Prosecutorial diversion requires a range of partners, resources, and activities to get it right. This is especially true when the diversion initiative involves behavioral health because the intersection of the legal system and the treatment system is one that can be fraught with complexity and misunderstanding. After all, these are two very different systems with very different purposes and missions, and a sporadic and limited history of working together. Getting it right is not easy but can be done. This webinar will present six considerations essential to doing just that. They are:
1. Asking the right "first question" to get at the right problem/challenge statement.
2. Coming to shared systems agreement on the right outcomes, goals, and purpose.
3. Agreeing on the range of possible systems solutions.
4. Working within the right behavioral health capacity.
5. Working within the right prosecutorial risk tolerance.
6. Lagniappe: Feedback Loop, Fund, Evaluate, Sustain, and Celebrate.
As time permits, a brief portion of the webinar will cover prosecutorial linkages to the newly emerging field of police pre-arrest diversion and how prosecutors can play a critical role in these efforts as partners to police, treatment, and community. Pre-arrest diversion can, in turn, enhance prosecutorial diversion initiatives by reducing caseloads, allowing for greater focus on the cases that matter most to public safety.