Deflection and Pre-Arrest Diversion: A Public Health & Safety Response to Stimulant and Other Substance Use in the Community
Deflection and pre-arrest diversion are collaborative prevention and intervention efforts, in which law enforcement and other first responders (fire and emergency medical services) partner with behavioral health systems to connect individuals with stimulant and other substance use disorders, mental health disorder, or co-occurring disorders to community-based treatment and services. The Six Pathways to Deflection framework represents common modes of response that various deflection sites around the country employ to support connections to behavioral health treatment, recovery support services, housing, case management, and other services. In this panel, TASC’s Center for Health and Justice will bring together three deflection sites from different communities to describe how their sites provide pathways to community. Each of the Pathways to Deflection will be discussed, paying close attention to the key elements of success for each, including information garnered from the program evaluations of Hero Help, Huntington QRT, and Plymouth County Outreach. The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive, Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) provides grant funding to support the featured deflection programs and TASC’s Center for Health and Justice’s deflection training and technical assistance.
Learning Objectives:
• Define deflection and understand its importance in ongoing substance use response strategies
• Become familiar with the Six Pathways to Deflection
• State the five critical elements of Deflection responses
• Learn about deflection sites from different communities around the country
Presenters
• Hope Fiori, MPPA, Senior Administrator, TASC’s Center for Health and Justice
• Vicky Butler, Program Director, East Bridgewater Police Department (Massachusetts), Plymouth County Outreach
• Lieutenant Allen Herring, Behavioral Health Unit Executive Officer, New Castle County (DE) Police Department, Hero Help
• Connie Priddy, MA, RN, Program Coordinator, Cabell County EMS (West Virginia), Huntington QRT
Please check the box next to the following questions if the answer is 'yes'.
Please enter the applicable Event Date if there is an Event associated with this TTA.
When entering an Event Date, the Time is also required.
If the TTA is targeted to a particular audience or location, please complete the questions below.
Milestones are an element, activity, work product, or key task associated with completing the TTA (e.g. kick-off meeting, collect data from stake holders, deliver initial data analysis).
Please complete the fields below, if applicable, to create a milestone for this TTA.
Please respond to the Performance Metrics below. The Performance Metrics questions are based on the TTA Type indicated in the General Information section of the TTA.
Please submit a signed letter of support from your agency’s executive or other senior staff member. The letter can be emailed to or uploaded with this request. The letter should be submitted on official letterhead and include the following information:
- General information regarding the request for TTA services, i.e., the who, what, where, when, and why.
- The organizational and/or community needs specific to the request for TTA services.
- The benefits or anticipated outcomes from the receipt of TTA services.
By submitting this application to BJA NTTAC, I understand that upon approval of this application for TTA, the requestor agrees to keep BJA NTTAC informed of any circumstances that may impact the delivery of the TTA, including changes in the date of the event, event cancellation, or difficulties communicating with the assigned TTA provider.
Please call [site:phone] if you need further assistance completing this application.