$8.1 Million in Grants to Advance Local Justice System Reform

The new funding is being awarded to five counties that are working to reduce over-incarceration and address racial and ethnic disparities in local criminal justice systems.

We’re providing $8.1 million more in additional grants to five Safety and Justice Challenge sites building on their work to reduce overincarceration.

Today’s award of additional funding will enable these five jurisdictions to build on their work to eliminate practices that take a particularly heavy toll on people of color, low-income communities, and people with mental health and substance abuse issues. Their locally-driven strategies range from processing cases more efficiently to enhancing pretrial services and alternatives to incarceration for people experiencing mental illness, substance use issues, or homelessness.

Here’s some of the social media conversation around the announcement (explore more by clicking on the hashtag #RethinkJails). We commend the sites and the stakeholders for their work to create fairer, more just, and more effective justice systems that protect public safety.