By Richard A. Mendel

   Young people’s likelihood of avoiding future justice system contact and achieving success is affected not only by whether or not their cases are diverted from the justice system, but also by how their cases are handled once diverted. A growing consensus among youth justice experts supports several priorities regarding how best to organize and utilize youth diversion. Move responsibility for diverted youth out of the court system Too often, youth diverted from formal processing in court are overseen by prosecutors or probation officers in a process that can mirror traditional probation supervision. In 2020, the latest year for which data are available, more than 32,000 youth whose cases were not formally processed in court were nonetheless placed on probation caseloads. In practice, this type of informal probation often differs little from formal probation, with a long list of rules and requirements and the threat of returning to court for prosecution if youth don’t meet all expectations imposed on them. Adolescent development research and practical experience suggest strongly that this approach is misguided. Rather, the best practice is to divert youth away from the justice system and empower community partner organizations, as well as schools and families, to address young people’s misbehavior.

Issue Brief #2

Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project, 2024. 6p.