Arizona nonprofits can apply for justice reinvestment grants that use marijuana funds

Arizona organizations can now apply for the first round of state marijuana funds for justice reinvestment programs.

When recreational marijuana was legalized in 2020 through Proposition 207, a Justice Reinvestment Fund was created that sets aside 10% of marijuana-related taxes and fees. Most of that money is allocated to county health departments and the Arizona Department of Health Services for public health issues, and the remainder is for grants to organizations running justice reinvestment programs, which aim to reduce the population of incarcerated people or help people who were formerly incarcerated.

According to the Department of Health Services, $5.9 million will be released during this round of grants.

Under Proposition 207, justice reinvestment programs are broadly defined. The law says they can provide substance use prevention and treatment, jail diversion, workforce development, or mentoring services, among other offerings. They also can address the causes of crime, aim to reduce drug arrests or help people expunge criminal records.

Justice reinvestment programs should serve residents in areas impacted by disproportionately high rates of arrest and incarceration, according to the Department of Health Services. Arizona Department of Corrections data was used to demonstrate that Black, Hispanic and Native American communities are disproportionately impacted by incarceration. The Department of Health Services produced maps that show priority regions for grant funding. Those regions include much of south and west Phoenix.

Health Department gathers ideas about justice reinvestment

The Department of Health Services funded a series of listening sessions hosted by nonprofits across the state to determine priorities for justice reinvestment programs. More than 90 of the 235 session participants said they had personally experienced arrest or incarceration, according to the department.

From these sessions came many ideas about what justice reinvestment can look like.

Ideas for marijuana grants:How south Phoenix groups want to use state marijuana dollars for 'justice reinvestment'

Participants said these programs could help people meet basic needs for food, shelter, clothing, transportation and health care, according to a report by LeCroy & Milligan Associates, a consulting firm that facilitated the sessions on behalf of the department.

Other ideas put forth by session participants included investments in neighborhood maintenance such as increased crosswalks and public restrooms, technology training for formerly incarcerated people about using computers and smartphones and teacher training about diversity, equity and inclusion, according to the report.

Last fall, more than 50 organizations across the state formed the Arizona Communities Justice Reinvestment Network. They wrote a letter to the Department of Health Services requesting that the grant-making process be equitable and accessible to small and emerging organizations.

“We’re really pleasantly surprised and pleased that it really does seem like a lot of our input was heard, and not just heard but incorporated into the process,” said Caroline Isaacs, executive director of Just Communities Arizona.

Isaacs said the network is excited that the application is open to grassroots groups, which it defines as “typically composed of individuals impacted by the issue being addressed, who are leading and mobilizing communities.”

“I don't think I've ever seen that come out of a state agency in Arizona,” Isaacs said.

Isaacs was also happy to see that the Department of Health Services appears open to a wide variety of ideas for justice reinvestment.

“Sometimes with grants, it’s like, 'We are funding this one tiny thing and you must do it exactly this way,'” Isaacs said. “That’s not the case with this.”

The grant application window closes on April 28. Instructions on how to apply can be found at grants.az.gov/funding-opportunities-0. Moving forward, DHS said it will release justice reinvestment grants annually.

Madeleine Parrish covers equity issues for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maddieparrish61.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ groups can apply for justice reinvestment grants using pot funds