The Newsletter

Community Justice Celebrates the White House’s New Executive Order and Announcement of CVIPI Awardees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 26, 2024


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Washington, D.C. – In response to the White House’s announcement of a new Executive Order and additional executive actions to address gun violence, Community Justice Executive Director José Alfaro issued the following statement:


“From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration demonstrated their commitment to reducing gun violence and supporting survivors in Black and brown communities. Community Justice is proud that our advocacy efforts helped lead to the Administration’s investment of hundreds of millions of dollars for the Black and Brown-led organizations on the frontlines working to save lives every day.


Since the establishment of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention one year ago, the Administration’s efforts have accelerated, expanding prevention and intervention services that address gun violence and its devastating impacts. We know that real, lasting change happens when communities are empowered to lead, and we are excited that more resources were announced today to support the CVI field. Community Justice applauds today’s executive actions, which are further evidence of the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive strategy to decrease gun violence and implement a public health approach to end this crisis in our communities.”


The White House’s new Executive Order includes:

  • A directive establishing an Emerging Firearms Threats Task Force tasked with creating an interagency plan for combating these emerging threats
  • A directive to the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and publish information for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education regarding school-based active shooter drills

Additional Executive Actions announced today include:

  • Clarifying that states may authorize health care providers to be reimbursed by Medicaid for violence intervention programs
  • Providing $85 million for community violence intervention programs through the Department of Justice’s Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI)
  • Publishing additional data on ghost gun trends and firearms trafficking
  • Expanding collection of gun violence data through the National Incident-based Reporting System (NIBRS) 
  • Improving data on gunshot injuries via a new data visualization tool provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Addressing the trauma resulting from gun violence in the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 
  • Encouraging safe storage of firearms
  • Clarifying Medicaid reimbursement for counseling on firearm safety
  • Supporting the implementation of state extreme risk laws by awarding $135 million in formula awards to 48 states under the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (Byrne SCIP)
  • Facilitating voluntary out-of-home storage to prevent firearm suicide

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Community Justice is a non-partisan project of Tides Center and builds power for communities of color to end gun violence.

In community,

Team Community Justice

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