Model Programs Guide: Implementation Guide: Diversion Programs

• NCJ Number: 252194
• Date Published: August 2017
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2013– JF– FX– K002
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored); Instructional Material (Programmed); Best Practice/State-of-the-Art Review; Administration/Management Material

Annotation

This I-Guide (short for Implementation Guide) is intended for use with the Model Programs Guide (MPG) produced by the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to guide the implementation of an evidence-based juvenile diversion program offered prior to juvenile court adjudication.

Abstract

The goal of diversion is to divert a youth from the formal process of the juvenile justice system - which may provide a stigmatizing, adverse effect on his/her behavior - into a program that holds the youth accountable for his/her behavior through mandatory participation in programs that address the needs underlying his/her problem behavior. This I-Guide is designed for juvenile justice systems that are interested in implementing a pre-adjudication (prior to a court appearance) diversion program. The program would be offered at arrest, intake, or referral. This I-Guide focuses on the beginning stages of implementing a post-arrest, pre-adjudication diversion program. It does not address diversion programs initiated by law enforcement agencies or schools. The I-Guide includes research and evaluations of evidence-based diversion programs that meet certain standards. One standard is that the program divert youth from formal processing by the juvenile court system prior to any adjudication proceeding. A second standard is that evaluation of the program examined any outcome related to the behavior or well-being of diverted youths and their families. The I-Guide addresses steps in starting, supporting, and sustaining the evidence-based diversion program. Access to each of the I-Guide steps is provided on this web page.