The LEAD National Support Bureau is a project of the Public Defender Association (PDA) in Seattle, WA (www.defender.org), and the Katal Center for Health, Equity & Justice in New York, NY (www.katalcenter.org), to provide support and technical assistance to jurisdictions around the nation which are planning and implementing LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) programs.
LEAD was developed in Seattle/King County, WA, in 2011, with support from the Ford and Open Society Foundations, secured by PDA. LEAD was the first known police diversion program in which law enforcement officers systematically connect individuals who commit law violations due to drug involvement to case management and other support services. The flagship LEAD program in Seattle/King County is described at www.leadkingcounty.gov. It is governed by a consortium including law enforcement, prosecutors, executive and legislative officials and community-based civil rights groups. PDA is the project manager, maintaining operational protocols and governing agreements, securing funding, managing communications, sustaining community engagement for the program, developing information sharing platforms, ensuring needed data are collected, and organizing the evaluation advisory committee.
The pilot LEAD program has been evaluated in a non-randomized control design study funded by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation by a team of University of Washington researchers, and found to reduce recidivism by 58% compared to the control group, and to cost less than sending the control group through system-as-usual justice system processing. Following on the heels of heels of the evaluation, interest in replicating LEAD has exploded nationally. Nearly 40 jurisdictions are actively exploring LEAD and have reached out and sought technical assistance from PDA, as the project manager of the flagship LEAD program, and the other Seattle/King County LEAD partners.
The Katal Center is led by a team that has supported the development of the Albany, NY LEAD program, which began operations in April 2016. The Katal founders, along with PDA, organized the well-reviewed national LEAD symposium for delegations from 27 jurisdictions at the White House in Summer 2015.
Between PDA and Katal staff, the LEAD National Support Bureau has 4 FTE employees and plans to add two additional employees in 2016. The Ford Foundation supports the Bureau and funding proposals are pending to the Arnold Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and Open Philanthropy.