The NJ state police (NJSP) proposes to improve interactions between law enforcement officers and individuals with mental health disorders (MHDS) or CO-occurring mental health and substance use…

The New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety received a $549,750 Project Grant award from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Criminal and Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (CFDA 16.745). The grant will support the implementation of co-responder programs called "Arrive Together" in three New Jersey jurisdictions from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2025. The programs pair a plainclothes law enforcement officer with a mental health specialist to jointly respond to 911 behavioral health crisis calls. Approximately $200,000 will expand an existing Arrive Together pilot in Cumberland County working with the Cumberland Guidance Center. The remaining $349,750 will be sub-granted competitively to two densely populated municipalities to establish similar programs through their county mental health screening centers, serving an estimated 1,250 individuals annually. One $50,000 sub-award was designated for the Pine Hill Police Department to support law enforcement and behavioral health cross-system collaboration. The programs aim to improve interactions and outcomes for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders in contact with law enforcement.

The NJ state police (NJSP) proposes to improve interactions between law enforcement officers and individuals with mental health disorders (MHDS) or CO-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (MHSUDS) by implementing CO-responder programs that pair a plainclothes law enforcement officer with a mental health specialist to respond together to behavioral health crisis 9-1-1 calls. The NJSP is requesting $550,000, and providing matching salary funding, to support this program-called arrive together ("alternative responses to reduce instances of violent escalation")-in three separate NJ jurisdictions. The NJSP would expand its existing arrive together pilot in cumberland county, NJ, working with the cumberland guidance center, and sub-grant the remaining funds to two densely populated and racially diverse municipalities through a competitive process to implement similar arrive programs in conjunction with their respective county mental health screening centers. Each program would fund a full-time mental health screener or other screening center professional to CO-respond to crisis 9-1-1 calls with an officer in an unmarked police vehicle. Asking law enforcement officers to respond to 9-1-1 behavioral health crisis calls without the benefit of a mental health specialist can lead to negative outcomes. Approximately 35 percent of uses of force by officers in new jersey involve an individual identified as suffering from a MHD/mhsud. Arrive's target population is individuals with MHD/mhsud who are the subject of 9-1-1 calls for a law enforcement response. Based on the arrive pilot work to date, the NJSP expects the three programs to serve approximately 1,250 individuals annually (through both initial calls for service and follow-UPS). Cumberland county, the site of one of the three proposed arrive programs, is one of the poorest and least healthy in NJ. The number of poor mental health days per month reported by residents is among the highest in the state. In 2018, there were 1,260 cases of MHD/mhsud reported by county providers, representing 56% of all treatment admissions. The three arrive programs will be designed by studying the outcomes from the existing NJSP arrive pilot in cumberland county, as well as through community engagement and working groups in all three jurisdictions-comprised of law enforcement, mental health providers, clergy, and other community leaders. Arrive advances federal priority areas in four ways: (1) promoting racial equity; (2) increasing access to justice; (3) strengthening community safety and protecting the public from crime and evolving threats; (4) building trust between law enforcement and the community.