Lucas County is the recipient of a $480,000 capstone grant by the John and Catherine MacArthur Foundation. This award is the culmination of Lucas County’s eight years of progress toward safely reducing the local jail population and addressing inequities in the justice system through collaboration with local leaders and community members.
The grant marks a total of $5.1 million invested in Lucas County as part of the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC), a $323 million national initiative to reduce over-incarceration and eliminate racial inequity in local criminal justice systems.
Since being selected to join the SJC network in 2015, Lucas County has committed to addressing factors that contribute to over-incarceration in America. Through the implementation of new, evidence-based policies at a local level, the county successfully and safely reduced the jail population by 36 percent over the past eight years. Lucas County also implemented strategies that address various facets of criminal justice reform, including criminal justice practices, managing based on risk, improving case processing, diversion of underserved populations, coordinated community corrections practices, reducing racial and ethnic disparities, community engagement through neighborhood programming and SJC amplification.
Looking to the future, the county will utilize this capstone grant to fund the Toledo Municipal Court Diversion Program, which has helped 1,311 defendants successfully complete program requirements resulting in the dismissal of charges. Lucas County also will fund the Reentry on the First Day program, which reviews the sentenced jail population at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio to reduce the length of some sentences. So far, 84 candidates have participated in the program, saving more than 1,000 days in bed stays.
“We are thrilled the MacArthur Foundation has decided to continue to support Lucas County’s efforts to maintain and strengthen the strategies that have proven effective in the continuous double- digit reduction of the local jail population over the last eight years. The strategies that have been implemented through the Safety and Justice Challenge have provided a solid base on which to build our local justice reform efforts and strengthen the work in the long term to continue preventing unnecessary incarceration,” the Lucas County Commissioners said.
This round of funding will support a grant program which creates opportunities for community- based organizations to support neighborhood programming in the Toledo area to address racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system and safely reduce the local jail population.
The community engagement initiative, which began in 2021, has provided funding to 15 non-profit groups to support 19 neighborhood programs, including Open Arms Transitional Living—which assists homeless youth or youth in need, ages 16 to 20 years old.
“This grant has allowed our organization with the opportunity to provide young people experiencing hardships, including some who were homeless, with healthy meals, hygiene and toiletry products, clothing, shoes and transportation assistance. These basic necessities are allowing young people to stay in school, pursue careers and reach successful outcomes,” said Open Arms Transitional Living Executive Director Fonda Royster.
Lucas County also will host a summit for safety and justice recipients and create liaisons between community partners and the criminal justice system to enhance this effort.
In addition, the county will collaborate with WGTE Public Media to produce a 10-episode documentary podcast to highlight the county’s success in implementing strategies through the SJC initiative.
More than seven years since its public launch, the SJC has grown into a collaborative network of 74 sites in 33 states, modeling and inspiring reforms to create more fair, just and equitable local justice systems across the country.
“This initiative shows that communities can bridge their differences in pursuit of a more equitable and just response to people in conflict with the law,” said Laurie Garduque, MacArthur Foundation’s director of criminal justice. “With innovative and evidence-based solutions now in place, these communities have the framework to sustain their progress and the tools to respond to the challenges that lay ahead.”
A number of organizations will continue to provide technical assistance and counsel to Lucas County partners, and the other jurisdictions involved in the Safety and Justice Challenge. More information can be found at co.lucas.oh.us or safetyandjusticechallenge ..org.
