Young adults (ages 16-24) are involved with the criminal justice system in disproportionate numbers compared to other age groups. A growing body of research shows that this population is closer developmentally to teenagers than to older adults and, therefore, it is more effective to address their criminal behavior with age-appropriate treatments, including diversion programs. Diversion programs redirect individuals, typically youth and first-time offenders, from prosecution and/or incarceration to community-based programming, case management, and supports.
In 2017, the U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, funded a 3-year technical assistance initiative that is helping 16 state and local partnerships provide their justice-involved young adult population with alternatives to prosecution and/or incarceration, including special education, career and technical education, and other workforce development opportunities.
Technical Assistance Partnerships:
The Tuscaloosa Diversion Partnership was established to coordinate three types of diversion programs: informal education-based programs, referrals through juvenile court, and referrals through adult court. The partners include several divisions of the University of Alabama, led by the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program; Tuscaloosa City and County Schools; Tuscaloosa Juvenile Court and Probation; Tuscaloosa Adult Court; the District Attorney's Office; Indian Rivers Mental Health Center; Bradford Health Services; the Bridge, Inc.; Tuscaloosa One Place; and the Chamber of Commerce.
Restoring Our Communities (ROC) is a Laney College program that supports youth, young adults, and adults on probation, parole, and/or supervision. ROC is working to expand its partnerships internally at Laney College and with the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center (JCC) and the Alameda County Public Defender's Office.
The Los Angeles County Partnership consists of the following agencies: Probation Department; Office of Education; Department of Mental Health; California State University, Los Angeles; and Workforce Development, Aging, and Community Services. The partnership focuses on improving education and workforce outcomes for older youth and young adults while in county juvenile camps and when released back into the community. The partnership is collecting data on 75 youth and young adults to evaluate program outcomes.
The Orange County Re-Entry Partnership (OCREP) and the Orange County Local Partnership Agreement (OCLPA) are collaborating to reduce recidivism in Orange County. OCREP is a strong collaboration of over 300 agencies and organizations that create linkages between the formerly incarcerated and community-based programs. The OCLPA is a team of over 45 agencies and 62 individuals. OCLPA programming efforts include identification of resources, tools, services, and career development/educational options for youth and adults with disabilities.
The Diversion Initiative for Vocational Employability Related to Technology (DIVERT) partnership was established to provide youth on pre- or post-arrest diversion the essential skills to become gainfully employed and avoid future contact with the juvenile justice system. The partnership comprises state and local partners, including the Florida Department of Education's Vocational Rehabilitation and Career and Adult Technical Education Division; the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity; and the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and its diversion partners, the Florida Afterschool Network, Florida Ready to Work, St. Pete College, Pinellas CareerSource, and Pinellas School District.
The Kentucky Young Adult Diversion Partnership works to successfully transition at-risk youth and justice-involved young adults into adulthood and economic self-sufficiency by supporting the attainment of academic and employment success through collective diversion strategies. The partnership consists of a network of state, regional, and local agencies, including the state agency for adult education, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Correction, the Department for Community Based Services, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, and an area Job Corps Center.
The Hampden County Young Adults in Criminal Justice partnership was established to develop solutions to enhance public safety, reduce recidivism, and improve individual outcomes for young adults aged 18 to 24 in Hampden County. The partnership includes the District Attorney's Office, the Sheriff's Department, local courts, probation services, the Department of Youth Services, and the police—all working with Roca, a nonprofit organization that provides expertise on high-risk young adults in the justice system.
Through its Second Shift program, Lighthouse Academy is developing partnerships with community colleges, employers, county juvenile detention centers, and a substance abuse program to provide educational services to justice-involved young adults. The overall goal of the program is to reduce young adult recidivism while students are in confinement and upon release.
The Hampden County Young Adults in Criminal Justice partnership was established to develop solutions to enhance public safety, reduce recidivism, and improve individual outcomes for young adults aged 18 to 24 in Hampden County. The partnership includes the District Attorney's Office, the Sheriff's Department, local courts, probation services, the Department of Youth Services, and the police—all working with Roca, a nonprofit organization that provides expertise on high-risk young adults in the justice system.
Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources, Hattiesburg Public School District, Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services-Vocational Rehabilitation, and Pearl River Community College are collaborating to provide diversion services to transition-age youth. The partnership is building on Crossover Xpand, a program that provides mental health, behavioral health, and wraparound services to youth who are at risk for, or already involved in, child protective services or the juvenile justice system. The partnership is building a Central Diversion Team that includes representatives from career and technical education, workforce readiness, juvenile justice, child protective services, and behavioral and primary health care organizations.
Led by Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC), the Washoe County Diversion Partnership includes Reno Diversion Court; Washoe County Alternative Sentencing; Washoe County Sheriff's Office; Federal Supervised Release; State of Nevada Parole and Probation; State of Nevada Department of Corrections; and the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation. TMCC operates a reentry career and technical education program that includes diversion and other services for justice-involved young adults, who are primarily referred by the Reno Diversion Court.
The Camden County Youth Services Commission’s Community Planning and Advocacy Council is partnering with the New Jersey Department of Education Camden County Office of Education to develop opportunities for out-of-school youth. They hope to establish a single location where students can get access to education, employment, and other services they need and where schools can feel comfortable reaching out to engage and support youth. They are mapping community assets, examining data, and building relationships with school districts, colleges, and the Youth One Stop.
The Ocean County Achievement Center: Building Futures for Young Adults is a collaboration among Rutgers Transitional Education and Employment Management (T.E.E.M.) Gateway, Ocean County College, Ocean County PIC, and Goodwill's Helms Academy. These core partners are supported by an advisory team of service providers that offer programming and foster community collaboration to meet the needs of disconnected (out-of-school), at-risk, and justice-involved young adults. The Ocean County Achievement Center serves as the programming hub through which young adults are matched to career training, special education, college and work readiness, internship, positive youth development, mental health services, and other wraparound support services.
The New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council established an interagency, juvenile justice work group to engage state-level, cross-systems partners in addressing the needs of justice-involved youth with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities. The work group includes the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Children and Family Services, Office of Mental Health, Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, Department of Labor, Unified Court System, and the Department of Education. The work group will focus on young adults with complex needs related to disability and mental health diagnoses, and young adults that reside in underserved communities across the state.
The Community Healing Initiative is an 8-year-old partnership between Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center and Rosemary Anderson High School (POIC + RAHS) and the Multnomah County Department of Community Justice. The partnership provides a range of case management, workforce development, and education services for justice-involved youth and young adults in diversion, probation, and gang prevention programs.
Philadelphia's Enhancing Young Adult Diversion Through Workforce Development Partnership includes the First Judicial District–Municipal Court, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, the District Attorney's Office, the Defender Association, the Managing Director's Office, and community-based service provider partners. The partnership's objective is to improve health, social, and economic outcomes for Philadelphia Treatment Court participants who are 18–24 years old, by strengthening workforce development services through strategic planning, professional development, program enhancements, and partnership development.
The partnership includes key state staff from Utah's Division of Juvenile Justice Services (deputy director, grant specialist's, program directors), Department of Human Services (education liaison), and District level personnel (principals, social workers, and counselors). The partnership will focus on early intervention youth and will be further refined to ensure the right agencies are involved.
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education
Division of Academic and Technical Education
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