3. a. The Office of the Attorney General shall award funds from the New Jersey Violence Intervention Program on a competitive basis to municipalities, not-for-profit health agencies, law enforcement agencies, and non-profit organizations that serve communities with disproportionately high rates and numbers of homicides and other incidents involving the use of firearms, as determined by the Office of the Attorney General. The grants shall be used to:

(1) implement, expand, or enhance coordination between evidence-based violence reduction initiatives, such as hospital-based violence intervention programs, street outreach programs, and focused deterrence strategies, which have demonstrated effectiveness at reducing rates of homicides and other incidents involving the use of firearms via the provision of targeted services to victims affected by crime or violence;

(2) support the development and delivery of intervention-based strategies by entities that provide targeted services to individuals who are victims affected by crime or violence and are at risk of being victimized by or engaging in violence, in order to interrupt cycles of violence, reinjury, and retaliation;

(3) support initiatives that primarily target a reduction of violence among individuals who are victims affected by crime or violence and have been identified as having the highest risk of perpetrating or being victimized again by violence in the near future ;

(4) ensure that a sufficient portion of the available grant funding is provided to support programs directed at providing public awareness, outreach, assistance or intervention services to victims of firearm violence offered at community locations such as hospitals where individuals may be encountered in the immediate aftermath of a violent incident; and

(5) conduct annual assessments of the needs of communities demonstrably affected by firearm violence to ensure program funds are used effectively.

b. In awarding grants, the Office of the Attorney General shall prioritize the following applicants:

(1) a not-for-profit hospital or a not-for-profit entity operating within, on behalf of, or in partnership with a hospital which operates or is applying to operate a hospital-based or hospital-linked violence intervention program, which provides services in a municipality that has a disproportionately high rate of firearm violence or homicide and is designated as a Level One or Level Two trauma center, under the provisions of P.L.2013, c.233 (C. 26:2KK-1 et seq.) and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto, as defined in subsection e. of this section; or

(2) applicants operating in areas disproportionately affected by firearm violence, and whose proposals demonstrate the greatest likelihood of reducing, through targeted services, the rate and number of homicides and other incidents involving the use of firearms in the community served by the applicant without contributing to mass incarceration.

Applicants may apply either independently or jointly.

c. The amount of funds awarded to an applicant shall not be limited to a specific amount and shall be commensurate with:

(1) levels of firearm violence in the community served by the applicant; (2) the scope of the applicant’s proposal; and

(3) the applicant’s demonstrated need for additional resources to effectively reduce the rate and numbers of homicides and other incidents involving the use of firearms in the community served by the applicant.

d. A grantee may use the grant awarded to supplement, but not replace, funding that would otherwise be made available to address firearm, group, and community violence in the grantee’s community.

e. As used in this section:

“Hospital-based or hospital-linked violence intervention program” means a program that is operated by a not-for-profit hospital, or by a person or entity who is contracted to operate a program within, on behalf of, or in partnership with a hospital, and which works to end cycles of violence through the provision of intensive counseling, case management, and social services to patients who are recovering from gunshot wounds and other injuries resulting from violence.

L.2019, c.365, s.3.