>> Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, a gathering of governors this week in Atlanta city, with New Jersey taking center stage.

>> The playbook is meant for all American states.

It has been developed to provide actionable ideas and policy recommendations that could make a positive difference.

>> A city in morning.

Dozens attend a funeral for a fallen firefighter.

>> My brother, I love you, man.

I am going to miss you.

>> No prescription needed with the FDA approving the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the United States.

>> This is a way to get really reliable safe birth control over the counter.

>> Today marks the launch of the Camden loop, the city's answer to a more affordable mode of travel.

NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

>> Funding for "New Jersey Spotlight News" funded by the members of the New Jersey Education Association, making public schools great for every child.

RWJBarnabas Health, let's be healthy together.

And Orsted, committed to the creation of a new long-term, sustainable, clean energy future for New Jersey.

♪ >> This is NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: Good evening.

First Lady Jill Biden and dozens of the nation's governors are in Atlantic City with Governor Phil Murphy for the annual national Governors Association conference.

As chairman of the Association, Murphy today unveiled his new plan to address the youth mental health crisis, playbook that includes four key areas, like access to affordable health care, stronger prevention, training for caregivers.

The governor also signed legislation that will help public schools pay for behavioral health care.

It comes as the Surgeon General has issued a warning about the rise of mental health issues among our youth.

Governor Murphy urged his colleagues to get on board, calling it an issue that transcends party lines.

David Cruz was there.

>> Welcome to the Atlantic City New Jersey for the National Governors Association annual meeting.

Reporter: Technically day two of the national Governors Association summer conference, Governor Murphy is serving as host and took the lead on the morning's first session where he unveiled a youth mental health Association.

>> We brought together close to 500 parents, young people, educators, mental health professionals, policymakers, community leaders and other experts in the mental health field.

The playbook unpacks the four pillars that guided our chairs initiative.

Addressing prevention, resilience building.

Increasing awareness and reducing stigma.

Ensuring access of affordability of quality treatment and care.

Training and supporting caregivers and teachers.

We convene experts and all of those locations.

We came up with the playbook that we delivered this morning.

I hope he has enormous legs.

It is practical, it is four pillars and 35 very specific points.

Tammy has a similar playbook for infant and maternal health.

It does not cost you anything all the way to stuff that costs you money.

I mentioned this earlier, in either of these cases, is a doctoral calculus.

We know what works.

We know we have a crisis with mental health among our youth.

We also know what we need to do to fix that or address it.

I hope it has legs.

Reporter: Luncheon keynote speaker First Lady Jill Biden urge support for biter nine months, including investments in professional training for community colleges and for your colleges so that students could train for high tech jobs.

>> The Biden education pathway starts with free universal preschool because that is where it is at.

We have to get those kids educated early, off to a good start.

It ends with the high school experience that prepares students for their next steps.

It provides for two years of affordable community college and opens up an avenue to a four-year degree if that is what you want.

Reporter: There was a time when this event was seen as a national platform for a potential presidential run I Murphy.

But nowadays commie --, he is a Joe Biden man.

This conference concludes tomorrow.

In Atlantic City, I am David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: Governor Murphy will attend the week of a firefighter, who along with another firefighter died last week while battling the massive cargo ship blaze.

Funeral services were held this morning for his colleague, a hero's good buy for somebody who made the ultimate sacrifice.

♪ Reporter: today, the family and friends of gusto at booths booth said their final goodbyes to a man who died fighting a massive cargo ship fire.

>> My brother, I love you, man.

I am going to miss you tremendously.

>> To say up gusto was brave was an understatement.

To say he was a hero falls short.

This man we lay to rest here today was one of the very best among us.

Reporter: He was one of two firefighters who died fighting the blaze.

His services were held at the Basilica in Newark.

♪ Those closest to him spoke of him as a hero, somebody who was there for others whenever they needed him.

People like his high school football coach.

>> He sat at the house with me and he talked just to make me feel better.

He called me probably every day.

>> Forget yourself long enough to lend a helping hand.

This scripture was him.

I heard one person say when my daughter was young, there he was.

>> He did it all, played football, played softball and baseball, he even boxed.

He actually quit boxing because he felt bad for the men he heard.

>> He also made us laugh, no matter what mood he was in.

If you did not get a chance to meet income I feel bad for you because he was a joy.

Reporter: But the tears flowed when the fire chief presented his helmet to his family and he was positively promoted to Captain.

-- posthumously promoted to Captain.

>> He made the ultimate sacrifice.

That is why we felt it appropriate to extend a ceremonial promotion to him.

[APPLAUSE] This promotion to the rank of Captain, we salute him.

[APPLAUSE] May he forever rest in peace.

Reporter: Before they bring the final bell.

The final bell for this fallen firefighter.

Briana: As new police recruits become harder to find, some law enforcement agencies are hoping to find their next officers here in New Jersey.

Alpharetta, Georgia app up department is back holding a recruitment event after so much success last year, where they recruited nine officers from the garden state.

Melissa Rose Cooper reports.

>> Just like every other Police Department, our recruiting is down.

Reporter: This Captain from Georgia is turning to New Jersey in search of qualified candidates for his team.

Last year, they hosted a recruiting event at this high school.

>> It was successful, it yielded nine candidates.

We tested 27 and we hired nine.

Reporter: For three days, residents interested in leaving New Jersey to join the Alpharetta Police Department attended sessions inside the school gym, hoping to pass the challenge and physical assessment.

>> Great quality of life, that is big for me.

Just looking for a better lifestyle, more tranquil lifestyle.

>> I think that is a sign of the times.

That it is not only New Jersey facing this problem.

Reporter: The police chief contributes the decline to several issues, including Covid and social unrest.

>> We used to get over 100 applicants easily per year and the last test we got 25.

This is not unique, it is around the state, we are seeing a large decline.

>> This has always been a challenging profession.

I think when you look back in the last several years you have the Ferguson effect.

The issues that Ferguson, Missouri caused, the issues with liking or not liking the police, you had the murder of George Floyd which certainly had a big impact on policing.

Those are the two biggest issues.

I know Covid certainly had a large impact.

Reporter: James graduated in 2018 and joined the Alpharetta Police Department in 2022 after not being able to become one in New Jersey.

>> It is so competitive in New Jersey compared to Georgia.

I cannot really get on.

This presented itself and I did not know anything about policing in Georgia whatsoever.

I went in with the most minimal knowledge you could have with no prior police experience.

I went down with an open mind.

I learned all the ins and outs of it in a work with great people.

Reporter: Friday is the last day for the recruitment event in Hasbrouck Heights.

It also includes 911 candidates.

Anyone interested is welcome to walk in.

Briana: It is a first for the nation.

The Food and Drug Administration today approved the birth control pill Opill to be available over the counter, making it the first non-prescription birth control pill in the United States.

It is considered a milestone for Advocates who spent decades working to make oral contraceptives easier to access.

The effort took on a new urgency after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the constitutional right to abortion.

Federal regulators say Opill has a long record of safety and effectiveness.

It should be available in stores starting this winter and will not have an age restriction.

But the cost and potential insurance coverage remains unknown.

Dr. Maria Sophocles is the director of Women's Healthcare of Princeton and called the decision transformative.

>> It is just so overdue, it is so exciting for women to be able to access reliable and safe contraception.

Without having to take a day off work or get a babysitter to get a simple prescription but something that is so safe.

And allow women to have say over their reproductive choices.

To stay in school, to stay at work, to shape the family they want.

Briana: There is a whole new way to get around the city of Camden.

It is a new public ridesharing service called the Camden loop.

It is an app that matches you with riders heading in the same direction.

It has helped a lot of residents in so-called transit deserts.

Reporter: Camden's leaders are counting on a new app, Camden loop, pressure service that gets you anywhere in the city of Camden for just two dollars.

This woman has read the loop a few times.

People in Camden have taken more than 3000 rides since the app came online.

>> We definitely are in a food desert.

Being able to get to a grocery store may be difficult.

It may be difficult to go to a doctor's appointment because we do not have doctors offices directly in the neighborhood.

This service allows us to have the access.

>> I know a lot of people that it is hard for them to get to work.

They cannot get out.

Reporter: This woman left a warehouse job to start driving for this new program.

>> I just like talking to the customers.

It is a lot easier than lifting and pulling.

Reporter: She says the new job is a lot more enjoyable.

It is inspired by a similar app rolled out by Jersey City.

>> It is cheaper than a cab.

I think it is a quarter cheaper than the bus.

Reporter: There are some differences between Camden loop and apps like Uber.

You can only catch a ride on the weekdays between 8:00 and 8:00.

If you do not download the app, there is a phone number you can call.

>> This program will implement a brand-new transportation option with a primary goal to meet the needs of Camden residents in accessing employment in the city , as well as providing efficient connections.

>> Having this transportation opportunity is a major game changer.

We are grateful to the state of New Jersey for funding this initiative and to Camden community partnership for designing this innovative solution.

Reporter: Some of these cars are wheelchair accessible.

Accessibility is a major feature.

>> In the city where a significant number of residents speak Spanish, Camden loop has embraced the diverse needs of our community, designing an app that is available in Spanish.

Reporter: Rides have been free for the past month and they are still free on Friday.

They start to cost two dollars on Monday.

Briana: Or stead is turning to the courts to help get New Jersey's first after wind project off the ground.

The developers is engulfed in lawsuits that is delaying the start of ocean wind one, windfarm 50 miles off the southern Jersey shore.

Orsted Is suing a county come election the government there is dragging its feet.

The company is also suing Ocean City over similar delays and free citizens groups are pushing to block the project.

They filed an appeal over approvals given to the project.

All of it is causing a black eye for the Murphy administration, which is prioritizing offshore wind as part of its clean energy goals.

Governor Murphy signed a law that will give Orsted Hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks.

On Wall Street, stocks are still reacting to the news of cooling inflation.

Here is today's closing trading numbers.

♪ Briana: We have talked a lot about the learning loss caused by the pandemic.

Now we are seeing a turn around, at least in some school districts, next to the New Jersey Tutoring Corps, a statewide nonprofit created to help in educational recovery.

The findings show double-digit improvements.

Reporter: Mistakes and learning go hand in hand here at the Trenton Boys and Girls Club, where more than 100 students are participating in New Jersey Tutoring Corps's third year of Summer tutoring program the program was launched in the summer of 2021 to provide tutoring for pre-k through fifth grade students to address pandemic related learning loss.

According to her report, proficiency for grade students declined by nearly nine points from spring 2019 to spring 2022.

Only 35 percent of students were proficient.

A report found that the percentage of scholars performing at grade level at math improved, from 16% to 40%.

That hard work has paid off.

Last week it was announced that the JTC will receive $1.5 million from the fiscal year New Jersey state budget.

>> All of our scholars take a diagnostic assessment.

It tells us here is where you are in your knowledge for grade level standards.

A fourth-grade scholar is supposed to know these 20 things.

Reporter: The CEO at New Jersey Teaching Corps says the program helps with statewide stepping shortages.

-- staffing shortages.

>> People who have never worked in a classroom, but that educational background.

And certified teachers, this is a great summer job for them.

Reporter: This high school teacher is in her second year.

>> This is an important opportunity for students to maintain and build their skills.

We are building their confidence in their ability to learn.

And we want them to take ownership of their learning and feel enthusiastic about learning.

Reporter: There are about four kids in each 45 minute tutoring session.

Students I spoke with say it makes learning fun.

>> When I go to tutoring, she always encourages me and helps me out sometimes.

She tells me to try my best.

>> The things I learned will help me when I get into fifth grade.

>> Learning is fun if you set it up that way.

That is my whole classroom philosophy.

I feel like it is my job to create an activity, I do not want to call it a listen during the summer.

I want it to be something where they can see real life application.

If students see the value, they are more apt to buy into it.

Briana: Despite having a diverse population, New Jersey's public schools are among the most segregated in the country.

A deeper look at the data shows school/-- segregation negatively impact school achievement.

NJ Spotlight News analyze test scores, graduation rates and other figures and found the lower rates of passing scores in math and English were in schools with predominantly black or Hispanic student bodies, or a combination of non-white races and Hispanic.

The highest passing rates were in schools that were predominantly white or Asian.

Or any school system considered not segregated.

Experts said there are several reasons why come among them socioeconomic status, being among more English language learners, higher rates of absenteeism and fewer opportunities to take advanced courses.

You can check out more of the data and the entire segregated series by heading to NJ Spotlight News.org.

That is going to do it for us tonight.

A reminder to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen anytime.

For the entire NJ Spotlight News team, thanks for being with us.

Have a great night.

We will see you here tomorrow.

♪ >> NJM Insurance Group, serving insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

New Jersey Realtors, the voice for real estate in New Jersey.

More information is online at NJRealtor.com.

And By the PSNJ foundation.

Orsted, committed to the creation of a new long-term, sustainable, clean energy future for New Jersey.

♪