The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office (SFDA) seeks to fundamentally change how the criminal legal system responds to harm and ensure that individuals and communities have the tools they need to heal when harm is done. Through the SF Healing Justice Initiative, the SFDA will demonstrate that restorative practices can replace the traditional criminal legal system at every decision point – from charging a case to sentencing and resentencing. Restorative Justice (RJ) will be integrated throughout the operations of the SFDA’s office, shifting from an “alternative program” to a primary intervention. This is why the SFDA launched the SF Healing Justice Initiative (HJI), a partnership with local community leaders working to build a new model for justice that values healing and accountability over retribution and punishment.
The 2021-2022 California State Budget appropriated $250,000 in General Funds to California counties to engage in Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing. The funds are to be used exclusively for the three-year Pilot Program that began on September 1, 2021 and ends on September 1, 2024. Pilot participants in San Francisco include the San Francisco District Attorney’s office (SFDA), the Public Defender’s office (PDO), and may include a community-based organization (CBO). The focus of the Pilot is two-fold: 1) ensure that the District Attorney in each county has the resources needed to exercise their discretion for resentencing individuals in state prison under Penal Code 1170.03; and 2) evaluate a collaborative approach to exercising prosecutorial resentencing discretion.
Build upon the successes of the Make It Right (MIR) Program
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify qualified 501(c)(3) organizations to lead the following key components of the Healing Justice Initiative and the California Resentencing Pilot: A) Restorative Community Conferencing (RCC)*, B) Life Coaching, C) Anchor Organization focused on building RJ Capacity in the Community, and D) Resentencing Pilot: Reentry Support.
*Organizations that offer restorative accountability processes aimed at repairing harm, such as harm circles, peacekeeping circles or accountability dialogues, but do not call their processes RCCs are also welcomed to apply.
Applicants are invited to submit proposals as an individual organization or as a collaborative partnership.
NOTE: The City and County of San Francisco (City) utilizes competitive bidding procedures to select service vendors. All individuals or entities interested in working with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office must be qualified to do business with the City before funds can be awarded. Click below for more information.
Click Here to Download a Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming an Approved Supplier
Download the Complete PDF version of Request for Proposals (RFP)
