May 23, 2018
The Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA), in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Center for Court Innovation and as part of the Prosecutor-Led Diversion Initiative, recently released the Prosecutor-Led Diversion Toolkit. This online clearinghouse contains information and tools for designing, implementing, and evaluating new prosecutor-led diversion programming. It is intended to be a resource for criminal justice stakeholders, including prosecutors, law enforcement, defense attorneys, judges, probation and pretrial services, social service providers, and policymakers, as well as the general public.
The toolkit is organized into five primary sections:
- Getting Started: Provides background information on what diversion is, what prosecutor-led diversion is and its importance, and how prosecutor-led diversion relates to other diversionary strategies.
- Program Planning and Implementation: Contains information on key issues related to prosecutor-led diversion programming, such as goals, statutory authority, program eligibility, treatment providers, candidate screening, compliance monitoring, and evaluation.
- Resources: Offers materials designed to help prosecutors initiate their program planning, including sample documents, templates, and forms, as well as funding information.
- Training and Technical Assistance (TTA): Provides information on what kinds of TTA are available to prosecutors, such as TTA sites and mentor sites, and how to request assistance.
- Contact Us: Describes how to contact APA and the Prosecutor-Led Diversion Initiative, ask questions, and provide feedback on the toolkit’s contents.