The Northwest Health Foundation Fund II is soliciting proposals for its Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP) to support culturally specific organizations and culturally responsive services in communities most harmed and least helped by Oregon’s criminal legal system.
Donor Name: Northwest Health Foundation
State: Oregon
Counties: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/12/2023
Size of the Grant: Up to $225,000
Grant Duration: 27 months
Details:
JREP seeks to elevate organizations that have been overlooked by traditional funding streams with the goals of reducing incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal legal system, promoting healing and advancing community safety in Oregon.
JREP will provide up to $5.5 million in project grants to support emerging and experienced organizations. This includes $1.5 million in grant funds to participate in a capacity-building program.
There will be two types of grants: Project Grants and Project Grants with Capacity building Support
Project Grants
- Funding to provide culturally specific or responsive programs/services and attend training and convenings. This funding is for organizations not wishing to participate in the capacity-building program and already have the internal capacity to meet the grant reporting requirements.
- Award amount: Up to $225,000
- Duration: 27 months (October 2023 to December 2025)
Project Grants with Capacity-building Support
- Funding to provide culturally specific or responsive programs/services, attend training and convenings and participate in a capacity building program
- Award amount: $325,000
- Duration: 27 months (October 2023 to December 2025)
Priorities
JREP’s goals are to reduce incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal legal system, advance healing and promote community safety in Oregon. To further these goals, NWHF is focusing on three funding priority areas.
All proposals need to align with one of the three funding priorities:
Victim and survivor services
- Community-led victim and survivor services that are accessible to historically underserved communities.
Focus Population
- Any person experiencing harm, violence or crime victimization, including those who have been incarcerated or are on pretrial release and their family members and/or support network.
Goals
- Grantees will be asked to make incremental progress toward these goals over time:
- 60% of program participants will report a decrease in experiencing or witnessing violence.
- 60% of program participants will report an increase in their own well-being and quality of life.
Priority Activities and Services
The following activities and services are listed in no specific order of importance. While this list is comprehensive, it is not exhaustive. You are welcome to propose additional activities and services in your application.
- Healing
- This includes traditional types of healing services, such as medical care, physical therapy, behavioral health (substance abuse and mental health), acupuncture, art therapy and counseling services. This may also include culturally-based care and Indigenous healthcare approaches that consider cultural practices.
- Mentoring
- Mentoring strategies such as peer mentoring, one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring, service-based mentoring and mentoring education regarding identity in specific communities.
- Advocacy and Coordination
- Advocacy and coordination that assists participants in navigating various systems (i.e., healthcare, criminal legal systems and existing victims’ services). Approaches may include direct advocacy, advocacy training and development, supported self-advocacy of people experiencing harm, violence or crime victimization, and advocacy support groups. Coordination may include system navigation assistance, intensive case management, resource coordination, language translation and assistance filing legal documents.
- Prevention and Intervention
- Services that focus on helping survivors and victims find safety and build protective factors to prevent them from experiencing further harm.
- Awareness and Engagement
- Activities that include outreach events, collaboration and partnership development, and other activities that substantially create awareness and engagement of historically underserved survivors in community-based support services.
- Case Management
- Case managers who manage participants’ progress, data entry, issuing or coordinating supportive services, to successfully completing program activities, problem-solving with participants and linking with other organizations to coordinate services.
- Additional Services
- Services such as financial assistance, employment readiness and job placement, stress management, essential life skills development, acquisition of health benefits, vital documents, housing, family and relationship reunification, restorative justice, support groups, assistance enrolling into education or vocational training programs, and supportive services such as transportation and childcare to attend planned services.
Violence reduction and/or services that prevent involvement in the criminal legal system
- Community-based supports that prevent, reduce or interrupt violence and/or prevent involvement in the criminal legal system.
Focus Population
- Any person and their family and/or support network.
Goals
- Grantees will be asked to make incremental progress toward these goals over time:
- 60% of program participants will report increased prosocial behaviors that help prevent involvement in the criminal legal system.
- 60% of program participants will report an increase in their own well-being and quality of life.
- 60% of program participants will report an increase in behaviors or actions that avoid or reduce violence.
Priority Activities and Services
The following activities and services are listed in no specific order of importance. While this list is comprehensive, it is not exhaustive. You are welcome to propose additional activities and services in your application.
- Healing
- This includes traditional types of healing services such as medical care, physical therapy, behavioral health (substance abuse and mental health), acupuncture, art therapy and counseling services. This may also include culturally based care and Indigenous healthcare approaches that consider cultural practices.
- Employment Strategies
- Strategies such as job placement, transitional jobs, on-the-job training, job readiness training, leadership training and financial literacy training.
- Mentoring
- Mentoring strategies such as peer mentoring, one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring, service-based mentoring and mentoring education regarding identity in specific communities.
- Basic Needs Stabilization
- To improve opportunities for finding and retaining employment and/or education. This may include supportive services tied to grant-funded activities, acquiring identity documents, acquiring health benefits, navigation of health system, mental health/substance abuse clinical services, housing education and navigation, parenting/family reunification, cognitive behavior programs, gang disengagement, limited housing payment support (i.e., emergency/rapid rehousing for limited duration paid with program funds), stipends or incentives for participating in classes and training or wages for work performed, basic skills instruction, career awareness classes, counseling and assistance in obtaining post-secondary education and required financial aid, comprehensive guidance/counseling (non-clinical) on drug and alcohol abuse, anger management counseling, essential life skills development, tattoo removal, post-placement follow-up services that focus on job retention, wage gains and career progress.
- Street Outreach and Violence Interrupters
- Services such as rumor dispelling, social media monitoring and other activities involved in reducing the likelihood of retaliation, tagging/graffiti cleanup, pop-up events and public park programming.
- Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs
- that focus on reducing retaliatory violence and preventing re-injury by engaging injured survivors of violence while they are recovering in the hospital.
- Additional Services
- Services that promote participant stability, such as behavioral health services, housing referrals (i.e., referrals to housing providers for longer-term housing), record expungement, immigration legal services, access to aging services, volunteer stipends, pro-social activities that promote participants’ attachment to community and other localized services that address local needs of participants.
Reentry, diversion and services that reduce involvement in the criminal legal system
- Reentry
- Services for youth and/or adults returning from incarceration and/or currently under supervision, such as probation or parole.
- Diversion
- Services that redirect youth and/or adults away from formal processing in the juvenile or adult justice system. Reducing Involvement in the Criminal Legal System: Services for youth and/or adults who may have had contact with the criminal legal system but do not have formal charges with the goal of preventing further violations and contact with the criminal legal system.
Focus Population
- Reentry and Diversion
- Youth (under 18 years) or adult (18 years or older) who is under diversion or criminal supervision of any kind. Services may also include family members and/or support network to support the goals of the youth or adult.
- Reducing Involvement in the Criminal Legal System
- Youth (under 18 years) or adult (18 years or older) who is at risk of involvement with the criminal legal system (i.e., arrest, charges, convictions) according to assessed risk factors determined by the grantee organization. Services may include family members and/or support network to support the goals of the youth or adult
Goals
- Grantees will be asked to make incremental progress toward these goals over time:
- Diversion: 60% of program participants in a diversion program will successfully complete the diversion.
- Reentry: 60% of program participants under probation or parole will not incur any new charges while in the program.
- Reducing Involvement: 60% of program participants will not incur any new charges while in the program.
Priority Activities and Services
The following activities and services are listed in no specific order of importance. While this list is comprehensive, it is not exhaustive. You are welcome to propose additional activities and services in your application.
- Healing
- This includes traditional types of healing services such as medical care, physical therapy, behavioral health (substance abuse and mental health), acupuncture, art therapy and counseling services. This may also include culturally based care and Indigenous healthcare approaches that consider cultural practices.
- Employment Strategies
- Strategies such as job placement, transitional jobs, on-the-job training, job readiness training, leadership training and financial literacy training.
- Training and Educational Strategies
- Strategies such as vocational training leading to industry-recognized credentials, remediation to improve math, reading, writing and English language skills, high school equivalency test preparation, links to registered apprenticeship programs and community college two-year degree programs.
- Mentoring
- Mentoring strategies such as peer mentoring, one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring, service-based mentoring and mentoring education regarding identity in specific communities.
- Basic Needs Stabilization
- To improve opportunities for finding and retaining employment and/or education. This may include: supportive services tied to grant-funded activities, acquiring identity documents, acquiring health benefits, navigation of the health system, mental health/substance abuse clinical services, housing education and navigation, parenting/family reunification, cognitive behavior programs, gang disengagement, limited housing payment support (i.e., emergency/rapid rehousing for limited duration paid with program funds), stipends or incentives for participating in classes and training or wages for work performed, basic skills instruction, career awareness classes, counseling and assistance in obtaining post-secondary education and required financial aid, comprehensive guidance/counseling (non-clinical) on drug and alcohol abuse, anger management counseling, basic life skills development, tattoo removal, post-placement follow-up services that focus on job retention, wage gains and career progress.
- Case Management
- Case managers who are responsible for managing participants’ progress, data entry, issuing or coordinating supportive services, to successfully completing program activities, problem-solving with participants, linking with other organizations to coordinate a participant’s return to the community, referrals to housing, mental health and substance abuse providers and social services.
- Additional Services
- Services that promote participant stability, such as behavioral health services, housing referrals (i.e., referrals to housing providers for longer-term housing), record expungement, immigration legal services, access to aging services, volunteer stipends, pro-social activities that promote participants’ attachment to community and other localized services that address local needs of participants.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be based and working in Oregon.
- Applicants must be organized as one of the following:
- Applicants must provide, or be proposing to provide, services in one of the funding priority areas.
- Applicants must be either a “culturally specific organization” or a provider of at least one “culturally responsive service,” as defined by Senate Bill 1510: “Culturally specific organization” means an organization, or a program within an organization, that serves a particular cultural community, that is primarily staffed and led by members of that community and that demonstrates selfadvocacy, positive cultural identity and intimate knowledge of the lived experience of the community, including but not limited to (A) The impact of structural and individual racism or discrimination on the community; (B) Specific disparities in access to services and resources experienced by the community; and (C) Community strengths, cultural practices, beliefs and traditions. “Culturally responsive service” means a service that is respectful of, and relevant to, the beliefs, practices, cultures and linguistic needs of diverse consumer or client populations and communities whose members identify as having particular cultural or linguistic affiliations by virtue of their place of birth, ancestry or ethnic origin, religion, preferred language or language spoken at home. A culturally responsive service has the capacity to respond to the issues of diverse communities and require knowledge and capacity at systemic, organizational, professional and individual levels of intervention.
For more information, visit JREP.
