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entrenched issues of inequity and disparity in the criminal justice system so that all <br /> persons receive equal treatment under the law. Jurisdictions must carefully review <br /> the ways in which the structures and incentives within their own systems are driving <br /> correctional populations and racial disparities and realign operations and target <br /> resources toward community solutions. <br /> Consistent with President Biden's Executive Order 14074, Advancing Effective, <br /> Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices To Enhance Public Trust and <br /> Public Safety, and the Safer America Plan, DOJ is committed to advancing bold, <br /> effective justice reform solutions that deliver safety, equity, and justice for all. <br /> Justice system reform includes, but is not limited to, a wide range of investments in <br /> community safety and justice such as accountability of law enforcement to build <br /> community trust, alternatives to incarceration, community supervision reforms, <br /> support for mental health and substance use treatment services, community-driven <br /> programs and partnerships, and enhancing pretrial processes, Efforts to continue to <br /> address the backlog of court cases created during the pandemic would fall in this <br /> category. BJA encourages JAG recipients to utilize funding for projects that <br /> promote all aspects of justice system reform. <br /> Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities <br /> Consistent with the Presidential Memorandum on Restoring the Department of <br /> Justice's Access-to-Justice Function and Reinvigorating the White House Legal Aid <br /> Interagency Roundtable and Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and <br /> Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, DOJ is <br /> committed to ensuring equal access to justice and identifying and reducing <br /> disparities that exist throughout the criminal and civil legal systems, and to remove <br /> barriers to ensure equal opportunity for people of color and for communities that <br /> have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by <br /> inequality. This commitment is evidenced by the April 14, 2022, Equity Action Plan <br /> designed to increase equity, opportunity, and resources for the most vulnerable <br /> communities. <br /> BJA encourages JAG recipients to utilize funds to support efforts at the state, <br /> territory, local, and tribal levels to institute more effective and equitable criminal <br /> justice policies and practices, foster public trust, and enhance public safety and <br /> security by increasing engagement with community members and building <br /> partnerships with community organizations to develop a shared vision and <br /> approach to addressing crime. This includes support for strategies to ensure the <br /> protection of defendants' and incarcerated individuals' constitutional rights and <br /> safety and efforts to address wrongful convictions and conviction integrity. This also <br /> includes supporting technological or personnel upgrades to provide more equitable <br /> access to justice, including language access resources, resources to better serve <br /> those with disabilities, and indigent defense services. Finally, this can include <br /> efforts to build partnerships between the criminal justice system and nonprofits to <br /> Page 9 of 38 <br /> O-BJA-2023-171790 <br />