Camden County Jail Vying For Part Of A $75 Million Foundation Grant
By David Madden
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- Camden County is hoping to get a piece of a $75 million foundation grant that targets programs providing alternatives to incarceration for first time, non-violent offenders.
The MacArthur Foundation has come up with what it's calling the 'Safety and Justice Grant Challenge.'
It's a 5-year plan aimed at finding ways to reduce jail populations, while addressing minor crime.
Camden County Freeholder, Michelle Gentek, works with the county jail and helped put together the grant application, which will be submitted no later than Tuesday.
"Our focus will be on pre-trial programming," says Gentek, "We want alternative programming, non-custodial programming so that individuals who are not threats to the public can be reintegrated into society without having to be held in jail."
She points to the county's drug court as one program that works. The foundation is expecting to announce 20 grant winners nationwide in May.