plainfield - [Police Contact Information](https://www.southplainfieldnj.com/spnj/Police/_zumu_sidebar/Contact%20Information/) — Borough of South Plainfield - [Special Needs Registry Form](https://www.southplainfieldnj.com/spnj/Announcements/Special%20Needs%20Registry%20Form.pdf) — South Plainfield Police Department - [Blue Cares Program Hotline (flyer)](https://www.southplainfieldnj.com/spnj/Announcements/Blue%20Cares%20Program%20Hotline.pdf) — Borough of South Plainfield - [Blue Cares](https://plainsboronj.com/903/Blue-Cares) — Plainsboro Township - [SPHS Counseling Staff](https://www.spboe.org/o/sphs/page/sphs-counseling-staff) — South Plainfield High School, South Plainfield School District - [Guidance](https://www.spboe.org/o/spms/page/guidance) — South Plainfield Middle School, South Plainfield School District - [Community Resource Guide 2025](https://5il.co/3ft17) — South Plainfield School District - [George J. Otlowski, Sr. Center for Mental Health Care](https://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/government/departments/department-of-community-services/george-j-otlowski-sr-center-for-mental-health-care-1101) — Middlesex County - [About our Center (George J. Otlowski, Sr. Center for Mental Health Care)](https://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/government/departments/department-of-community-services/george-j-otlowski-sr-center-for-mental-health-care/adult-partial-care/about-our-center) — Middlesex County - [Center for Behavioral Health at JFK University Medical Center](https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/locations/center-for-behavioral-health-jfk) — Hackensack Meridian Health - [Clear Conscience Counseling](https://www.clearconsciencenj.com/) — Clear Conscience Counseling, LLC - [Intensive Outpatient Program](https://www.clearconsciencenj.com/services/intensive-outpatient-program/) — Clear Conscience Counseling, LLC - [Youth & Teens](https://www.clearconsciencenj.com/youth-community/) — Clear Conscience Counseling, LLC - [Contact](https://www.clearconsciencenj.com/contact/) — Clear Conscience Counseling, LLC - [Choosing a Health Plan](https://njfamilycare.dhs.state.nj.us/choos.aspx) — NJ FamilyCare, NJ Department of Human Services - [EISS brochure in Spanish (all counties)](https://ubhc.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/EISS-All-Counties-brochure-Spanish.pdf) — Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care - [Independent Health Care Appeals Program, Table 2 (July 16, 2012 to January 15, 2013), noting AmeriChoice now d/b/a United Healthcare Community Plan](https://www.nj.gov/dobi/division_insurance/managedcare/omc/30thihcap_rpt_tbl2.pdf) — NJ Department of Banking and Insurance --- General educational information, not medical advice. Fact-checked against the cited sources, not clinically reviewed. Ownership: PsychMentalHealth is published by an operator with a working relationship with Periscope Behavioral Health, which runs outpatient behavioral health programs in Middlesex and Camden counties, including Emerald Wellness in Kendall Park and South Jersey Recovery Program in Berlin. Those programs are not included in this site's county guides or articles, but a message sent through our contact form may be passed to one of them if you ask us to. Contact-form messages are passed to a Periscope program only when the sender ticks the opt-in box on the form.