Advancing Decarceration through Community-Based Care

Los Angeles County has a vision for a justice system that promotes a “Care First, Jail Last” approach. Rather than relying on incarceration as the primary response, the County will safely and methodically depopulate the County jail and invest in community-based services that address root causes of justice involvement. In June 2021, the County committed to closing Men’s Central Jail (MCJ) and enhancing the community continuum of care. The Executive Fellow will support this goal by developing and advancing a jail closure implementation plan. As a result of this work, justice-affected Angelenos will access opportunities and care rather than incarceration.

Fellowship Dates: April 27, 2026 – April 23, 2027

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual base salary of $95,000. Fellows can also access various health, dental, and vision insurance benefits. Compensation for this year of public service is not intended to represent market-rate compensation for the experienced professionals in our program.

ABOUT THE FUSE EXECUTIVE FELLOWSHIP

FUSE is a national nonprofit working to expand social and economic opportunities, particularly for communities that have been limited by a history of systemic and institutionalized racism. FUSE partners with local governments and communities to more effectively address pressing challenges by placing experienced professionals within city and county agencies. These FUSE Executive Fellows lead strategic projects designed to advance racial equity and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 250 projects in 40 governments across 20 states, impacting the lives of 25 million people.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and local stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward regional priorities. FUSE then conducts an individualized search for each project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the communities being served. They are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects by developing actionable roadmaps and monitoring progress to completion.

Executive Fellows are hired as FUSE employees and embedded in government agencies for at least one year of full-time work. Throughout their fellowships, they receive training, coaching, and professional support from FUSE to help achieve their project goals. FUSE Executive Fellows bring diverse perspectives and new approaches to their projects. They build strong relationships with diverse arrays of stakeholders, foster alignment within.

PROJECT CONTEXT

The County of Los Angeles (LAC) has been working to address jail overcrowding for two decades and, for the last four years, it has been working to close MCJ. To achieve this goal, the County has adopted a “Care First, Jail Last” approach to justice. Rather than incarcerating people, County officials aim to divert more people to medical treatment, community-based support, and other programs that appropriately address the drivers of justice involvement (e.g., homelessness, addiction, mental illness, poverty). The LAC Community Safety Implementation Team (CSIT) is responsible for coordinating County-wide efforts to close MCJ and build the community-based support programs necessary to make the closure possible.

To close MCJ, LA County must reduce the overall jail population. Since 2020, the population has decreased by 4,000. The County achieved this by identifying alternatives to incarceration and connecting justice-affected individuals with care and support. The individuals remaining in jail require additional approaches, such as new facilities (e.g., mental health and addiction services for people who cannot safely pursue outpatient options) and enhanced case processing.

Decarceration is central to LAC’s goals of promoting anti-racism. Since Black residents comprise 8% of the County but 30% of the incarcerated population, and Latino individuals are 50% of County residents but 55% of incarcerated people, connecting justice-affected people to opportunities and care could make the County a more inclusive, equitable place to live. In addition, the LAC Board of Supervisors has mandated that the jail closure initiative be inclusive of specific populations, includin