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Commissioner presses county to apply for state mental health court grant as AOC approval remains key
Summary
Commissioner William O'Dea urged Hudson County to apply immediately for a state Mental Health Diversion Program grant and to start a local mental‑health court, saying key partners support the plan. County staff said formal approval rests with the Administrative Office of the Courts and that they are coordinating with the assignment judge before filing.
Commissioner William O'Dea urged Hudson County administration to move quickly to establish a mental‑health court and to pursue the Attorney General’s Mental Health Diversion Program grant, saying the prosecutor’s office, public defender and County Executive have expressed support. “I’m the one who raised the issue of mental health court first and foremost,” O’Dea said, pressing staff to RSVP for the grant application webinar and to file the county’s application well before the May 21 deadline.
County Administrator Abraham Antun and a county staffer identified in the transcript as Ms. Davis said the county is preparing a statement in coordination with assignment Judge Katz and that the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) has a key approval role. “I don’t think PSI is the lobby, and I think the AOC is the final judge and jury on this,” Ms. Davis said, adding the county is “preparing a statement to request strongly and urge the State to help us here.” She said she would personally ensure the prosecutor’s office RSVPs for the application webinar.
O’Dea told the board he had first raised the need for a mental‑health court nearly a year earlier and pressed county staff for clearer, more prompt communication about steps the county is taking. Ms. Davis responded that the administration has been following an approach intended not to “ruffle feathers” in the judiciary and that staff had shown the draft statement to assignment Judge Katz.
The transcript records two timing specifics county officials cited: a grant application webinar scheduled for April 16 and a May 21 application deadline. Ms. Davis and Antun emphasized that even if the county pursues the grant, final operational authority for a mental‑health court lies with the AOC and the assignment judge. Commissioner O’Dea said he would continue to press for a firm start date and called for more rapid action if AOC approval were obtained.
The board introduced a related contract for governmental relations services with Public Strategies Impact, LLC during the same agenda sequence; Commissioner O’Dea linked the lobbying contract discussion to the push for the mental‑health court and grant assistance.
The county did not report a final application filing in the caucus transcript; staff said they are coordinating with judicial leadership and would circulate the statement and next steps after Judge Katz’s approval.
