Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP) Project Grants

Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP) Project Grants is sponsored by Northwest Health Foundation. The Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP) supports culturally specific organizations and culturally responsive services in communities most harmed and least helped by Oregon's criminal legal system.

Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (Copy) — Northwest Health Foundation Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP) Northwest Health Foundation is excited to announce 18 culturally specific organizations and culturally responsive providers selected to participate in the Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP).

These organizations will receive project grants and capacity building support for projects that advance community safety in Oregon, promote healing, and reduce prison use.

The 18 organizations are: Clackamas Women’s Services Constructing Hope Pre- Apprenticeship Program Oregon Washington Health Network Red Lodge Transition Services The Stronghold: A Culturally Responsive Peer Support Program WomenFirst Transition & Referral Center The Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP) supports culturally specific organizations and culturally responsive services in communities most harmed and least helped by Oregon’s criminal legal system.

JREP seeks to elevate organizations that have been overlooked by traditional funding streams with the goals of reducing incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal legal system, promoting healing and advancing community safety in Oregon. JREP was established by Senate Bill 1510 during Oregon’s 2022 legislative session through the advocacy of the Transforming Justice Coalition .

The program directs State funds to Northwest Health Foundation Fund II, our 501(c)(3) organization. At the beginning of 2023, Northwest Health Foundation Fund II (NWHF) held a series of meetings with culturally specific organizations and providers of culturally responsive services. This process, known as the JREP Learning Community , allowed us to learn more about each other and shape our plans for JREP.

Thanks to the Learning Community’s input, we are excited to offer multi-year project support, capacity-building and trainings and convenings to culturally specific organizations and culturally responsive service providers in Oregon. JREP’s goals are to reduce incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal legal system, advance healing and promote community safety in Oregon.

To further these goals, NWHF is focusing on three funding priority areas described in detail below. 1. Victim and survivor services Community-led victim and survivor services that are accessible to historically underserved communities.

2. Violence reduction and/or services that prevent involvement in the criminal legal system Community-based supports that prevent, reduce or interrupt violence and/or prevent involvement in the criminal legal system. 3.

Reentry, diversion, and services that reduce involvement in the criminal legal system Reentry: Services for youth/adults who are returning from incarceration and/or currently under supervision such as probation or parole. Diversion: Services that redirect youth/adults away from formal processing in the juvenile or adult justice system.

Reducing Involvement in the Criminal Legal System: Services for youth and/or adults who may have had contact with the criminal legal system but do not have formal charges with the goal of preventing further violations and contact with the criminal legal system. There are two types of grants: Project Grants and Project Grants with Capacity-building Support, described in more detail below.

The JREP grantee cohort includes three Project Grants and 15 Project Grants with Capacity-building Support. Duration: 27 months (October 2023 to December 2025) Description: Funding to provide culturally specific or responsive programs/services and attend convenings.

This funding is for organizations that do not wish to participate in the capacity-building program and that already have the internal capacity to meet the grant reporting requirements.

Project Grants with Capacity Building Support Duration: 27 months (October 2023 to December 2025) Description: Funding to provide culturally specific or responsive programs/services, attend trainings and convenings and participate in a capacity-building program. How do I apply for a JREP Grant? When will the next round of funding be?

JREP was established by Senate Bill 1510 during Oregon’s 2022 legislative session. We shared earlier this year in our newsletter that the Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP) would no longer be funded by the state. Although JREP is winding down, we partnered with Meyer Memorial Trust, the Ronald W.

Naito Foundation, the Yarg Foundation, and Meadow Fund to invest in the people and relationships that have advanced community safety across Oregon through a leadership development cohort. The cohort brings together community safety practitioners from across the state to deepen relationships, strategize with one another, and share lessons from their work.

We look forward to sharing what participants learn and how the experience shapes their work. How did you select the 18 organizations that will receive JREP grants? We received over 80 requests for funding, amounting to more than $24 million.

Applications were reviewed using the definitions of “culturally specific organization” and provider of “culturally responsive service” as outlined in Senate Bill 1510. We also scored applications against selection criteria developed through consultations with our volunteer advisory group, which are detailed in the RFP . The evaluation process was conducted by a grant review committee consisting of both NWHF and LCCL staff.

Application responses, site visits and follow-up discussions with applicants informed our deliberations. Throughout the process, we considered how applicants aligned with the stated goals of JREP while seeking a balance across service categories, communities, organizational maturity and geography. How do you define culturally specific organization and culturally-responsive service provider?

These are the definitions outlined in Senate Bill 1510: “Culturally responsive service” means a service that is respectful of and relevant to the beliefs, practices, cultures, and linguistic needs of diverse consumer or client populations and communities whose members identify as having particular cultural or linguistic affiliations by virtue of their place of birth, ancestry or ethnic origin, religion, preferred language or language spoken at home.

A culturally responsive service has the capacity to respond to the issues of diverse communities and requires knowledge and capacity at systemic, organizational, professional and individual levels of intervention.

“Culturally specific organization” means an organization, or a program within an organization, that serves a particular cultural community, that is primarily staffed and led by members of that community and that demonstrates self-advocacy, positive cultural identity and intimate knowledge of the lived experience of the community, including but not limited to (A) The impact of structural and individual racism or discrimination on the community; (B) Specific disparities in access to services and resources experienced by the community; and (C) Community strengths, cultural practices, beliefs, and traditions.

“ Solutions to Violence: Creating Safety Without Prisons or Policing ” - Common Justice “ Transforming Safety: A New Vision for Public Safety ” Video - Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition “ How Mass Incarceration Makes Us All Sick ” - Eric Reinhart “ When We Tell Our Stories: How Survivors are Most Harmed and Least Helped by the Public Safety System ” - Partnership for Safety & Justice “ Public Investment in Community-Driven Safety Initiatives ” - Urban Institute “ Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience: A Framework for Addressing and Preventing Community Trauma ” - Rachel Davis, Howard Pinderhughes, Myesha Williams Frequently Asked Questions