Care First and Community Investment Seek Funding Recommendations to Invest in Projects That Serve Under-Resourced Communities

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Care First and Community Investment or CFCI initiative is seeking recommendations from the community to allocate millions into projects that address negative outcomes caused by racially driven criminal justice inequities and long-term community economic disinvestment in chronically under-resourced communities across Los Angeles County. 

The CFCI advisory committee held six listening sessions throughout LA County the week of Feb. 20, seeking input from residents across the county. Through this process, the advisory committee heard directly from community residents and stakeholders on what programs and priorities they are seeking for their communities. The Sessions gathered thousands of feedback comments which will be incorporated into a report to guide the advisory committee in its process to allocate millions of dollars towards CFCI.

CFCI is still gathering community feedback through an online survey, which is open through March 6. Residents can identify their top priorities for CFCI funding in this year’s draft spending plan. To access the survey in English, click here or para acceder a este encuesta en español, presione aquí. Additional languages have been added to the survey. The survey results, along with the listening session feedback will be combined for a comprehensive report to help guide the advisory committee in its decision process of drafting a spending plan for this year. 

The CFCI advisory committee is charged with providing recommendations to the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office or CEO. The CEO will then recommend to the Board of Supervisors the Year 3 spending plan and will make the final decision. 

This is an opportunity for any Los Angeles County residents to engage in the community-driven process and bring forward priority funding recommendations based on what they know is needed for communities to thrive. Funding priorities could include:

• Community health services
• Community counseling
• Youth development programs
• Affordable housing
• Supportive housing, rent assistance
• Jobs creation
• Community-based restorative justice programs
• And other critical priorities

The projects that will be funded will include direct community investments and alternatives to incarceration that are informed by the framework of the Sequential Intercept Model. For more information about CFCI and background, please click here.

Background

On Nov. 3, 2020, the voters of Los Angeles County approved Measure J, which dedicated no less than 10% of the county’s locally generated unrestricted funding to address the disproportionate impact of racial injustice through community investments such as youth development, job training, small business development, supportive housing services and alternatives to incarceration.