Alabama Lawmakers Dedicate $26.6 million in FY2017 to Implement Justice Reinvestment Policies

In March of this year, the Alabama legislature passed a general fund budget for FY2017 that includes $26.6 million for justice reinvestment implementation. FY2017 reinvestments include: $10.5 million for state agencies to hire and train new parole and probation officers; $8 million to expand and improve community-based behavioral health treatment; $8 million to fund the diversion of people convicted of low-level felony offenses from prison to community corrections programs; and $100,000 for state agencies to improve victim notification. The general fund budget was signed into law by Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (pictured right) and will go into effect on October 1, 2016, bringing appropriations in FY2016 and FY2017 for justice reinvestment implementation to a total of more than $42 million.