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: October 27, 2025 – October 23, 2026

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual base salary of $80,000. 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 dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to work more effectively for communities. We embed private sector executives in city and county agencies to lead projects that improve public services and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 400 projects in 58 governments across 26 states, impacting a total population equivalent to 1 in 10 Americans.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and community stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward high-priority local needs. Projects address today’s most pressing challenges and opportunities, including affordable housing, economic mobility, climate resilience, public safety, infrastructure, technology, and more.

FUSE conducts a full executive search for each individual 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 community being served.

Executive Fellows are embedded in government agencies working with senior leaders for at least one year of full-time work. Prospective responsibilities may include thorough data analytics and research, developing enhanced operations and financial models, building change management and strategic planning processes, and/or building broad coalitions to support project implementation efforts. Executive Fellows are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects. They build strong relationships with a broad array of stakeholders, foster alignment within and across various layers of government, and build partnerships between governments and communities.

Throughout the fellowships, Executive Fellows receive training, coaching, and professional support to help achieve their project goals.

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.

The County of Los Angeles will partner with FUSE to support CSIT’s closure of MCJ. The Executive Fellow will assist with CSIT’s priorities: develop an implementation plan for closing MCJ; coordinate inter-departmental lines of effort; pilot or expand initiatives that advance MCJ’s closure; and create a data collection and monitoring system. As a result of this work, the County will effectuate the closure of Men’s Central Jail and better position justice-affected individuals to have opportunities, resources, and alternatives to incarceration.

PROJECT SUMMARY- Health Systems Fellow

Beginning November 2025, the FUSE Executive Fellow will develop deep relationships with a broad range of stakeholders, including County partners (e.g., Justice Care & Opportunities Department, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, LAC Departments of Public Health, Mental Health, and Health Services, ), community partners, a