Los Angeles County is embarking on a transformative journey to fundamentally reimagine its approach to justice through a groundbreaking “Care First, Jail Last” initiative that prioritizes community-based care over incarceration. After two decades of addressing jail overcrowding, the County has committed to closing Men’s Central Jail (MCJ) while simultaneously building a robust network of community services that address the root causes of justice involvement—from homelessness and addiction to mental health challenges and poverty.
Through its partnership with FUSE, LA County is deploying two Executive Fellows to develop and implement a comprehensive jail closure plan that will not only safely reduce the incarcerated population but also ensure that justice-affected individuals, particularly BIPOC communities, LGBTQ+ people, and women, have access to meaningful alternatives and support systems.
We interviewed Will Pinkney Jr., the executive sponsor, and Chidinma Ume, the project supervisor, to discuss this ambitious undertaking that promises to serve as a national model for progressive criminal justice reform.
Wilford Pinkney Jr. joined the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office in December 2024 as the Executive Director of the Community Safety Implementation Team. In this role, he is leading the County’s efforts to close Men’s Central Jail and enhance a community-based system of care that reduces reliance on incarceration and advances a more equitable approach to safety and wellbeing.
He previously served in the City of St. Louis, where he began as a FUSE Executive Fellow focused on pretrial reform. At the conclusion of his Fellowship, he was appointed as the inaugural Director of the newly created Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth, and Families. Under his leadership, the City established a Crisis Management System, a Pretrial Services Office, the City’s first sobering center, and the creation of the Office of Violence Prevention.
Across a career spanning over 35 years, Mr. Pinkney has led public safety efforts using design thinking and system-building at the intersection of justice, behavioral health, housing, education, and law—both nationally and locally.
Chidinma Ume is the Deputy Executive Director of the Community Safety Implementation Team where she co-leads the County’s efforts to close Men’s Central Jail and enhance a community-based system of care that reduces reliance on incarceration and advances a more equitable approach to safety and wellbeing.
She previously served as Senior Director of Community Justice at the Center for Justice Innovation, overseeing national initiatives advancing jail reduction, racial equity, and restorative justice, including work on the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge. Earlier in her career, she was Executive Director of Justice Operations at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, where she led major reforms to reduce the Rikers Island jail population—and prior to that, she held roles as a criminal law practitioner. Ms. Ume holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School, teaches at Pepperdine Law, and serves on several justice reform advisory committees.
Los Angeles County has committed to a “Care First, Jail Last” approach and the closure of Men’s Central Jail. What have been some of the greatest challenges and opportunities in shifting from an incarceration-based system to one rooted in community-based care?
Pinkney: The Community Safety Implementation Team (CSIT) was created to lead the closure of Men’s Central Jail and enhance the County’s continuum of care. But the work is about more than the closure of a single facility.
Our work is focused on building lasting systems that promote community health and well-being, prevent justice system involvement, and ensure coordinated community-based responses that meet people’s needs—and reduce contact with the criminal justice system.
Reaching that goal requires addressing significant systemic challenges.
Existing efforts are not always designed to meet the complex needs of people in jail. Key gaps persist with accessing the appropriate level of community-based care, and the overall system and data infrastructure are fragmented across the differing goals and priorities of County departments, justice partners, and community-based providers.
CSIT is addressing these challenges by coordinating efforts across agencies and charting a shared path forward that can both close Men’s Central Jail and build a lasting system that prioritizes care over incarceration.
What metrics or indicators are most important to you in evaluating the success of the jail closure and the transition to community-based care?
Ume: Key indicators include:
The closure of Men’s Central Jail
A sustained reduction in the overall jail population
A sustained reduction in average length of stay
An increase in the number of people connected to housing, treatment, and other community-based services
How will the Fellow’s work help secure buy-in from County partners and the Board of Supervisors, and what will be key to a successful transition at the end of their fellowship year?
Ume: The Health Systems Fellow (apply here) will lead the design and coordination of a behavioral health system that can support jail depopulation. Working with Health Departments and other partners, the Fellow will help map services, identify gaps, and draft an implementation plan that reflects current policy, funding, and service realities. Their work will ensure the system of care is sustainable and actionable beyond the fellowship year.
The Facilities and Operations Fellow (apply here) will focus on the physical infrastructure needed to close Men’s Central jail. They will assess facility capacity and the placement—or replacement—of critical functions like single-cell housing and system-wide transportation. They’ll support planning, budgeting, and stakeholder engagement, and develop a realistic, costed implementation plan to present to the Board.
FUSE is actively recruiting for these two fellowship opportunities, starting October 2025. Apply today!
