New Grant Program Targets Local Jail Reduction: $120M Annually Proposed for Community-Led Pretrial Reform

This bill, the "Community First Pretrial Reform Act," proposes a new grant program run by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance. The core idea is to give local communities the resources to figure out why people are ending up in their local jails and how to safely reduce that number, particularly for those awaiting trial. It authorizes $20 million annually for planning grants and $100 million annually for implementation grants from fiscal years 2026 through 2030 (Sec. 7).

Putting Plans into Action: How the Grants Work

Think of this as seed money for local change. Eligible groups – partnerships including local governments, tribes, territories, or nonprofits (Sec. 2) – can first apply for Planning Grants of up to $100,000 for one year (Sec. 4). This money is for digging into local jail data, figuring out who's locked up and why (including looking at racial and ethnic disparities), and creating a public strategic plan to lower those numbers.

Once a plan is in place, partnerships can apply for Implementation Grants. These are bigger commitments, lasting six years, with funding starting between $500,000 and $3 million in the first year and gradually decreasing over the next four years (Sec. 4). The idea is that as communities successfully reduce incarceration, they'll save money that can sustain these efforts long-term (Sec. 3).

What Kind of Changes Can Be Funded?

The bill outlines several specific strategies that implementation grants can support (Sec. 2). These aren't just vague goals; they're concrete actions aimed at pretrial reform:

• Reducing reliance on cash bail: Finding alternatives so people aren't stuck in jail simply because they can't afford bail.
• Boosting pretrial services: Providing supervision and support in the community, often working with local organizations.
• Speeding up court cases: Reducing the time people spend waiting for their case to be resolved.
• Ensuring early legal help: Getting lawyers involved right from the first court appearance or bail hearing.
• Expanding diversion programs: Creating pathways away from jail, both before and after booking, for certain offenses. Critically, these programs can't require a guilty plea upfront or use jail time as a penalty for not completing the program.
• Testing other "promising" or "evidence-based" practices deemed likely to work locally.

Accountability is Key: Measuring Success

This isn't just free money; there are strings attached. Grantees have serious targets to hit (Sec. 3). They need to:

• Consult widely with local stakeholders.
• Reduce their jail population by at least 5% in year one, 10% in subsequent years, aiming for a 50% total reduction by the grant's end.
• Measure and actively work to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in who gets incarcerated.
• Use any savings from reduced jail use to fund more programs aimed at keeping the numbers down.
• Undergo external evaluation.

Failure to meet these reduction goals for two years running could lead to the grant being terminated, though exceptions can be made if a local population boom is the cause (Sec. 3). The Bureau of Justice Assistance will prioritize applicants from areas with the highest incarceration rates, especially smaller cities and rural areas, and those planning to prevent jail expansion (Sec. 5).