15PBJA21GG04549COAP

The State of NJ, Department of Law & Public Safety, Office of the Attorney General (“DL&PS”) is applying for funding in the amount of $6,000,000 to establish Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program (LEAD) programs in six areas of the state.

To date, DL&PS’s primary initiative to connect individuals struggling with substance use issues to treatment has been led by law enforcement. Now, as part of Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s ongoing efforts to reform policing and build community trust in law enforcement, DL&PS would like to explore a new way of doing this work that centers on the non-coercive, public health-focused LEAD model of responding to crimes driven, in part, by addiction.

LEAD involves giving law enforcement the discretion to divert people whose low-level unlawful conduct stems, in part, from addiction into long-term, community-based harm reduction case management. In LEAD, an officer who becomes aware of an individual who has disproportionate contact with the criminal legal system may call LEAD case management to meet the individual and invite him/her to opt into LEAD, rather than arresting him/her. If the individual opts into LEAD, he/she is provided with the services he/she needs, which may include access to medication-assisted therapy, health and safety resources, food, housing, legal advocacy, and job training. The officer is invited, but not required, to attend the regular meetings of the ongoing working group to follow the progress of diverted individuals.

LEAD represents an opportunity to bring about a cultural shift in law enforcement by reorienting NJ’s systemic response to crimes driven by substance use disorder.

During the planning phase, DL&PS will contract with a consultant for support, training, and technical assistance; hire a project coordinator to ensure that performance measures, deliverables, and reporting requirements are satisfied; work with public safety and public health entities on data collection needs; use a data-driven approach to identify six areas where LEAD would best be implemented; procure an academic partner to assist in developing data collection guidelines, oversee site data collection, and evaluate the programs; and make funding available to subrecipients to implement LEAD in six identified areas. DL&PS will consider prioritizing program sites in regions that have been disproportionately impacted by the addiction crisis.

During the implementation phase, each subrecipient will plan and implement LEAD. DL&PS will work with each subrecipient, in conjunction with a consultant and partners, to ensure that each program design follows the LEAD model.

New Jersey Department Of Law & Public Safety

THE COMPREHENSIVE OPIOID STIMULANT AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE SITE-BASED PROGRAM (COSSAP) WAS DEVELOPED AS PART OF THE COMPREHENSIVE ADDICTION AND RECOVERY ACT (CARA) LEGISLATION. COSSAP'S PURPOSE IS TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO STATES, UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS TO PLAN, DEVELOP, AND IMPLEMENT COMPREHENSIVE EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY, RESPOND TO, TREAT, AND SUPPORT THOSE IMPACTED BY OPIOIDS, STIMULANTS, METHAMPHETAMINE AND OTHER DRUGS.

16.838 - Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) [DOJ - OJP]

Trenton, New Jersey 08611 United States

Single Zip Code

BJA FY 21 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (O-BJA-2021-94008)

Termination This project grant was reported as terminated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in July 2025. See All
Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 09/30/24 to 04/30/25 and the total obligations have decreased 50% from $12,000,000 to $6,000,000.