Contact: For more information about this topic or to schedule an interview, please contact CJCJ Communications at (415) 621‑5661 x. 103 or cjcjmedia@cjcj.org.
SAN FRANCISCO – March 30, 2022 – A new report from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) analyzes the impact of Prop 47’s years-long investments in California communities. By reclassifying several low-level drug and property offenses, Prop 47 has saved the state nearly $600 million in prison costs. Of that, almost $400 million has been reserved for programs that address the root causes of crime and violence, and more than $200 million has been allocated to trauma recovery and school-based programs.
The report finds:
- As many as 40,000 Californians have received substance use, mental health, or housing services through a Prop 47-funded program.
- Participants show lower rates of re-offending after completing a Prop 47 recidivism reduction program.
- Many Prop 47 program participants were unhoused, unemployed, and had low educational attainment when they began services. Among participants, homelessness dropped by more than half and unemployment by one-third.
- Prop 47’s recidivism reduction programs cost just $3K per participant, compared to California prisons, which spend more than $100K per person each year.
- 69 percent of Prop 47’s recidivism reduction funds have been allocated to local behavioral health departments, and nearly 80 percent of total funds are being channeled to nonprofits that deliver local community services.
In the seven years since its passage by voters, Prop 47 has successfully reduced California’s reliance on harmful and costly incarceration. Today, fewer Californians cycle through jails and prisons for low-level offenses. This keeps families and communities intact while saving the state and its counties hundreds of millions of dollars each year. By reinvesting state savings into treatment programs, Prop 47 offers vital support to the Californians most at risk of entering the justice system. These include people with unaddressed mental health needs, substance use disorders, and housing insecurity.
Contact: For more information about this topic or to schedule an interview, please contact CJCJ Communications at (415) 621‑5661 x. 103 or cjcjmedia@cjcj.org.