The Center for Community Alternatives was founded in the belief that solutions to poverty, addiction, and violence rest in communities, not incarceration.
Recognizing the devastating impact of incarceration on low-income communities and communities of color, Marsha Weissman founded CCA in 1981 as one of the first community-based alternative-to-incarceration programs in the State of New York.
Over the past 40 years, CCA has grown into a statewide organization widely recognized for its principled stance on criminal justice reform and its high-impact programs for justice-involved people.
CCA achieved a number of groundbreaking successes during Marsha’s tenure, including persuading the New York State Legislature to adopt “reintegration” as a goal of sentencing, reforming drug laws in New York State, as well as reorienting the juvenile justice system away from detention or incarceration so that more youth are placed in programs in their own communities.
Our current Executive Director David Condliffe has carried on Marsha’s legacy since he assumed the role in 2015. Under his leadership, CCA has achieved several policy victories including reducing the number of incarcerated youths in New York through “Raise the Age” legislation, reducing barriers to college admission for people with criminal records by “Banning the Box” on SUNY admission applications, as well as playing a key role in the passage of bail, discovery, and speedy trial reform in 2019.
CCA also continues to expand its programs and launch new initiatives, such as the Freedom Commons housing development in Syracuse—a joint venture with the Syracuse Housing Authority to provide affordable, supportive, and emergency/transitional housing to people returning home from incarceration.
