The City of Philadelphia, Why Not Prosper, and the Center for Carceral Communities will work together to identify drivers of racial disparities in the local justice system and engage people most impacted by mass incarceration
PHILADELPHIA — The City of Philadelphia, Why Not Prosper (WNP), and the Center for Carceral Communities (CCC) are the recipients of a $500,000 grant by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to further explore eliminating racial and ethnic inequities in Philadelphia’s local justice system. The grant is part of the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC), a $300 million national initiative to reduce over-incarceration and address racial and ethnic disparities in local criminal justice systems by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails.
Today, Philadelphia was one of four jurisdictions selected to join the SJC’s Racial Equity Cohort where they will work in partnership with local community partners to focus on racial and ethnic equity in the criminal justice system by centering the lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color by authentically engaging their communities.
This funding will provide Philadelphia, WNP and CCC with training and technical assistance focused on racial equity and authentic community engagement, peer-to-peer support from other cohort members, and qualitative and quantitative data and analytic support. As co-leads, Philadelphia, WNP and CCC will work to address national and local drivers of racial inequities.
Through their work as part of the Racial Equity Cohort, Philadelphia is proposing two main initiatives that when taken together, aim to reduce the immense racial and ethnic disparities in arrests, diversions, and jail admissions.
Why Not Prosper is a grassroots nonprofit founded by a formerly incarcerated woman for other formerly incarcerated women. WNP helps women coming out of custody discover their strength by providing them with support and resources, empowering them to become contributing members of the community. WNP’s role will be to lead a Participatory Action Research (PAR) Project, exploring the needs for justice reinvestment, informed by cost analysis developed in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice. Based on the results of the PAR, WNP and the SJC Community Advisory Committee will identify a pilot intervention for further investment and will amplify the results for City leaders.
Center for Carceral Communities (CCC) is an initiative of the University of Pennsylvania and works collaboratively with neighborhoods in West Philadelphia to help people with a history of incarceration re-engage with the community. In partnership with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO), CCC will deliver services as part of a diversion program pilot, providing free, evidence-based psychosocial services to participants.
The creation of the Racial Equity Cohort is part of the MacArthur Foundation’s commitment to centering racial equity and the voices of people most impacted by the justice system. The new funding and support announced today is part of that commitment to learning about and investing in more intentional and effective strategies to eliminate institutional and systemic racism within the justice system. The Foundation also acknowledges that the efforts and focus of this cohort on the justice system are only part of what must be a multi-faceted and multi-system approach to achieving true racial equity and justice.
Erica Atwood, Senior Director for the Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice & Public Safety (CJPS) had this to say about the partnership with the Foundation: “To have safe and healthy communities we need an equitable and truly restorative justice system. We have to continue to make reforms that center on eliminating the economic, racial, and ethnic disparities. People deserve a second chance, in some instances a first chance, to chart a path to opportunity, and this continued partnership with the MacArthur Foundation is the seed of hope for a more just Philadelphia.”
“We are super excited that Why Not Prosper and SWAG (Sisters with A Goal) will be leading the charge in bringing about systemic change and dismantling racial barriers in our criminal justice system,” said Reverend Dr. Michelle Anne Simmons of WNP. “We cannot wait to bring forth the voices of the people in our communities and the formerly incarcerated women that we service through our programs, to help foster REAL Change!”
“While the Safety and Justice Challenge has been successful in reducing local jail populations, it has also taught us that this alone will not eliminate racial disparities in the criminal justice system,” said Laurie Garduque, the MacArthur Foundation’s Director of Criminal Justice. “By pairing the leadership of people most impacted by mass incarceration with the expertise of government partners, we hope this cohort of jurisdictions will challenge systemic racism in our justice systems and create policies and practices to sustain long-term change.”
The four cities and counties selected to participate in the Racial Equity Cohort are Cook County (IL), New Orleans (LA), Philadelphia (PA), and Pima County (AZ). The participating community partners are Chicago Regional Organizing for Antiracism (Cook County), Total Community Action (New Orleans), Why Not Prosper (Philadelphia), the Center for Carceral Communities at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), and the YWCA of Southern Arizona (Pima County).
The Center for Court Innovation will be the coordinator for the full cohort of grantees and provide logistical, administrative, and fiscal support. Several of the nation’s leading policy research and criminal justice organizations will also provide technical assistance and counsel to the SJC Racial Equality (RE) Cohort jurisdictions, including the Haywood Burns Institute, Nexus Community Partners, Everyday Democracy, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, Race Forward, and the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance. JustLeadershipUSA, Policy Research Associates, and the National Legal Aid & Defender Association will also be participating as part of the initiatives racial equity cohort steering committee.
Government Agency: The Managing Director’s Office (MDO) in the City of Philadelphia, serves as the lead agency for the SJC and plays a leadership role in coordinating cross-system collaboration. The MDO ensures that the RE Cohort is integrated within other justice reform efforts.
Community Partner: WNP is a grassroots nonprofit founded by a formerly incarcerated woman for other formerly incarcerated women. WNP helps women coming out of custody discover their strength by providing them with support and resources, empowering them to become contributing members of the community.
Community Partner: CCC is an initiative of the University of Pennsylvania and works collaboratively with neighborhoods in West Philadelphia to help people with a history of incarceration re-engage with the community.