Legislation signed by Brown in 2014 settled some of the next debate: guidelines for the grant proposal process.

It set aside 65% of Proposition 47 savings for the state Board of State and Community Corrections, requiring that money also go to programs developing housing and employment opportunities for released inmates. And it required that the committee awarding the grants have a diverse membership, including people who had been formerly incarcerated.

In crafting the grant proposal application, members of the executive committee said they made it their priority to ensure money would flow back to the community. According to their guidelines, government agencies will receive the grant awards, but more than 50% of the funds must go directly to the community-based organizations they contract with for mental health, drug abuse and other social services.

As the group crafted the application, Quarles and Jones helped guide difficult conversations on which programs and services could address trauma and were most useful to released inmates.

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