October 10, 2024

For those interested, please be advised as to the following information shared by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) relating to Proposition 47 Grant funding awards and the new In-Custody Death Review Director, Allison Ganter.

Proposition 47 Grants

Last week, the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) awarded $167 million in grant funding to 27 government and community-based organizations to provide mental health services, substance-use disorder treatment, and diversion programs in local communities. The funding comes from Proposition 47, a 2014 voter-approved initiative that reduced the penalties for some nonviolent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and directed the state incarceration savings to be used to help system-involved people rehabilitate their lives.

This grantee cohort represents the fourth round of three-year grants the BSCC has awarded. Since 2014, Proposition 47 grants have totaled more than $490 million to fund programs such as housing assistance, substance-use disorder and mental health treatment, job training, and civil legal services, many of which are a barrier to employment and housing. Since its inception, Proposition 47 savings have created approximately $800 million in available funding, with 65% of state savings going towards mental health treatment, substance use disorder treatment and diversion programs, 25% going to K-12 schools, and 10% going to victims’ services. Read more about the Proposition 47 Grant Program here.

In-Custody Death Review Director, Allison Ganter

In 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 519 (Atkins), which expands the Board’s mission to include the promotion of legal and safe conditions for youth, inmates, and staff in local detention facilities. SB 519 establishes the position of Director of In-Custody Death Review (ICDR) within the BSCC. The Director will be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate for a six-year term. The ICDR Division will be required to:

• Review investigations of any death incident occurring within a local detention facility;
• Make recommendations to local Sheriffs and Departments of Correction;
• Follow up with local detention facilities on their implementation of the recommendations; and
• Make information available to the public.

On September 25, 2024, Governor Newsom announced the appointment of Allison Ganter. Read the full announcement here.

Allison Ganter, of Davis, has been appointed the In-Custody Death Review Director at the Board of State and Community Corrections, where she has been Deputy Director since 2014 and was Field Representative and Compliance Monitor from 2000 to 2014. Ganter was a Correctional Facility Specialist at the New York Commission of Correction from 1999 to 2000 and Assistant to the Chairman there from 1997 to 1999. She was a Staff Training Assistant and Legislative Aide in the New York State Assembly from 1995 to 1997. Ganter earned a Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University at Albany, State University of New York. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $186,876. Ganter is a Democrat.

Read the full newsletter here. For more on Proposition 47 funding, or any other BSCC program, please contact Communications Director Jana Sanford-Miller, jana.sanford-miller@bscc.ca.gov.