NCJ Number
79091
Date Published
1978
Length
24 pages
Annotation
A literature review of empirical studies of diversion results, the theoretical dimensions of diversion in relation to the juvenile court, and social policy implications posed by diversion results are discussed.
Abstract
Juvenile diversion from formal court processing was initially viewed as a means of reducing the negative labeling impact of formal juvenile justice processing while improving the cost-effectiveness of the juvenile justice system. Currently, however, consistent evidence shows that diversion has not met these goals. Diversion appears to have increased the number of youth under the behavioral control of public agencies by including in diversion programs youth who would formerly have been released. Further, cost comparisons of diversion programs with traditional court processing, which includes consideration of diversion's overall acceleration of the number of clients handled, indicates significant increases in expenditures since diversion. The failure of many families of juveniles to comply with diversion's family intervention requirements often results in a youth's further penetration into the court system than would have occurred prior to diversion programs. The development of diversion programs has impacted the decisionmaking of the juvenile justice system by encouraging the development of more programs into which juvenile authorities may send juveniles. This can in turn encourage the juvenile system to become more involved in juveniles' lives than was the case before such programs existed. There is no conclusive evidence, however, that this increased public attention to juvenile behavior has been cost-effective. Based upon empirical research into diversion, social policy should develop criteria for determining when intervention is more likely to be effective than nonintervention and vice versa. Forty-eight footnotes and tabular data are provided.