Community Reinvestment Account Plan Development
The Department of Commerce, in partnership with the Office of Equity and community partners, is responsible for building a plan by July 2023 to describe how funds will be invested to address racial, economic, and social disparities in communities across the state created by the historical design and enforcement of state and federal criminal laws and penalties for drug possession. These dollars will be distributed by Commerce as $100 million in fiscal year 2024 and $100 million in fiscal year 2025 (proviso).
Community Reinvestment Plan
The plan will guide the investment of the funds in four key areas of investment, as defined by the Legislature:
(i) Economic development, which includes addressing wealth disparities to promote asset building such as home ownership and expanding access to financial resources including, but not limited to, grants and loans for small businesses and entrepreneurs, financial literacy training, and other small business training and support activities;
(ii) Civil and criminal legal assistance to provide postconviction relief and case assistance, including the expungement of criminal records and vacation of criminal convictions;
(iii) Community-based violence intervention and prevention services; and
(iv) Reentry services to facilitate successful transitions for persons formerly incarcerated in an adult correctional facility or juvenile residential facility in Washington.
Program Design
Project Co-Creation
We kicked off our co-creation with government partners that are assigned in each of the recommendations, as well as CRP Advisory Board members, creating values that are guiding each of our meetings. All of the program design meetings are scheduled as much in advance as possible, and Advisory board members are invited to attend as their time allows, or rescheduled on request. (Kickoff Meeting Recording, pw: VGWzM8.#).
Project Management & Co-Creation Model
As discussed at our kickoff meeting (slides 17-18), Commerce will have two main management roles in the Community Safety Division, who will manage a series of collaboration committees and program tracking. They will work under the leadership of Assistant Director Cindy Guertin-Anderson and Executive Director of Public Safety Kate Kelly.
Upcoming Opportunities
As we build out this program we’ll have co-creation opportunities in larger meetings as well. We’re going to build an implementation strategy for the many new tasks and roles required to successfully distribute this funding into WA communities, and recruiting community members to be a part of the ongoing work, including Regional Advisory Councils. This is a great opportunity to come and learn how you can connect your networks to this important project, and bring talent from your communities to this exciting opportunity. I will send out the invitation to the first of such events soon:
Tuesday, May 23rd at 4-6pm: Recruiting Event
As we move into the programmatic side of this work, I want to make sure we keep all our networks strong, and folks tuned in to opportunities for engagement. Please forward this listserv signup invitation to anyone you think might want to learn about progress in RFP creation, who’s willing to engaging in co-creation, or want to know about services they want to take advantage of. I will be including this section about listserv transition in all communications until the end of the research phase, June 30th. Sign up for program communications Today!
“Information provided to the Department of Commerce is subject to public disclosure, pursuant to RCW 42.56.”
Announcements
The last two months have seen so much progress in the Community Reinvestment Plan. This progress will be highlighted in the Interim Legislative Report (published and shared here by the end of the calendar year), but I would like to highlight one aspect of the great work our contractor, the Harriet Tubman Foundation for Safe Passage (HTFFSP) is doing: their public engagement and collaboration. The HTFFSP model of gathering community
The Department of Commerce is excited to announce it has finalized a contract for the Harriet Tubman Foundation for Safe Passage to manage the Community Reinvestment Account Plan! HTFFSP has proven expertise in BIPOC-led community engagement and academic leadership that will serve to connect us with the communities most affected by the war on drugs. Their founder, Ms. Jesse Miller leads with heart as a person of lived experience with
Research Services
Supporting Materials
Transition to Program Updates and Engagement
Commerce wants to ensure that those who were participants in this research project are invited to future co-creation opportunities, RFP updates, and more.
For More Information Contact:
Lillian Ferraz
Community Reinvestment Plan Project Manager lillian.ferraz@commerce.wa.gov
(564) 999-3469