Members, Care First Community Investment (CFCI) Advisory Committee
Justice, Care, & Opportunities Department
Los Angeles County
Subject: Protect and Restore CFCI Funds — Respect the Will of the Voters
Dear Committee Members, September 17, 2025

We are a coalition of more than 300 community-based organizations that are contracted as CFCI organizations or have graduated from the JCOD Incubation Academy. Collectively we serve hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles County residents. Every day, we provide the workforce, housing, mental health, and violence prevention services that voters intended to fund when they approved Measure J. Together, we are building a village of providers that helps reduce recidivism, build safer communities, prevent homelessness, and create opportunities for youth and families.

Today, we write with two urgent requests to ensure stability, transparency, and equity in the CFCI funding process:

1. Allocate at least 30% of annual CFCI funds to JCOD-administered programs and grants, including the Incubation Academy and community-provider supports. Guaranteeing this recurring share will stabilize the provider ecosystem and prevent the stop-and-start cycle that undermines services.

2. Recommend the Restoration one-time funds reallocated on June 24, 2025, the County Supervisors office (≈ $100M) back into JCOD. These funds were intended for community investment and diverting them away from CFCI punishes communities in need, especially when JCOD is still a young department building capacity.

We urge this Committee, in its advisory role to the CEO and the Board of Supervisors, to recommend that these actions be taken immediately.

Our Impact Across LA County
● Workforce & Economic Stability
CFCI-funded workforce programs connect justice-impacted residents to jobs, generating wages and tax contributions while avoiding the $63,000 annual cost of incarceration per person. This strengthens families and stimulates our local economy.

● Housing & Homelessness Prevention
Nearly 1 in 4 foster youth age out into homelessness. Our housing and reentry programs prevent that cycle by providing tenancy support and stability, keeping young people and families out of shelters and jails.

● Youth Safety & Violence Prevention
In South LA alone, there were 450 youth shooting victims in 2023. Diversion programs reduced re-arrests by 12% and connected youth to mentors, housing, and trauma care. This is how we prevent incarceration before it begins.

● Mental Health & Trauma Healing
Family services, recovery programs, and counseling have prevented overdoses, healed trauma, and reduced reliance on costly crisis systems. Children of incarcerated parents — 6x more likely to enter the justice system — are receiving mentoring, tutoring, and support that change their life trajectory.

Today, more than 300 agencies are already contracted through CFCI, delivering vital services across the County. At the same time, new and emerging community-based organizations led by people with lived experience — are being supported through JCOD’s Incubation Academy. Together, these networks form the village of care that voters envisioned when they passed Measure J. Guaranteeing 30% of CFCI funds for JCOD ensures these providers, both established and new, have the predictable annual support they need to grow and serve.

Funds Diverted Without Transparency
On June 24, 2025, the Board of Supervisors redirected over $100 million of CFCI funds without public comment. At the same time, Measure G (2024) inadvertently removed Measure J’s Charter language, a clerical error now acknowledged by the Board. Supervisors have pledged to reinstate Measure J by ordinance and, if needed, by Charter amendment in 2026.

Until then, transparency and good faith are essential. Diverting funds without public input undermines trust, weakens vital programs, and runs counter to the voter mandate.

Why Restoration & Ongoing Funding Matter
● Fiscally responsible: Every $1 invested in reentry and prevention saves $4–$7 in jail, foster care, and emergency costs. Avoiding incarceration for just 100 residents saves over $6.3M annually.

● Public safety: Community programs reduce crime more effectively and at lower cost than incarceration. Restoring CFCI funds strengthens proven alternatives.

● Equity & intersectionality: Homelessness, foster care involvement, justice system contact, and gun violence often affect the same families. CFCI is one of the only County investments designed to address these crises together — with an equity lens.

● Departmental growth: JCOD is still standing up its systems and provider network. Unspent funds do not indicate lack of need; they reflect a department building capacity. Removing funds now punishes communities and undermines JCOD’s long-term ability to deliver.

● Predictability for providers: Without stable, recurring allocations, community organizations cannot plan beyond short cycles. Predictable annual funding ensures they can retain staff, expand services, and meet County goals.

Our Requests to the Committee
We respectfully ask the CFCI Advisory Committee to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that they:

1. Recommend the Restoration of the June 24, 2025 reallocated one-time funds (≈ $100M) back into JCOD for CFCI community investments.

2. Allocate at least 30% of annual CFCI funds to JCOD-administered programs and grants — including the Incubation Academy — to guarantee stability and continuity year after year.

3. Protect Measure J’s voter mandate by affirming that ≥10% of locally generated unrestricted revenues remain dedicated to CFCI and urging correction of the Measure G drafting error.

4. Freeze further reallocations of CFCI funds until Measure J safeguards are fully restored and codified in law, with mandatory Advisory Committee review and public comment before any future reallocations.

5. Affirm that unspent funds reflect departmental growth, not lack of demand, and that reinvestment, not diversion, is the best way to strengthen Care First outcomes.

Investing in safer, stronger, more resilient communities is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Weakening CFCI now would waste progress and erode voter trust.
We urge this Committee to stand with the voters: recommend restoration of reallocated funds, establish a recurring 30% allocation for JCOD programs, and ensure this investment remains the cornerstone of Los Angeles County’s Care First vision.
Respectfully,