Community Crisis Response Advisory Council, grant eligibility

6. a. To be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to the pilot program established in section 5 of P.L.2023, c.259 (C.52:17B-236.5): (1) a municipality shall be a municipality of the first class in Essex, Hudson, and Passaic Counties; a municipality of the second class having a population of more than 70,000 and density of 8,000 to 12,000 according to the 2020 federal decennial census in Camden and Mercer Counties; and a municipality of the second class having a population of more than 55,000 and density of between 10,000 and 11,000 according to the 2020 federal decennial census in Middlesex County; and have an entity that operates as a violence interrupter community street team within its boundaries; and (2) a community-based organization shall be located within a municipality that meets the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection. Additionally, an applicant is required to demonstrate an established relationship with a State-approved harm reduction center, be a State-approved community violence intervention program, or both. The Department of Law and Public Safety shall be required to prioritize issuing grants to an applicant that currently operates as a violence interrupter community street team and has been State-approved for a period of not less than two years. b. An applicant shall submit an application to the Department of Law and Public Safety as outlined in the request for proposals that includes, at a minimum, the following: (1) for planning grants: (a) a list of stakeholders and potential stakeholders that will participate in the planning process, which may include community-based organizations and government partners, and shall include a State-approved harm reduction center or another organization that provides harm reduction services; and (b) strategies for sustained community engagement and feedback processes; and (2) for implementation grants: (a) a list of stakeholders and potential stakeholders that will participate in the project, which shall include a State-authorized harm reduction center or another organization that provides harm reduction services; (b) a framework for how the program will be incorporated into a government department or work in cooperation with a government department; (c) a dispatch model and flowchart; (d) the metrics by which the program will be evaluated; (e) strategies for peer staffing and retention; (f) strategies for warm handoff and sustained follow-up of participants; (g) a statement describing the manner in which a community crisis response team will divert behavioral health calls from the purview of law enforcement of response while ensuring rapid, sufficient medical response when needed; (h) a statement describing the manner in which a community crisis response team will prevent and divert individuals from involvement in the criminal justice system; (i) a statement describing the manner in which the program will prioritize racial and gender equity in the allocation of services and resources; and (j) a proposed community crisis response team budget. c. Grants awarded under the pilot program shall not exceed a total of $12,000,000 and the amount awarded to applicants in each eligible municipality shall not exceed $2,000,000 per municipality. A law enforcement agency shall not be the recipient of a grant.