Diversion Programs for Individuals Who Use Substances: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Diversion programs connect individuals to treatment instead of criminal sanctions and are used more frequently to address substance use. This systematic scoping review included 31 published empirical studies to examine evaluations of diversion programs that address substance use and misuse. We assessed the program characteristics and implementation settings, as well as the outcomes measured and study methods used. We identified five prevalent study outcomes categories: (a) Service utilization (program retention and completion), (b) Recidivism/criminality, (c) Substance use, (d) Psychosocial functioning, and (e) Other outcomes (e.g., trauma, quality of life, and housing). Findings demonstrated limited but promising evidence for improvements in recidivism, substance use, and psychosocial outcomes. The limited evidence may be partly due to heterogeneity in diversion program implementation, study designs used, and differences among subpopulations. Most studies examined postbooking diversion programs; therefore, further examination of alternative approaches such as prebooking diversion programs is needed to fully understand diversion program impacts.