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Thank you for your support. Your donation helps JOTF to eliminate educational and employment barriers for low-wage workers by transforming the systems and policies that create and perpetuate those barriers. Together, we are making a difference.
JOTF Community Bail Fund

In our continued effort to decriminalize poverty in Maryland, the Job Opportunities Task Force established the Community Bail Fund as a means to reduce the local pretrial population by posting bails for individuals currently incarcerated due to unaffordable bails.
Despite recent landmark reforms to state pretrial policies and practices that limit the use of cash bail in pretrial decisions, state and local pretrial systems continue to provide a clear advantage to individuals who have easy access to monetary resources, and a distinct disadvantage to those who do not. Marylanders of low-risk and limited financial means languish in jail as individuals able to secure financial resources who may present a serious danger to public safety walk free. As a result, Maryland’s current pretrial system wastes state and local resources and overwhelmingly discriminates against Black and Brown persons who are disproportionately poor and economically disadvantaged.
It is well established that detention centers, jails, and prisons are hotbeds for virus transmission. While Maryland reports far lower deaths than many other states, six (6) people have since died in state correctional facilities as a result of the coronavirus, and Maryland is one of 14 states not regularly reporting rates of testing in prisons. Indeed, it is imperative that our incarcerated populations are dramatically reduced as safely and quickly as possible.

Your donation will:
- Ensure the release of individuals incarcerated due to an unaffordable cash bail
- Cover the costs of supports that include transportation when released from incarceration and to ensure court appearance, care packages to support immediate hygienic needs, clothing, $25 gift cards, and other resources as needed to facilitate their successful reentry.