MacArthur Grant

"The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge recognizes that there are better, fairer, and more effective alternatives to excessive jail incarceration. The Safety and Justice Challenge is supporting a network of competitively selected local jurisdictions committed to finding ways to safely reduce jail incarceration.

Jurisdictions participating in the Challenge will develop and model effective ways to keep people out of jail who don’t belong there, more effectively reintegrate those who must be confined into the community upon release, and help them stay out of jail thereafter. In doing so, they will demonstrate alternatives to incarceration as usual, creating models for reducing unnecessary jail use to make communities healthier, fairer, and safer."  (Quoted from the S&J site)  

For more information please see The MacArthur Foundation's Safety & Justice Challenge site.  http://www.safetyandjusticechallenge.org/

Phase I 
Phase I activities entailed developing a comprehensive plan including review of data; creating a local CJ systems "map"; development of strategic materials and specifications with Criminal Justice stakeholders and community representatives. Links to these meeting presentations can be found below under PHASE I activities.
Phase I Grant application

Phase I - VERA Meeting presentations:
June 2015: Data Intro Slideshow
Aug. 2015: Vera site visit
Oct. 2015: Vera site visit
Dec. 2015: Vera site visit
Data Slides Final

Phase II
In April of 2016, The MacArthur Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge awarded $1.7M to Spokane County as one of only 10 sites across the nation for Phase II, a 3 year implementation and operations plan.  
The MacArthur Core team, as specified and directed by the Foundation, worked closely with Prosecutors, Public Defenders, Detention Services, Courts and Pretrial Services to develop a working plan which we are using in efforts to reduce recidivism, reduce length of stay and address racial and ethnic disparities in our criminal justice system.
Phase II Working Plan

Budget Report as of Nov. 6, 2018: Click Here to view  

The MacArthur Foundation has approved the extension of our Safety and Justice Challenge grant to allow us to use the unexpended funds beyond the current end date of 4/30/18.  Date has been extended to December 31, 2018.

Below are links to view the Extension request,  which details the proposed expenditures, as well as the budget spreadsheet.

Extension Request                Budget Spreadsheet

  * Budget questions may be directed to Spokane Regional Law & Justice Admin Office