The MacArthur Foundation announced funding for 20 jail systems, including those in New York and Texas, to reduce over-incarceration.
Cook County Jail
Charles Rex Arbogast / AP
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced on Wednesday that it was awarding 20 U.S. jail systems with $150,000 each to reduce the number of people in prison in the country.
The grants are part of the Safety and Justice Challenge, a $75 million initiative to reduce over-incarceration and to help the country create more effective and fair local justice systems, the MacArthur Foundation said in a press release.
Nationwide, jails hold 731,000 people on any given day, the foundation said, and 75% of the population are behind bars for nonviolent traffic, property, drug, or public order offenses, according to the Foundation.
As part of the Challenge, the jails will develop alternatives to incarceration and ways to keep out people who don't belong behind bars. They will also try and reintegrate those who are confined to the community after their release and help them stay out of prison.
From a total of 191 applications for the challenge across 45 states, 20 jails from 16 counties, three cities and one state-wide system were selected to receive funding. These jails collectively have a capacity of just under 100,000 people and account for 11% of the country's jailed population, the Foundation said.
One of the grant's recipients is New York City which operates Rikers Island, one of the nation's largest jail complexes. Jail populations in NYC have declined 55% from 21,688 in 1991 to under 10,000 by the end of 2014.
The funds were also awarded to Los Angeles County, the country's most populous county, which operates the world's largest jail system.
Ada County, ID
Charleston County, SC
Cook County, IL
Harris County, TX
Los Angeles County, CA
Lucas County, OH
Mecklenburg County, NC
Mesa County, CO
Milwaukee County, WI
Multnomah County, OR
New Orleans, LA
New York City, NY
Palm Beach County, FL
Pennington County, SD
Philadelphia, PA
Pima County, AZ
St. Louis County, MO
Shelby County, TN
Spokane County, WA
State of Connecticut
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