Californians Deserve
a Care First Future
That means care and support for everyone. It means divesting dollars from law enforcement agencies and reinvesting them in effective community-based services. It means communities will be entrusted with addressing issues such as health and mental health care, job training and placement, pretrial, diversion, and reentry services, housing, and other support that helps our community members meet their basic needs, so they can thrive and grow rather than relying on imprisoning and punishing people who are in need of support. For our community members who currently work in law enforcement and in the Prison Industrial Complex, it means services, support, and incentives for job retraining and placement. We want care for you, too – making a living wage in jobs that create healthy communities.
Learn more about our Care First partners, advocacy work, and culture:
How do Care First policies affect me?
I'm a community member
I’m concerned about the many public health crises our State is facing, such as houselessness, mass incarceration, and systemic racism.
You have a huge stake in the work we’re doing. Whether you or your loved ones have been impacted by California’s bloated carceral system, or you simply care about the moral, social, environmental, and economic ramifications of continuing California’s legacy of mass incarceration, racial inequity, and law enforcement abuse — Care First policies will move California into a future that sees our communities healed, restored, and thriving.
Data & Context
"Directly impacted communities led efforts to create new parole opportunities for people sentenced when they were youth, repealed and reformed numerous sentence enhancements, and created avenues for resentencing large numbers of incarcerated people.
"Despite this consistent pressure from California voters, bad system actors would rather build cages instead of schools; hire prison guards instead of health care workers; and use punishment systems steeped in racial injustice instead of investing in community-based systems of care. California’s 30-year policy of prison expansion–while millions of residents struggle for basic needs–is inexorably tied to our state’s current social and fiscal instability, wasting much needed resources on a system of unprecedented injustice."
Prisons are a Public Health Disaster
High Desert State Prison (HDSP) provides tap water that contains levels of arsenic 2,264 times higher than what is considered to be safe for human health.
The average age of a person sentenced to life without parole is 19. This country is alone in sentencing youth to life in prison.
Prisons destroy local businesses.
I am an impacted community member
I have been impacted by police violence and the carceral system personally, or through a family member or loved one.
You’re the reason we fight. Whether you or your loved ones have been impacted by California’s bloated carceral system, or you simply care about the moral, social, environmental, and economic ramifications of continuing California’s legacy of mass incarceration, racial inequity, and law enforcement abuse, Care First policies will move California into a future that sees our communities healed, restored, and thriving.
Data & Context
"Prisons are traumatic, unhealthy places that lead to lasting physical and emotional health impacts for incarcerated individuals, their families, and the people that work in these facilities."
I work in law enforcement
I’m concerned that Care First policies mean my workplaces and employers are losing funding and I may lose my source of income.
Your stake is highly personal. California prisons are toxic to the people in them, both physically and emotionally, and that includes you. From highly toxic facilities, to the health and mental health issues that plague Police, Probation Officers, Prison Guards, and other employees of the Prison Industrial Complex, your livelihood risks your life in more ways than you might think.
Our vision leaves no one behind, which is why we’re working toward Care First policies with a Just Transition in mind. A Just Transition will ensure that you have the financial and educational opportunities to make your transition from working within oppressive systems, into good-paying, stable jobs that support you and your family, and restore our communities.
Data & Context
"While local economic concerns about prison closure will doubtlessly be raised, it is important to keep these realities in mind. By closing prisons, California not only has the opportunity to right the wrongs of reliance on cages, it also has the chance to reinvest in communities in creative and generative ways, creating connections to job development that support community reinvestment. Far from hurting local economies, closing prisons presents an opportunity to transform them for the better."
*more likely than the general population
Recent News & Articles
Assemblymember Bryan and Care First Coalition Introduce Transformative AB 1670 Alternatives to Incarceration Statewide Commission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 1, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT: Caleb Rabinowitz,...
Read MorePress Conference: AB 1670 ATI Commission
For Immediate Release: February 23, 2022 Contact: Janet Asante janet@dignityandpowernow.org...
Read More
Letter Opposing $140mm Probation-led Pretrial Initiative
In early 2021, the Care First Coalition was deeply engaged...
Read MoreFinal California Budget Invests Another $140 Million in Misguided Pretrial Program, Expands Law Enforcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JULY 6, 2021 Contact: Laura Coholan, (213)...
Read More