New Jersey’s governor and attorney general have opened another round of funding for a violence-intervention grant program financed largely by revenue from state-legal marijuana.
Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin (D) said Tuesday that the newly announced awards, which will funnel $14.5 million to support community organizations across the state, will bring the amount dedicated to community-based violence intervention (CBVI) programs since 2021 up to nearly $55 million.
While the program receives some federal dollars, state funding consists primarily of marijuana revenue from the New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Fund, which was established through the state’s marijuana legalization law, and consists of monies from taxes on legal sales, industry fees and civil penalties. The fund “is dedicated to reinvestment in communities most impacted by cannabis criminalization,” the new announcement says.
Applications for the grants are due to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office by October 21. An optional informational webinar is scheduled for 11 a.m. on October 2, though applicants must register for the webinar by September 30.
“There is no place for violence in New Jersey,” Murphy said in a statement this week, “which is why we have gone to great lengths to break harmful cycles and ensure our residents feel secure in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces. New Jersey’s groundbreaking violence reduction programs have already proven invaluable in our efforts to reduce violence and bolster our prevention framework.”
As the announcement explains, the CBVI programs use a public-health approach to interrupting cycles of violence, for example through street outreach, mentorship, de-escalation services, safe passage for youth in high-crime areas and individual case management.
“In the first quarter of 2024, CBVI entities funded by the Department of Law and Public Safety engaged nearly 1,000 individuals in one-on-one programming, including counseling, mentoring, and/or trauma recovery and support,” the new announcement notes. Grant winners during the same period also “spent over 1,200 hours organizing nearly 40 violence prevention events serving hundreds of individuals in their communities – from neighborhood cookouts to peace walks – in an effort to help bring individuals and communities together and raise awareness about violence and prevention strategies.”
Platkin said that the state’s “violence intervention programming is a key part of our approach to reducing violent crime, combatting gun violence, and increasing public safety.”
“I am grateful for the Governor’s support and proud to continue these initiatives to make New Jersey safer for all of its residents,” he said. “The funding announced today means that we can deepen our investment in the essential work of the grass roots organizations that are breaking cycles of violence and stopping the harm and trauma that comes with it.”
Communities in NJ are safer thanks to our partners running violence intervention programs. With the support of @GovMurphy, another $14.5M is now available to support this innovative, evidence-informed work that disrupts cycles of violence. https://t.co/Mt1H5rUTe5 pic.twitter.com/V6O93eHvFq
— Attorney General Matt Platkin (@NewJerseyOAG) September 24, 2024
One relatively new change to the CBVI program is that grants put “a special emphasis and priority on violence intervention programs known as ‘tertiary services,’ which are recognized as providing the most immediate benefit in reducing and responding to violence,” it says, later explaining that tertiary services involve identifying “strategies that attempt to intervene with those already engaged in violent behavior or at high risk of violence due to past victimization or as a result of retaliation.”
Organizations providing tertiary services can receive individual grants of up to $750,000, while other groups can qualify for a maximum of $500,000.
In December of last year, a funding round through the same program distributed $15 million to 29 different CBVI organizations throughout the state. Examples of organizations being supported in that round of awards include Alcove Center for Grieving Children and Families, Newark Community Street Team, Anti-Violence Coalition of Hudson County, Urban Care Foundation, Covenant House New Jersey and Elizabeth Youth Theatre Ensemble.
That same month, Murphy and Platkin announced the recipients of $5.2 million in separate hospital-based violence-intervention grants funded with revenue from state-legal marijuana. The two politicians said the money for the New Jersey Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (NJHVIP) would be distributed to 11 recipients in 10 counties.
That program, originally launched in 2020 with federal funds, is now funded through the state’s Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Fund. All told, the program has spent nearly $45 million in federal and state funding on the hospital-based programs.
New Jersey is among a majority of states with legal cannabis that route at least some portion of revenue toward community reinvestment.
In neighboring New York, for instance, state officials said earlier this month they’re preparing to deploy up to $5 million in grants funded by marijuana tax revenue as part of an effort to reinvest in areas disproportionately impacted by the the war on drugs. The state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) says the awards aim “to redress a wide range of community needs—from housing to childcare to job skills training and many areas in between.” Under state law, 40 percent of all cannabis tax revenue is earmarked for community reinvestment.
California officials in June, meanwhile, awarded a fresh round of community reinvestment grants to nonprofits and local health departments, funded by marijuana tax revenue. The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced the recipients of over $41 million in awards, the sixth round of cannabis-funded California Community Reinvestment Grants (CalCRG) under the state program.
In March, California officials awarded $12 million in marijuana tax-funded grants to cities across the state to support equity programs for people disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.
And in Illinois last month, officials announced that they’re awarding $35 million in grants to 88 local organizations, using funds generated from taxes on adult-use marijuana sales to support community reinvestment efforts.
The funding is being offered through the state’s Restore, Reinvest, Renew (R3) Program that was established under Illinois’s 2019 legalization law. It requires 25 percent of cannabis tax revenue to support areas most harmed by the “disproportionate damaged caused by the war on drugs,” the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) said.
Since launching the R3 program, Illinois has awarded over $244 million in marijuana revenue-funded grants to that end.
Separately in Massachusetts, after nearly two years of delays, a state social equity fund finally awarded social equity businesses roughly $2.3 million in grant money in April.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis/Side Pocket Images.
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