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The 22nd Judicial District’s juvenile diversion program has reported a 90% success rate since its inception three years ago.
The juvenile and adult diversion programs, created by then-District Attorney William Furse, work to help juveniles and adults get treatment and keep them out of the court system. Furse is now a judge in the 22nd Judicial District.
According to program director Jay Wood, the Juvenile Restorative Justice and Diversion Program is funded through the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, while the adult program is funded through the courts.
The program will divert most first-time offenders who face misdemeanor and some felony charges, but not for more serious felonies. It also will divert for people with traffic offenses or “minor” criminal records.
“Our philosophy is that if we can reduce their involvement with the criminal justice system and find alternative ways for them to restore the harm they’ve done or successfully complete the program, that’s better for everybody,” Wood said, adding the program will lessen the number of cases and help people.
They will also divert people who have a criminal case that occurred 10-plus years ago, but will not do so for someone who previously failed diversion.
The program will divert some DUI suspects if they have a low blood alcohol content and if they have no prior DUI offenses. Wood said most of the DUI cases that go through diversion are successful. Those in the DUI diversion part of the program are subject to a substance abuse evaluation after 12 months.
Wood said that DUI treatment is expensive, but the program has grants that help support those going through treatment. Diversion is also cheaper, as adults who go through the program only have to pay a one-time fee of $50. However, that fee is waived if they cannot afford it.
Those who successfully complete the program have their case closed.
They also divert theft, trespassing and shoplifting cases.
The district’s diversion program partners with multiple treatment providers so that people can choose a program that works best for them.
“We have several different treatment providers that we work with in the area, and we allow people to change providers if it's not fitting with them. For the most part, we've had pretty high success rates – over 75% successful on DUI diversion – in part because we really work with the individuals to try to get them into the right type of treatment where they can be successful,” Wood said.
Wood said the program’s on track to have 250 adult diversions for the 2024 fiscal year and 82-90 kids diverted.
With grant funding, the program costs are covered for children who participate in diversion. Wood said he doesn’t want cost to be an obstacle for those who are opting for treatment and education.
Right now, the program’s track record shows a 90% success rate for children in the diversion program.
The goal is to minimize children’s association with the court system and aim for restoration.
“Most of our kids are filed on in court, and then we'll review the case, review the prior history of the kid and do a risk assessment,” Wood said. “If we think the kid is appropriate for diversion, we will reach out to the district attorney or the assistant district attorney and suggest that a kid would be appropriate for diversion.
“Often, if that's agreeable to the prosecutor who has that case, we will reach out to the kid and the family before court and try to get things settled so that the kid doesn't even have to go to court.”
Wood discussed limiting a child’s exposure to the court system, saying he is passionate about juvenile diversion including restoration processes.
“If you can identify the needs of kids while they're still not severe and chronic, we just have way better luck with those kids,” he said. “If we have a kid that has done something in the community, then we can develop something into their contract to restore their relationship with their family, or relative or a neighbor, or even a business owner or something.”
Wood said part of the premise is to create a “restorative approach.”
“It is kind of incremental, but we learn more and more each year about how to do that and how to work with kids in restorative manner, but it's kind of a foundational approach with kids, and it works and it's good for the community,” he said.
Wood has been the program’s director for 2 1/2 years. He had started helping with the financial side of the program before taking on the director position.
Some of the goals Wood said they have for the diversion program include creating a “useful public service program” to work with local businesses or residents who have been victims of graffiti, property damage and more.
Wood said the program hopes to add a public service coordinator in the future, as well as framework to evaluate and do risk assessments on adults in the system who could be candidates for diversion.
Right now, they have an “intensive evaluation and risk assessment” for youth, but have too many adults to do the same kind of intensive evaluations on all of them.
Wood hopes to make these changes for fiscal year 2025.
“We've had progressive support here, and that doesn't exist everywhere,” Wood said. “We've really had a progressive philosophy about how we can support people in non-traditional ways to help them be successful. I think that should be should be valued here.”
