Title:
Grant Renewal Application - Safety and Justice Challenge (Criminal Justice Services)
Summary
ACTION:
Approve the submission of a grant application for private funding in the amount of $2,000,000 to the MacArthur Foundation;and if awarded, recognize, receive and appropriate such funds in the General Fund for the grant period
Staff Contact: Sonya Harper, Criminal Justice Services, Director
Presentation: No
BACKGROUND/JUSTIFICATION:
The Safety and Justice Challenge is a MacArthur Foundation initiative to reduce over-incarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails. Launched in February 2015, the initiative features a network of 52 sites that are working to create fairer, more effective local justice systems. Jurisdictions in the network are focused on two primary goals: achieving their jail population reduction targets and reducing racial and ethnic disparities.
The MacArthur Foundation will be investing in two-year renewal grants for jurisdictions that have: 1) Demonstrated the commitment of local political leaders and system stakeholders to the goals of the Safety and Justice Challenge; 2) Made considerable progress on reducing their jail population; 3) Identified and implemented data-driven strategies to target drivers of incarceration and inequity for people of color; 4) Demonstrated a commitment to making their local justice system fairer and more effective by engaging the local community; and 5) Committed to developing routines for measuring the impact of their jail population and disparities reduction strategies and produced data demonstrating their progress.
The strategies the Mecklenburg County Safety and Justice Challenge Core Team will propose are: 1) Create a more meaningful first appearance process to release inmates earlier, 2) Seek funding for an electronic file system in the District Attorney’s Office, 3) Create a new case management plan for the court process, 4) Assess additional lethality instruments and create release options in Domestic Violence cases, and 5) Expand upon existing work within the jurisdiction to address behavioral health issues among justice involved populations
The renewal application is due no later than September 13, 2019. Award recipients will be notified in December 2019.
PROCUREMENT BACKGROUND:
N/A
POLICY IMPACT:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
Increase revenue and associated expenses for the amount awarded in the General Fund (G001)