SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom will unveil his first draft of the state budget in early January.

The Legislative Analyst Office estimates California will be a facing a $2 billion deficit.

Supporters of a program that helps formerly incarcerated individuals find jobs are urging Gov. Newsom to continue to provide funding for it in the years to come.

Clean California is $1.2 billion, 3-year initiative launched by Governor Newsom in 2021. The goal was to make communities cleaner and safer while providing employment opportunities for veterans, unhoused individuals and people coming out of prison.

According to the governor’s Office, Clean California has created more than 18,000 jobs since it launched in 2021. As of mid-December, crews across the state have cleaned up nearly 3 million cubic yards of trash.

“The program works. It has impacted so many lives. Not only in the beautification of Highway 99 and cleaning up the litter, but the impact that it has on people’s lives. The encouragement that they get and the realization that someone actually cares about them when they get out,” said Kevin Durst, Site Supervisor for the Center for Employment Opportunities.

The Center for Employment Opportunities [CEO] is an organization that works to reduce recidivism by providing formerly incarcerated individuals with immediate paid employment, skills training and ongoing career support.

Durst leads a crew that’s tasked with cleaning the state’s streets and freeways in the Sacramento region. CEO has 13 crews throughout California that have allowed for more than 800 formerly incarcerated people to have a job each year.

CEO works in partnership with Clean California and Caltrans across seven cities.

Durst, who was once part of the maintenance crews after being released from prison, says he’s concerned about Clean California going away because of the state’s ongoing budget deficit.

“I hope that they’re able to allocate the funds for this because I’m living proof that it works and success comes from it,” he noted.

Funding for Clean California will run out at the end of the fiscal year. 

If the governor does not renew the Clean California initiative, the $50 million annual budget that allows the Back2Work transitional employment program to subcontract with organizations like CEO will also go away.

Melissa Jones enrolled in the program days after getting released from prison in June. She said having a job days after coming home helped her gain stability.

“Center for Employment Opportunities really helped me out because if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where I would be right now,” added Jones.

Jones started out as part of the maintenance crew and is now she’s training to become a supervisor.

“I’m very proud of myself and how much I’ve leveled up just from the short amount of time I’ve been here, only like six months,” she said.

The governor’s office has not yet responded to a question about whether the governor will allocate funding for Clean California in the upcoming budget.

Gov. Newsom is expected to release his budget plan by Jan. 10.