Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Barlas
SYNOPSIS
Establishes “Cop 2 Cop Sustainability Fund” to support “Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention Services” Cop 2 Cop telephone hotline program; appropriates $500,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the “Cop 2 Cop Sustainability Fund,” amending P.L.2008, c.29, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 115 of P.L.2008, c.29 (C.26:2NN-1) is amended to read as follows:
115. a. The Department of Human Services shall maintain a toll-free information "Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention Services" telephone hotline on a 24-hour basis.
The hotline shall receive and respond to calls from law enforcement officers and sheriff's officers who have been involved in any event or incident which has produced personal or job-related depression, anxiety, stress, or other psychological or emotional tension, trauma, or disorder for the officer and officers who have been wounded in the line of duty. The operators of the hotline shall seek to identify those officers who should be referred to further debriefing and counseling services, and to provide such referrals. In the case of wounded officers, those services may include peer counseling, diffusing, debriefing, group therapy, and individual therapy as part of a coordinated assistance program, to be known as the "Blue Heart Law Enforcement Assistance Program," designed and implemented by the University Behavioral Healthcare Unit of Rutgers, The State University.
b. The operators of the hotline shall be trained by the Department of Human Services and, to the greatest extent possible, shall be persons, who by experience or education, are: (1) familiar with post trauma disorders and the emotional and psychological tensions, depressions, and anxieties unique to law enforcement officers and sheriff's officers; or (2) trained to provide counseling services involving marriage and family life, substance abuse, personal stress management, and other emotional or psychological disorders or conditions which may be likely to adversely affect the personal and professional well-being of a law enforcement officer and a sheriff's officer.
c. To ensure the integrity of the telephone hotline and to encourage officers to utilize it, the commissioner shall provide for the confidentiality of the names of the officers calling, the information discussed by that officer and the operator, and any referrals for further debriefing or counseling; provided, however, the commissioner may, by rule and regulation, (1) establish guidelines providing for the tracking of any officer who exhibits a severe emotional or psychological disorder or condition which the operator handling the call reasonably believes might result in harm to the officer or others and (2) establish a confidential registry of wounded New Jersey law enforcement officers.
d. There is created in the Department of the Treasury a dedicated, non-lapsing fund to be known as the “Cop 2 Cop Sustainability Fund.”
Commencing in State fiscal year 2025 there shall be annually appropriated from the General Fund to the Cop 2 Cop Sustainability Fund, $500,000 to support the "Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention Services" Cop 2 Cop telephone hotline program. In addition to moneys appropriated from the Cop 2 Cop Sustainability Fund, revenues annually provided to the “Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention Services" pursuant to subsection d. of R.S.39:5-41, and any interest and other income earned on moneys therefrom, and any other moneys that may be appropriated or otherwise become available for purposes of the fund, shall be credited to and deposited in the Cop 2 Cop Sustainability Fund.
(cf: P.L.2012, c.45, s.117)
2. (New Section) There is appropriated from the General Fund $500,000 to support the “Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention Services" Cop 2 Cop telephone hotline program.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the “Cop 2 Cop Sustainability Fund” and appropriates an additional $500,000 from the General Fund to this fund to support the “Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention Services” Cop 2 Cop telephone hotline program in the current fiscal year and ongoing.
The “Law Enforcement Officer Crisis Intervention Services” Cop 2 Cop telephone hotline program is a 24-hour confidential peer support hotline and service for law enforcement personnel and their families. This program is currently operated at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care’s National Call Center. The Cop 2 Cop telephone hotline program currently receives up to $400,000 annually from Body Armor Replacement Funds pursuant to R.S.39:5-41. This bill would dedicate an additional $500,000 to the “Cop 2 Cop Sustainability Fund” to support the Cop 2 Cop telephone hotline program.