Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has announced the recipients of the Mental Health Diversion Program Pilot grants, which will be used to establish or expand prosecutor-led mental health diversion programs (MHDP) across New Jersey. The initiative aims to divert eligible individuals from incarceration toward community-based mental health treatment, with a focus on increasing public safety and reducing repeat offenses. The Office of Alternative and Community Responses (OACR) is responsible for distributing these grants.
The expansion follows the passage of P.L. 2023 c. 188 by the New Jersey Legislature in 2024, which included funding for such grants. As a result, new MHDPs will be created in Vicinage 1, Vicinage 2, Vicinage 3, Vicinage 6, Vicinage 7, and Vicinage 15—covering Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, and Salem Counties. Existing programs in Camden (Vicinage 4), Essex (Vicinage 5), Middlesex (Vicinage 8), and Monmouth (Vicinage 9) counties will receive funds for expansion or sustainability planning.
“When people commit offenses while influenced by substance use disorders or mental health diagnoses, treatment, not incarceration, often leads to better outcomes and safer communities,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. “I want to thank the Prosecutors’ Offices for recognizing the significant benefits of mental health diversion programs and the role they play in public safety, as well as the Governor and legislature for making this funding available.”
Tiffany Wilson, Director of OACR added: “OACR and prosecutors around the state understand that addressing the underlying causes of certain behaviors is often more successful in increasing public safety and reducing recidivism than incarceration. Public safety is a shared responsibility, and these programs would not be possible without the partnership of the Administrative Office of the Court, the Office of the Public Defender, the County Prosecutors, and other key stakeholders.”
Several counties already have established MHDPs—including Morris (Vicinage 10), Ocean (Vicinage 14), Sussex and Union Counties (Vicinage 12), as well as Warren and Somerset Counties (part of Vicinage 13). With these latest grant awards New Jersey approaches statewide implementation of mental health diversion options for eligible defendants willing to accept treatment instead of jail time.
Additionally through its Opt for Help and Hope program (OFHH), OACR supports municipal court diversion initiatives that connect individuals charged with low-level non-violent offenses to recovery support services rather than prosecution. The OFHH program began in Paterson, East Orange, Franklin Township, Pemberton, Hamilton—and Atlantic Centralized Court—and has expanded further this year with additional funding made available by OACR; three sites plan expansions into neighboring municipalities while Mercer County intends county-wide coverage.
OACR also provides grant support enabling County Prosecutors’ Offices to offer peer recovery support or treatment connections at various points where individuals encounter law enforcement or enter the criminal justice system; multiple counties use this funding specifically for municipal court diversion efforts.
