New Jersey Social Care Summit: Highlights from the Garden State
Findhelp recently hosted an in-person New Jersey Social Care Summit on the Rutgers University campus with a dynamic group of leaders from community-based organizations (CBOs), healthcare systems, government, and more. The day was filled with insightful conversations about building a more connected social care ecosystem, leveraging technology to meet complex needs, and the power of partnership in creating lasting change across the Garden State.
In this post, you’ll learn:
How leading New Jersey health systems are effectively integrating social needs screenings directly into their EHRs and patient portals.
Creative, community-based strategies for reaching vulnerable populations.
Key lessons from New York’s 1115 Waiver on how to build a scalable infrastructure.
Highlights from the 2025 New Jersey Social Care Summit
This year’s summit featured 37 participants from 21 organizations across New Jersey, representing local and county government, health care, nonprofits, schools, and more.
We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our attendees and speakers for sharing their expertise and passion. It’s clear that by working together, we can build a stronger, more accessible social safety net for all New Jerseyans.
Below are some of the key themes and takeaways from a day of learning and sharing.
Our vision for a digitized social safety net
Our keynote session kicked off the day by exploring Findhelp’s vision for a connected, end-to-end social care ecosystem. We reviewed our comprehensive suite of solutions designed to support every step of the social care journey:
Our core platform, connecting people to the services they need in every U.S. ZIP Code.
Case management tool, free for CBOs, nonprofits, and their clients.
Health record used by school nurses to support student well-being.
Benefits eligibility tool that simplifies finding and applying for state & federal programs
We also shared a glimpse into the future with Personalized Search and Member Verification Workflows, which use data and insights to connect people to the right services more quickly and efficiently.
The impact in New Jersey is clear: with nearly 2 million users and over 2,200 claimed programs in the state, the network is robust and growing. This strong foundation is crucial as the state moves forward with initiatives like the NJ 1115 Waiver, which will leverage Medicaid to address social needs like housing and nutrition through collaboration between managed care organizations (MCOs), health systems, and CBOs.
In practice: How New Jersey’s health systems are integrating social care
Our first panel, “The Power of We,” featured leaders from across the state who shared how they are embedding social care into their clinical workflows. Speakers Christine Young of Englewood Health, Max Kursh of Cooper University Health Care, and Victoria Gregoria and Abby Erasmus of Children’s Specialized Hospital discussed their journey from manual resource lists to integrated, technology-driven solutions.
A common thread was the powerful integration of Findhelp with Epic, their electronic health record (EHR). This has enabled them to seamlessly screen patients for social determinants of health (SDoH).
Key successes:
- Leveraging MyChart: Both Englewood and Cooper Health have seen huge success by embedding SDoH screenings and a self-search tool directly into MyChart. This gives patients a private and convenient way to disclose their needs and find help. Max from Cooper Health called it their “biggest bang for the buck.”
- Staff Adoption: Children’s Specialized has seen incredible buy-in from clinicians and nurses, who are excited to have an effective tool to support their families. By listening to their staff, they made the platform an essential part of their workflow.
- Data-Informed Services: Using screening data, Children’s Specialized identified food insecurity as a major need and established food pantries at their facilities, serving about 4,000 patients a year.
- Supporting the Supporters: In a poignant moment, Vikki from Children’s Specialized shared how they discovered staff members were also facing social needs but were hesitant to ask for help. This led them to create a separate, confidential Findhelp site just for their employees
Community at the core: Innovative approaches to engagement
Our second panel, “A Simplified Approach to Meeting New Jersey Requirements,” highlighted how organizations are using technology and community engagement to reach people where they are. Morgan Newcomb from Family Health Initiatives, Diana Belle and Selina Holmes from Choose Healthy Life, and Austen Williams from The Medi showcased their unique and effective strategies.
Connection stories:
- Family Health Initiatives (FHI): FHI integrated Findhelp’s network into their CNJLink case management platform via an API. This move doubled their referral numbers and increased their closed-loop referral rate.
- Choose Healthy Life (CHL): Operating out of trusted community pillars—churches—CHL’s Health Navigators meet people in familiar settings like food pantries to conduct screenings and connect them to resources. Diana shared how their Findhelp site has become her team’s personal “rolodex” for vetted, reliable programs.
- The Medi: To support New Jersey’s ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population, The Medi partnered with employers to offer Findhelp as a confidential resource. Austen emphasized that “technology without people is useless,” detailing their grassroots outreach with posters in break rooms and QR codes in libraries to ensure people knew help was available without having to ask.
Lessons from New York’s 1115 waivers: Paving the way for sustainable social care
Looking at a large-scale model of social care in action, we welcomed Indiana Lopez and Katherine Morillo from SOMOS Community Care, a physician-led health system in New York, to close out the customer-led sessions at the 2025 New Jersey Social Care Summit. They shared their experience leading social care efforts for the NY 1115 Waiver in the Bronx, with the ambitious goal of screening all 800,000 Medicaid members.
SOMOS Community Care explained how Findhelp serves as their central hub for the entire waiver workflow—from screening and eligibility assessments to referrals, service delivery, and even invoicing and claims reimbursement.
Their journey underscored the vital role technology plays in managing complex, large-scale initiatives. As Indiana, a physician herself, noted, “IT and data is the foundation for accountability.” Their success hinges on strong CBO partnerships, a flexible approach, and keeping processes simple for everyone involved. Indiana and Katherine highlighted how Findhelp technology bridges the gap between healthcare providers and community-based organizations to create a more resilient, flexible, and integrated social care system.
Beyond the Summit: Our work in New Jersey
Our network spans the entire Garden State and individuals across the region use the Findhelp platform to find and connect to needed services and support.
- 8,008+ listed programs serving New Jersey
- 1.9 million users
- 5.2 million searches for resources
- 55,400+ social needs assessments completed
As of September 2025, Findhelp partners with more than 28 customers throughout the state to connect their patients, members, students, constituents, and clients to local resources. Our data and analytic tools can identify gaps in services and provide actionable insights to inform strategy and public policy.
Building the future, together
The day wrapped up with a look at our product roadmap, where we reaffirmed our commitment to building the infrastructure for a unified social care network. By providing CBOs free tools like Kiip and prioritizing interoperability, we aim to create a single source of truth that allows all sectors to work together seamlessly.
The discussions at the New Jersey Social Care Summit were a powerful reminder of the incredible work being done across the state. The path forward is built on the partnerships, innovations, and shared dedication we witnessed throughout the day.
The conversation doesn’t end here. To learn more about how Findhelp can support your work in New Jersey and beyond, connect with our team.
