Evaluation of the Impact of a Policy Change on a Diversion Program

Abstract

As part of a larger study examining the impact of the “get tough” policy on juvenile crime, we studied the effects of efforts to “get tough” on juvenile participation in diversion programs in Hillsborough County, Florida. Florida legislature budget cuts in 2000 eliminated a primary community service program (JASP), replacing it with programs permitting penetration into the juvenile justice system (the Walker Plan and Intensive Delinquency Diversion Services [IDDS]). This event provided an opportunity for a natural experiment evaluating the impact of these service changes on youth participant outcomes. Differences were found among the diversion programs in regard to involvement. Discriminant analysis indicated the distinctions among the youths reflected primarily a difference between youths completing the program and those failing to complete the program. Stepwise logistic regression analyses predicting diversion program completion found that youths placed in the Walker Plan and in an arbitration program had higher completion rates than those placed in JASP, IDDS and another community-based program. While not providing any clear-cut indication of better program completion rates for JASP, when compared to the other diversion programs, the results suggest that a court- based diversion program, involving case supervision by juvenile probation officers, improves program compliance.