Youth Intervention Program funding (and thus YIPA) were created for the fundamental purpose of keeping kids out of the juvenile justice system. Today, about two-thirds of YIPA member programs receive juvenile diversion referrals.
What is diversion? This is not an easy question to answer because programs that call themselves diversion programs can be very different from each other and many programs that divert young people from the juvenile justice system might not call themselves a “diversion program.” The Juvenile Justice Coalition of Minnesota has a workgroup on diversion, which includes several YIPA members. The Coalition has identified the following as an imperfect, but workable definition of diversion:
“Intermediate intervention (community restitution, day treatment centers, diversion programs and protective supervision projects) for first-time delinquent offenders and many nonviolent repeat offenders.” (From the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)
The Northern Star Juvenile Diversion program headed by Colleen Brazier is a great example of diversion. I met Colleen through the JJC juvenile diversion workgroup, where I also first encountered many of the major debates in diversion today. For Colleen, the two major debates in diversion right now are: how to make diversion universal and how to evaluate success and effectiveness.
Right now in Minnesota a young person in one county may not have the same (or even similar) opportunities and resources that a young person in a neighboring county (city, town, etc.) might have. Who is diverted also varies from city to city, so a young person who might have the option of being sent to a diversion program over juvenile court, might not have that chance in another place, even if the offense is the same. The JJC and others are working hard to make diversion a more universal option here in Minnesota. They are also working to create a set of standards that goes beyond rated of recidivism in showing the effectiveness of diversion programs.
At Northern Star, they take a very wide view of the young person. They don’t just give a shoplifter an anti-shoplifting class and assume that it took care of the issue. They give each and every young person a 10-week class on life skills, positive relationships, decision-making, substance abuse, bullying, peer pressure, goal setting and more. Young people in this program get a comprehensive set of tools that they can use the next time the temptation for trouble comes along.
“Youth get to earn back their parents trust and the trust of the community,” says Colleen. “Diversion is hard work, it shows the kid is willing to give back.” When a young person goes through the court instead of diversion, they may not really understand the impact of their actions on the community. Not to mention that a young person who goes through the system adds on all of the collateral consequences of having a juvenile record.
Since 1996 Northern Star has worked with youth ages 10-18 who are first-time, low-level offenders that have been referred from myriad court and police departments in the metro area. A young person may enter the program if they are willing to admit that they have done something wrong and that they are committed to making it right. Then, a Northern Star diversion worker will meet with the young person and his or her parent or guardian to discuss the plan. The young person will do sixteen hours of community service and will attend the 10-week class once a week for an hour. The class is run by a diversion staff member with 2-3 adult volunteer mentors.
So, does it work? Well, in the 2 years following program completion 80% of the young people have stayed out of the juvenile justice system!
The trick with diversion – this young person did NOT fall deeper into the justice system, did NOT become an adult criminal, did NOT cost taxpayers thousands of dollars – is that it is hard to prove a negative. Wise planners will see the evidence, the huge cost different between intervention and incarceration, and will choose to invest in early interventions rather than costly punitive measures that are often too little, too late. For more evidence of the wisdom in intervention see the Social Return on Investment.
Diversion programs stand at the frontier between early intervention and juvenile justice. They are the last stop before a young person crosses over that powerful border into “the system.” This is not to say that once a young person has been to court and been adjudicated delinquent that they are lost forever. Far from it! It simply means that diversion programs mark a last chance for a young person to turn away from destructive behaviors without having an official record and all of the collateral consequences that come with it (this is a huge debate and not everyone will agree with this demarcation, click here for a fantastic resource on this topic.)
What do you think about the role of diversion in early intervention and juvenile justice?
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