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Getting Information and Help

For help with a bullying problem ...
If you or a child you know is being bullied, get help: tell an adult you trust, or get advice by calling the hotline maintained by Garden State Equality at 877-NJBULLY or by texting 'njbully' to 66746.
If you are the parent of a bullied child, you should acquire sufficient information to understand the problem by reading through this site, visiting its links, or contacting the Coalition at (908) 522-2581 for further information. You can and should expect your child's school to effectively address the bullying. For a detailed description of what the school can and should be doing, read the book Schools Where Everyone Belongs by Stan Davis, or other materials recommended on this site.  Also see the section below ('Bullying can be a crime ... '). There are beginning to be other legal options as well, whether the bullying is bias-related or not. An increasing number of private lawyers are interested in advocating for families in bullying-related situations. This can be costly. An alternative for those with limited financial resources may be the Education Law Center's pro bono law project, at 973 624-1815, or possibly Legal Services of NJ (800 576-5529).
If you are an adult concerned about bullying, learn more about it: read the information and materials available on this site (www.njbullying.org); visit the other recommended bullying-related websites; obtain and read the resources/books recommended in the Coalition 'References' handout (on the Resources page); get together with others in your community to learn about bullying and develop anti-bullying projects.
Bullying can be a crime: Bullying is always wrong, unjustified, immoral, unfair and hurtful but in certain situations it's also against existing law. If the bullying is about race, ethnicity, health - including mental health - or disability, or gender, involves sexual activity or characteristics, or is a physical or sexual assault, legal authorities such as police or government agencies should be notified. If the bullying may involve bias (targeting of a child's actual or perceived minority status or characteristics, including disability), help can be obtained by contacting the NJ Division on Civil Rights at www.njcivilrights.org or (609) 984-3100. Your local police, which has a community officer trained by the Bias Crime office can also be contacted. If the bullying is gang-related, the police should also be contacted.
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