SJC Exchange Library

Financial sustainability is critical for the success of local initiatives to reduce the number of people in jails who have mental illnesses and substance use disorders. With numerous stakeholders and complex funding streams, thoughtful collaboration is at the heart of sustainability for these initiatives. At the same time, as these efforts increasingly focus on addressing systemic inequities in both incarceration and access to behavioral health care, engaging and investing in impacted communities requires careful attention.

To respond to this need, The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center updated their original Financing the Future of Local Initiatives tools to center equity in sustainability planning. This set of tools now helps jurisdictions plan for financial sustainability through purposeful engagement of community members, identify potential federal sources of funding, and strategically invest funding to support initiatives that advance equity while reducing the number of people with behavioral health needs in jail.