We recently surveyed District Attorneys and Assistant District Attorneys to see what they needed as part of their diversion program, and real-time mobile access to their cases was by far the number one answer. In order to capture the most efficient way to check and manage a diversion caseload, make sure that your diversion administrator,…
Accountability has become associated with punitive measures, yet accountability plays an important role in achieving success and reaching goals for everyone from business executives and professional athletes to students and individuals in substance abuse treatment. Accountability is hand in hand with restorative and rehabilitative justice, and ensures that the participant follows through with each step…
At this year’s NDAA Summer Summit, we saw a huge amount of interest in our printed materials covering our approach to Prosecutor-led Diversion. Being that there were so many who found what we said helpful for their existing program, or a program they want to design and implement, we’ve made those materials available to you!…
After your diversion program is up and running, how do you determine if it is a success? The most basic measure of success is whether or not your program is meeting the objectives you’ve set for your diversion program. (In previous articles, we’ve gone over identifying diversion program goals and achieving those goals.) Even if…
A defendant’s inability to pay should not be a barrier to the offer of diversion. However, without grant funding or a budget allocation, the likely source to cover some or all of the cost of a diversion program will be from the offender themselves. It is important to keep the program affordable and to have…
What Goals Are Met When You Offer A Diversion Program? Goal: Reduce Docket maintenance and conserve resources Diversion programs are a cost-saving resource for prosecutors, courts, and jail/prisons alike. Diversion will reduce the number of cases in the criminal justice system as well as post-adjudication supervision/confinement. More importantly for your office, offering diversion earlier in…
I had the pleasure of attending “Pre-trial Services and Post-Pandemic Life: What Comes Next”, a webinar paneled by Judge George Eskin (ret.), Chief Tanja Heitman (Santa Barbara County, Chief Probation Officer), Spurgeon Kennedy (President Elect of NAPSA), and Brandon Buskey (attorney with the ACLU) on Monday May 24. NAPSA published a survey recently about changes…
The first step to developing your own diversion program is to identify goals that the program aims to address. Traditionally, as stated by the NDAA, “the purposes of diversion programs include: Unburdening court dockets and conserving judicial resources for more serious cases; reducing the incidence of offender recidivism by providing community-based rehabilitation that would be…
The scope and variety of diversion programs across the country reflect a policy and political context that is increasingly receptive to the benefits of diversion. Diverting individuals away from charges, and the lifelong collateral of consequences that come with them, into diversion programs that more effectively and efficiently address the conditions underlying criminal behaviors, is…
The Sonoma County District Attorney’s office has added additional offenses to the existing prefiling diversion program. These offenses include drug paraphernalia and other low level drug related offenses that are geared to deter substance abuse in Sonoma County and help the offender avoid having a criminal record. For these drug-related offenses, the Prefiling Program will…
