FY23 New Jersey Statewide Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CBVIP)

The purpose of the NJ Office of Violence Intervention and Prevention (OVIP) project will enhance and expand existing CVI strategies by creating models for a continuum of CVI prevention strategies and integration with other social systems at the local level, supporting the creation of a statewide infrastructure of community-based public safety.

The primary activities of the project begin with the selection of two CVI subrecipients that will serve as demonstration sites for this project. The two subrecipients will be selected through a competitive process, and they will consist of one operating in a more rural county and another in a more densely populated midsized city. Other criteria for selection include serving communities of color with disproportionately high rates of gun violence victimization and having experience in three areas: providing tertiary prevention services, identifying and working with high-risk individuals, and supporting community-centered organizing and relationship building. Criteria for determining whether selected subrecipients serve high-risk individuals include screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and risk factors, cross-system involvement, behavioral/impulsive issues, and/or referrals from local law enforcement.

With the support of OVIP, the subrecipients will conduct a comprehensive, community-led needs assessment and review of client needs—including risk factors and ACEs—that will help providers identify gaps in the CVI prevention continuum, and areas of opportunity for the development of protective factors. The subrecipients will then propose a service enhancement along one or both of two areas of development: (1) building the continuum of prevention to ensure that communities suffering the most from gun violence have in place primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention providers who are trained in CVI strategies and who coordinate their services and (2) integration with other social systems—housing, employment, transportation, reentry, family supports—that could support the development of protective factors.

The intended beneficiaries will be the populations in these two selected communities who are among the highest risk for exposure to community violence. The specific age range will depend on the subrecipients selected, although previous OVIP funding suggests that these organizations tend to serve young men ages 15–29 who are exposed to violence and are disproportionately African American. Outcomes for this project include indicators for strengthened prevention continuums and innovative solutions that reduce barriers to social safety and economic opportunities. This project will demonstrate that New Jersey can deepen and enrich CVI investments through the development of a social ecological model of prevention.