Diversion Program Research Articles (Page 1)

Indonesia’s drug policy, as codified in Law No. 35 of 2009 and Law No. 1 of 2023 Penal Code (KUHP), remains largely punitive, emphasizing long-term imprisonment and capital punishment, even for low-level drug offenders. Although Articles 54 and 127 provide for rehabilitation, their implementation is inconsistent and heavily reliant on law enforcement discretion, contributing to chronic prison overcrowding without effectively reducing drug circulation. This article examines Indonesia’s drug sentencing framework from three perspectives: (1) a normative legal analysis of statutory provisions and judicial practices; (2) a comparative study of Southeast Asian jurisdictions such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, which are increasingly adopting rehabilitative and decriminalisation approaches; and (3) a restorative justice perspective, assessing alignment with principles of proportionality, reintegration, and human dignity. The findings reveal that Indonesia’s criminal justice system still prioritises retributive over health-oriented and rights-based models. While diversion mechanisms exist, they remain underutilised. In contrast, neighbouring countries have introduced significant reforms: Malaysia has abolished mandatory death penalties, Thailand has decriminalised minor drug use, and Singapore has expanded diversion programmes. This article advocates for comprehensive legal reform to integrate restorative justice principles, enhance judicial diversion, expand non-custodial alternatives, and align drug policy with international human rights and public health standards.

The Limits of Success: Philadelphia’s Eviction Diversion Program

Police-based diversion programs offer a promising approach to preventing criminal offending, improving the health of individuals with substance use disorder, and reducing the costs of substance use. While some research has assessed program implementation, less has explored what circumstances impact low implementation or sustainability. The current case study addresses this gap by exploring circumstances surrounding low implementation of a police-based diversion initiative. Results suggest that the program reached its intended population but was underutilized. Qualitative interviews with key stakeholders identify facilitators (e.g., collaboration) and barriers (e.g., staff turnover) to program implementation and sustainability. Results are discussed in the context of implementing police-based diversion programs, offering practical implications for those developing or evaluating police-based diversion initiatives.

ABSTRACTRecently, it has been argued that youth‐initiated mentoring (YIM) holds promise for justice‐involved youth. In YIM, youths select an adult mentor from their social network. Successful implementation is key to the effectiveness of an innovation, but little is known about the factors contributing to the successful implementation of YIM. We explored boosters and barriers to implementation perceived by professionals implementing YIM into a juvenile diversion programme. We performed thematic analysis on one unstructured (N = 22) and three semi‐structured focus groups (N = 7–8) guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Findings suggest that professionals perceived the benefits of YIM in this context. Nevertheless, the current organisational culture, grounded in Risk‐Need‐Responsivity principles, hindered the actual implementation in certain cases, possibly endangering the continuation of YIM in a juvenile diversion context. Boosters and barriers can be considered and adopted by organisations aiming to implement YIM in a selective prevention context.Trial registration number: (ClinicalTrial.gov ID #NCT05555472).

This research analyzes the comparative implementation of child protection law between Indonesia and the Netherlands with a focus on the juvenile justice system. Both countries have different approaches in handling children in conflict with the law, although both are based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Indonesia implements the juvenile criminal justice system as stipulated in Law Number 11 of 2012 with a restorative justice approach through diversion, while the Netherlands uses a system that emphasizes rehabilitative and preventive approaches with well-established diversion programs since the early 20th century. This study employs a normative juridical method with a comparative approach to analyze the legal framework, implementation, and effectiveness of both systems. The findings indicate that although Indonesia has adopted a restorative justice approach, its implementation still faces various challenges including inconsistent application of diversion, limited resources, and a legal culture still oriented toward punishment. The Netherlands, with longer experience, demonstrates success in reducing the number of children in the formal justice system through diversion programs such as Bureau Halt and integrated youth care approaches. This research recommends strengthening institutional capacity, harmonizing regulations, enhancing alternative sentencing programs, and learning from Dutch best practices to improve the effectiveness of child protection in Indonesia's justice system.

Background The harm reduction effects of police drug diversion (PDD) are influenced by how people engage with diversion, which is moderated by their motivation to change. Underlying influences can be revealed by examining the contexts and mechanisms which trigger and support participants’ motivation for engagement and change. Methods The qualitative phase of a realist evaluation of three PDD programs in England used semi-structured interviews with police officers, diversion practitioners, and divertees. Collaborative, abductive analysis focused on contexts and mechanisms of motivation and the nature of engagement. Results Contexts featuring positive interactions were moderated by negative perceptions of intervention environments, course content and delivery, and feelings of dissatisfaction with drug policy and legislation. Short PDD programs without individually tailored support worked well in triggering consequential thinking to motivate some people involved in experimental and/or occasional drug use. More intensive, longer and individualized forms seemed to be more effective in supporting and building motivation among people with more complex needs. Neither form of PDD succeeded in motivating people who believed their substance use was beneficial, unproblematic, or who disagreed with current drug laws. Conclusion Findings suggest that PDD programs require careful tailoring to the diverse needs of people who are diverted.

Children are the future of society, and therefore, protecting them and ensuring their continued existence as individuals beneficial to society is another responsibility of the law. Applying the same level of penalties as adults to juveniles who are drawn to crime, who are not raised in safe environments, and who, due to their age, are not subject to legal proceedings, would be unjust, both sociologically and legally. In this regard, many forms of juvenile criminal sanctions used across various legal systems. Aiming to reintegrate young people into society and accepting their developmental differences from adults, juvenile justice systems usually stress rehabilitation over punishment. Distinguishes between non-custodial and custodial punishments including warnings, probation, community service, diversion programs, and imprisonment. It also looks at elements affecting the decision of penalties, like the degree of the violation, offender age, and past criminal record. This comparative study shows how many countries strike a balance between responsibility and safeguarding of children’s rights. This paper provides an in-depth examination of specific the examples drawn from several countries, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, and Italy. Through this exploration, the study brings to light both the shared principles and the distinct methodologies that are employed in these nations to address youth-related legal issues. Ultimately, this comprehensive analysis argues that several key factors are of paramount importance for the successful reduction of recidivism and the effective social reintegration of young people. The study emphasizes the critical need for a focus on meaningful and effective rehabilitation strategies and the necessity of providing robust and consistent funding to child welfare systems.

This study examined how outcomes in police-led jail diversion programs (JDPs) align with the ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence, focusing on factors that influence diversion decisions and their balance between rehabilitation and public safety. Individuals with less severe charges and first-time encounters are more likely to be diverted to mental health treatment, aligning with beneficence. Conversely, individuals with severe charges and repeat offenses are more likely to experience arrest, aligning with nonmaleficence. This retrospective analysis included 3,324 diversion-eligible cases from 21,964 behavioral crisis incidents recorded in Massachusetts between May and December 2023. This secondary data analysis used the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health's JDP statewide standardized database. Quantitative analyses employed logistic regression and hybrid machine learning models to examine how charge severity, mental health status, substance use, and incident characteristics were associated with outcomes relative to ethical principles. Less severe charges and first-time encounters predicted diversion to mental health services, reflecting beneficence through rehabilitation. Severe charges and repeat offenses were more likely to result in arrest, reflecting nonmaleficence by prioritizing public safety. De-escalation techniques and on-scene supports were associated with diversion, whereas overnight incidents and substance use were linked to increased arrests. Implementing JDPs that align with ethical principles is complex, requiring nuanced approaches that account for both individual and situational factors. Enhanced training and resources are essential to support ethical decision making, ensuring that diversion decisions align with beneficence and nonmaleficence. This study informs efforts to reform police practices to better address mental health crises and suggests policy enhancements to promote both individual welfare and public safety. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Patching holes and bridging gaps: Implementing Law Enforcement-Assisted Diversion (LEAD) in resource-scarce environments.

This commentary describes approaches by Delaware health and justice practitioners that divert justice-involved individuals presenting with substance use disorder (SUD) symptoms out of the criminal justice system and enhance connections to treatment and supportive services. It applies the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) used by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to discern opportunities for intervention at various stages of criminal processing. Examples of deflection/diversion programs at six of the SIM points are presented. Such cross-system collaborations are helping to redefine criminal justice reform and pathways of care after contact with the criminal justice system.

ABSTRACT The study examines the replication of the In-Home Teaching-Family Model (TFM) across different service settings, including child welfare, juvenile justice, diversion, and other prevention programs. Using administrative data (i.e. fidelity, service delivery and family outcomes) for Boys Town In-Home Family Services (BT-IHFS) from 2021 to 2023, results indicate consistent implementation across service settings, with minor adaptations in dosage for juvenile justice cases. Significant improvements from intake to case closure were observed in family functioning and parenting skills across all contracts, with large effect sizes in several domains. When comparing family outcomes at case closure using an analysis of covariance approach, families in “other prevention programs” reported higher family-functioning outcomes compared to the three other contract types. The study highlights the ability to implement BT-IHFS in diverse contexts and obtain consistent positive outcomes for families, emphasizing the importance of routine data collection for continuous improvement. Limitations include missing data and challenges in measuring parenting across different child age groups. Overall, the research provides strong evidence for the In-Home TFM’s adaptability and effectiveness, offering valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working to support families from child welfare, juvenile justice, diversion, and prevention program settings.

The differences in the age limits of children as stipulated in several Indonesian laws and regulations—such as the Juvenile Criminal Justice System Law (UU Sistem Peradilan Pidana Anak/SPPA), the Child Protection Law (UU Perlindungan Anak), and the Human Rights Law (UU HAM)—have created significant legal uncertainty. These inconsistencies pose serious implications for the protection of children's rights, particularly for those who are entangled in legal conflicts. One of the most critical impacts is the potential for injustice in the application of restorative justice and diversion programs, which should be guided by the principle of the best interests of the child. Discrepancies in age definitions may also result in unequal treatment in legal proceedings and hinder access to appropriate legal remedies and rehabilitation services. For instance, a child considered underage by one law may be treated as an adult under another, leading to inconsistent judicial decisions, discrimination, and psychological harm. Furthermore, this lack of regulatory harmony undermines the credibility and consistency of the justice system in handling cases involving children. The principle of legal certainty, which is fundamental in any just legal system, cannot be upheld if such foundational definitions remain fragmented. Therefore, there is an urgent need for harmonization and alignment of all regulations related to the legal age definition of a child within the Indonesian national legal framework. Establishing a uniform age standard is essential to ensure fair treatment, protect children's rights comprehensively, prevent discriminatory practices, and improve the effectiveness of restorative justice, rehabilitation, and child protection mechanisms in Indonesia.

Abstract Date Presented 04/03/2025 An estimated 5.2 million veterans face mental health challenges. Cobb County’s Veterans Treatment Court (VTC), established in 2014, offers a diversion program for justice-involved veterans. This study explores staff’s and students’ perceptions of OT services. Primary Author and Speaker: Alexis Hawkins Additional Authors and Speakers: Mary Shotwell, Daphyne Ewings, Yolanda Young Contributing Authors: Daphyne Ewings, Yolanda Young, Mary Shotwell, Emily Riggs, Amy Shaffer

In recent years, the emergence of alternative response models (ARMs) in the United States has shifted greater responsibility to behavioral health (BH) professionals instead of police officers when responding to BH crises. Louisville (Kentucky) Metro launched the ARM Crisis Call Diversion Program in March 2022, which provides an alternative response to certain 911 calls involving a BH crisis. Overarching goals are to deflect BH-related calls from police and reduce unnecessary institutionalizations. Utilizing the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, semistructured interviews were conducted between December 2022 and June 2023 with 47 ARM responders (i.e., 35 first responders; 12 alternative responders). Interviews emphasized negative experiences related to program rollout, compassion fatigue, and burnout, which may impact responders' ability to fulfill their duties. Positive coping mechanisms of responders were also ascertained. First and alternative responders expressed similar sources of stressors when responding to individuals in crisis due to insufficient social support systems. All responder groups expressed a range of symptoms of compassion fatigue and burnout, but alternative responders demonstrated more awareness of the signs and a greater range of positive coping methods to address symptoms. As BH ARMs evolve, decision making related to planning, implementation, and expansion must consider responder burnout and compassion fatigue. Understanding responder burnout and compassion fatigue increases responder buy-in and can be used to improve implementation and decrease turnover. Ignoring these needs may lead to persistent barriers to implementation and negatively impact the quality of BH care individuals in crisis receive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

The effectiveness of the Dutch juvenile diversion program Halt: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

The Trait-Based Model of Recovery is a strengths-focused intervention designed to enhance personality traits and reduce mental health symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, among individuals recovering from addiction. This study evaluated the model’s effectiveness using a quasi-experimental pre-post design across diverse settings, including residential and outpatient programs in Kentucky and a pretrial diversion program in Albuquerque, New Mexico, highlighting its broad applicability and generalizability. Participants (N = 139) exhibited substantial reductions in depression (71.5%) and anxiety (58.5%), alongside significant improvements in nine of ten targeted traits, notably resilience and self-awareness. Retention was considerably higher in the intervention group (97.1%) compared to the comparison group’s substantial attrition (15.5% retained). Empathy slightly declined post-intervention, indicating an area for further refinement. The findings support the Trait-Based Model of Recovery as a holistic and strengths-focused framework capable of effectively addressing addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders. By enhancing traits and addressing their potential negative expressions, this approach provides meaningful therapeutic value across diverse recovery contexts. Future research should explore the long-term sustainability of outcomes and identify targeted strategies to enhance traits such as empathy, further optimizing this innovative recovery approach.

Abstract A Justice and Mental Health Collaborative (JMHC) was established in Cook County, Illinois with the primary goal of reducing lengthy jail stays and confinement in state psychiatric institutions for defendants with serious mental health concerns. A diverse group of stakeholders, including public defenders, prosecutors, judges, service providers, and researchers, developed a “Fitness Diversion Program” which began its pilot phase in 2019. This program sought to divert its target population away from cumbersome clinical exams for competency to stand trial. Upon successful completion of diversion programming, misdemeanor charges were dismissed. This manuscript analyzes programmatic development, implementation, and expansion through qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with stakeholders using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Qualitative analysis allowed the research team to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation, focusing on themes connected to each RE-AIM domain. This manuscript’s findings demonstrate a case of programmatic drift to accept a larger range of cases, highlighting the importance of programmatic flexibility, attention to sustainability and capacity, and efforts to divert individuals with serious mental illness from continued criminal-legal involvement.

Abstract Despite their theoretical benefits on restoring youth, there are mixed results surrounding the effectiveness of teen courts in the literature. We acknowledge that the previously inconsistent and substantively small effects of teen court are at least in part due to methodological limitations in previous research designs examining this topic. In the form of a quasi‐experimental research design, we examine every juvenile in North Carolina across every teen court in the state and other diversion programs as well as the comparable youth who entered the traditional justice system, totaling 6554 juveniles. We find that Teen Court has a statistically significant reductionary effect on recidivism when compared to the other processing alternatives. Teen court is not only a practicable alternative to traditional juvenile justice processes but also a more effective one in terms of its ability to reduce recidivism.

The criminalisation of drug use and stigma create barriers to healthcare and harm reduction, limiting access due to fear of legal consequences and mistrust of health services. Queensland’s Drug Diversion Program (DDP) aims to address these issues by redirecting people into support services. This study explored the lived-living experiences of people who use drugs, assessing their perceptions of the DDP through semi-structured interviews with 30 participants (Mean age = 28, SD = 4.6; 25 men, 5 women). Key themes included: societal and familial challenges before program entry, positive reception of diversion, mixed experiences with health services, and post-program outcomes emphasising accessibility and personalisation. Findings highlight that stigma, criminalisation, and service gaps shape how participants access care. While the DDP builds trust and offers critical support, limitations in awareness and cultural responsiveness remain. Enhancing program flexibility and visibility, alongside broader reform, is key to improving outcomes.

Diversion programs are increasingly used as alternatives to criminal penalties for women involved in commercial sex, yet limited research has examined how such programs support behavior change across diverse subgroups, particularly between sex-trafficked and non-trafficked participants. This study evaluates changes in readiness for change among 131 women who participated in a court-ordered diversion program led by survivors of sex trafficking. Participants were classified as sex-trafficked or non-trafficked based on self-reported age of entry and experiences of third-party control. The program offered a range of trauma-informed services aimed at fostering holistic well-being and facilitating a pathway out of sex trafficking and prostitution. Participants engaged in group classes focused on job interview skills, emotion regulation, substance use awareness, and psychoeducation related to trauma. Life skills workshops addressed financial literacy, relationship dynamics, and conflict resolution. In addition, participants received referrals to GED programs, career training, mental health services, and emergency housing as needed. Program duration typically ranged from 12 to 16 weeks, adjusted for individual needs. Results from a repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant increase in readiness for change (p < 0.05) from program entry to completion. However, women with trafficking histories demonstrated smaller gains than their non-trafficked peers, suggesting that trauma-related and systemic barriers may limit the impact of short-term interventions. These findings underscore the importance of tailoring diversion programs to address the complex needs of sex-trafficked individuals and support the development of differentiated trauma-responsive strategies within diversion frameworks.