6. a. The Attorney General shall establish an Office of Victim Support and Assistance in the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance in the Department of Law and Public Safety under the supervision of either a Director or Chief of the Office of Victim Support and Assistance. The office shall promote and facilitate the performance or provision of victim support and assistance services set forth in section 3 of P.L.2023, c.167 (C. 52:4B-60.6) and oversee the department’s victim-related services in a manner consistent with the goal of making victim assistance a key strategy for a public health approach to public safety that prevents violence and victimization. The office’s responsibilities shall include:

(1) providing strategy and resources for the State to address the needs of victims of crimes, and through this assistance, to intervene in violence and prevent repeat victimization;

(2) setting departmental policy with respect to victims of crime and violence, including, but not limited to, victims of sexual assault, victims of domestic violence and intimate partner abuse, youth victims, victims of discrimination and bias-based crimes, and immigrant populations;

(3) serving as a repository of resources, information, best practices, and guidance for communities in the aftermath of mass or multiple acts of violence or bias-based acts, and developing policies and partnerships to prevent these incidents;

(4) identifying victim populations in need of support and assistance, including, but not limited to, victims of non-violent offenses, and communities and demographics that are disproportionally affected by violence, and developing policies for these populations;

(5) enhancing access to healing services after incidents of victimization;

(6) providing technical assistance, training, and guidance to other divisions and organizational units within the department relating to the provision of victim support and assistance;

(7) identifying best practices and evidence-based interventions for improving services to victims, and providing resources and toolkits to State and local government agencies to assist in the effective implementation of these strategies;

(8) identifying, developing, and prioritizing trauma-informed approaches to victim assistance and violence intervention that promote solutions that are supportive of and incorporate mental health services;

(9) identifying, developing recommendations on, and setting crime response policies that may impact the range of victim populations, including restorative justice approaches and other solutions; and

(10) identifying and cultivating survivor-centered strategies through guidance, policy and outreach support, and funding.

b. The office may apply for and accept on behalf of the State any grants from the federal government or any agency thereof, or from any foundation, corporation, association, or person, and may comply with the terms, conditions, and limitations imposed in the grants, to effectuate any of the purposes of the office upon warrant of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting of the Department of the Treasury on vouchers certified and approved by the director.

c. The Attorney General may designate the Office of Victim Support and Assistance to be the programmatic manager of victim-related federal and State grant funds, including grants issued to the State under the federal Victims of Crime Act and the federal Violence Against Women Act, which are allocated to or administered by the department.

L.2023, c.167, s.6.