The New Jersey Disaster Critical Incident Stress Response (NJDCISR) program was established from a grant offered through the Office of Victim Witness Advocacy by providing funding to address the continued needs for counseling services to the first responders involved with the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster on September 11, 2001.

The counseling services provided to first responders of the 9/11 disaster were free of charge and kept confidential.

Those needs were provided through a statewide, comprehensive standardized critical incident stress response service with specialized programs for those individuals in need of services. 

The NJDCISR grant program strove to accomplish the following: 

• Establishment of 21 county NJDCISR teams for critical incident stress response and coordination of the victim/community needs assessment for first responders of the 9/11 World Trade Center disaster.
• Coordinate peer support counseling groups throughout the state for first responders affected by the 9/11 disaster.
• Establishment of peer 9/11 CISR teams at NJ Task Force 1 - Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) and the Division of State Police.
• Regional first responder counseling services for those affected by the disaster.
• Establishment of a 9/11 WTC disaster first responder web site and crisis line.
• Social Sciences research from 9/11 Lessons Learned in the population of first responders as preparation to follow up with continued counseling of 9/11 WTC disaster affecting first responders.

This program will enable the State of New Jersey to continue to provide counseling services to the first responders of the WTC disaster of 9/11, namely, counseling and peer support programs, as well as support to the staff tasked with the daily assessment and assistance to this special population.