This paper examines budget proposal strategies within California's criminal justice agencies, focusing on fiscal years 2020–2021 and 2021–2022. It introduces the concept of strategic budgeting as a multi-year planning tool and presents an overview of general fund allocations across the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Judicial Branch, and related entities. The paper discusses how state and local budget needs differ, outlines recommended adjustments such as court reporter funding and facility maintenance, and considers how governing policies and public sector funding influence the overall approach. It concludes by emphasizing the relationship between budget strategy and formal budget proposals in sustaining criminal justice operations.
Budgeting is one of the essential professional skills that helps organizations plan for the future. Understanding the strategies required in budgeting is an advantage, as it enables an organization to manage its finances and improve its financial planning capabilities. In short, a budget strategy is a formal approach used to manage the collection and allocation of funds. Budget strategies also help organizations reach financial goals, ensure that accounting departments can cover expenses, and invest in future opportunities. Several budgeting strategies exist, and the choice of a specific strategy depends on the goals to be achieved.
The process of creating long-range budgets within a single year is referred to as strategic budgeting. Its purpose is to assist in developing plans that support an entity's long-range vision. In the context of criminal justice agencies, budgeting is typically conducted on an annual basis (Stojkovic et al., 2014). Because of this, activities planned within a given period may not be completed within that timeframe using a single budget, making multi-year initiatives necessary. Strategic budgeting is therefore a core component of long-term planning for criminal justice agencies, allowing them to achieve sustained improvements in strategic positioning.
The strategic budget plan examined here covers California's fiscal years 2020–2021 and 2021–2022. The following overview presents the key figures from that plan.
FY 2021 Budget Request At-A-Glance
FY 2020 Discretionary Enacted: $2,315.8 million
FY 2021 Discretionary President's Budget: $1,850.0 million
Discretionary Program Change: ($465.8 million)
FY 2020 Mandatory Enacted: $2,764.0 million
FY 2021 Mandatory President's Budget: $2,423.0 million
Mandatory Program Change: ($341.0 million)
Total, FY 2021 President's Budget Request: $4,273.0 million
Budget Summary for Criminal Justice — General Fund (Dollars in Millions)
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: FY 2019–20: $13,056 | FY 2020–21: $12,104 | FY 2021–22: $13,453 | Change: +$1,350 (+11.2%)
Judicial Branch: $2,208 | $2,158 | $2,944 | +$786 (+36.5%)
Department of Justice: $360 | $353 | $387 | +$34 (+9.5%)
Board of State and Community Corrections: $186 | $227 | $350 | +$123 (+54.1%)
Other Departments: $118 | $139 | $160 | +$21 (+15.0%)
Totals, All Departments: $15,928 | $14,980 | $17,294 | +$2,314 (+15.4%)
This budget strategy is significant for California's criminal justice system because it provides $13.8 billion for the state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (Patri, 2021). This represents an eleven percent increase from the previous fiscal year 2020–2021. The increase is related to additional costs stemming from factors such as a reversal of employee reductions that had occurred due to uncertainties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data also reflects a projected eight percent increase in the inmate population.
Budget needs differ across state and local levels. According to the budget strategy, General Fund allocations for individual court trials will be distributed based on each county's proportion of the state's total population, applying to individuals between the ages of 18 and 25. Thirty percent of each allocation may be retained following court trials, with the remaining funds going to county entities to provide pre-trial services. Because population levels differ between state and local entities, the budget issue applies to both levels but in different ranges (Stojkovic et al., 2014). The Judicial Council will evaluate pre-trial programs annually.
"Covers courthouse maintenance costs and juvenile justice policy"
"Examines how federal relief funds affect budget planning"
"Links budget strategy to formal proposal development"
It is valuable to have a budget strategy that helps develop a formal budget proposal. A strategic budget contains less detailed revenue information and is less focused on specific expense line items found in an annual budget. Instead, items are represented at a higher level, with a strong emphasis on organizational goals. The budget therefore helps focus attention on competitive threats, growth opportunities, and risk management as they relate to future development. Formulating a budget is ultimately a process that begins with strategy, enabling organizations to anticipate expenses before actual funding is committed.
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