Recent Grants

As authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP) furthers the Department of Justice's mission by assisting state, local, and tribal efforts to prevent or reduce crime and violence, with a particular focus on gun violence and the programs and initiatives that target the risk factors that are likely to lead to this kind of violence.

Byrne SCIP funds may be used to provide personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, training, technical assistance, and information systems related to the implementation of an actual program within the state's SCIP priority areas.

Related court-based, behavioral health deflection, and gun safety programs or initiatives include, but are not limited to: 

• Specialized court-based programs such as drug, mental health, and veterans treatment courts, including those that specifically accept clients with firearm violations 
  • Gun violence recovery courts that connect clients in crisis with community resources
  • Threat assessment training for prosecutors, judges, law enforcement, and public defenders
  • Technology, analysis, or information-sharing solutions for ensuring law enforcement, probation, prosecutors, the courts, and public defenders are informed when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a firearm
  • Development and implementation of validated gun violence risk assessment tools and service case management and navigation programs to assess the risks and needs of clients and connect them to critical services to mitigate their risk of gun violence and enhance their access to effective interventions
  • Expanding the capacity of existing drug, mental health, and veterans treatment courts to assist clients who are most likely to commit or become victims of gun crimes
• Behavioral health deflection for those at risk to themselves or others
  • Assertive Community Treatment
  • Behavioral threat assessment programs and related training 
  • Triage services, mobile crisis units (both co-responder and civilian only), and peer support specialists
  • Technological supports such as smartphone applications to help families and patients navigate mental health and related systems and telehealth initiatives, including technology solutions for telehealth visits outside the hospital
  • Support behavioral health responses and civil legal responses to behavioral health responses such as regional crisis call centers, crisis mobile team response, and crisis receiving and stabilization facilities to individuals in crisis
  • Specialized training for individuals who serve or are families of individuals who are in crisis
  • Law enforcement-based programs, training, and technology
• Funding for law enforcement agencies to safely secure, store, track, and return relinquished guns  
  • Gun locks and storage for individuals and businesses
  • Software/technologies to track relinquished guns
  • Development and or delivery of specialized training and overtime for officers to attend training

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety Governor's Crime Commission has been designated as the State Administrative Agency (SAA) of the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP) for the state of North Carolina.

In 2024, funds will be used to provide:

1. Community-based behavioral health deflection strategies for justice-involved individuals, violent crime and firearm reduction programs, and crisis intervention services
2. Specialty courts with linkage to treatment and life skills service providers
3. School-based safe gun storage campaigns and youth-focused gun education program

In 2025, the following program areas will be funded through the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP) and the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiatives (CVIPI):

• Hospital-Based Violence Intervention - Both SCIP and CVIPI seek hospital-based violence intervention applications from rural and nonrural applicants. Each application must designate if this application is an existing continuation of a hospital-based program or a new/expansion hospital-based program that will address rural communities especially in localities experiencing chronic or elevated violent crime rates and consequent firearms related emergency room visits. Emphasis on the implementation of service case management and navigation programs to assess the risks and needs of clients that connect them to critical wrap around services to mitigate risk of gun violence and enhance access to effective interventions including technology solutions for telehealth visits outside the hospital.
• Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiatives (CVIPI) - The Commission seeks applications from new, rural-based CVIPI programs in localities experiencing chronic or elevated per capita violent crime rates and consequent firearms related emergency room visits. In North Carolina only 6 counties (Mecklenburg, Forsyth, New Hanover, Durham, Wake and Guilford) are considered urban as defined by the NC Rural Center. The vast majority of counties and municipalities are still rural. These grants are expected to reduce community violence in less urban communities as demonstrated by violent crime rates or hospital emergency room firearm injuries.
• Behavioral Health Focused Community Violence Intervention (CVI) in High Violence Communities- The Commission seeks applications from existing or new behavioral health based programs with a crisis intervention component in high violence localities that are experiencing chronic and or elevated violent crime rates and consequent firearm related emergency room visits. These programs should focus on individuals most at risk of being a victim of, or committing an act of, gun violence through the development and implementation of validated gun violence risk assessment tools and service case management and navigation programs to assess the risks and needs of clients that connect them to critical services to mitigate risk of gun violence and enhance access to effective interventions. Behavioral health programs must address crisis intervention components including but not limited to regional crisis call centers, crisis mobile team responses and receiving and stabilization facilities to individuals in crisis.
• Treatment Courts - With this solicitation, North Carolina seeks best practices and innovations in the treatment courts to assist clients who are most likely to commit or become a victim of gun crimes. Specialized court-based programs such as drug, mental health, veterans' treatment courts, and gun violence recovery courts that connect clients in crisis with community resources to mitigate their risk of gun violence and enhance their access to effective interventions.
• Domestic Violence Intervention Programs (DVIP) - With this solicitation, the Commission intends to enhance the capacity and reach of court ordered DVIP program providers via implementation of validated gun violence risk assessment tools and service case management and navigation programs to assess the risks and needs of offenders and connect them to critical services to mitigate their risk of gun violence and enhance their access to effective interventions and lower recidivism.