Diversion Program Helps Youth Avoid Long-Term Effects of Incarceration
New evaluation findings show that Project Reset—a CJII-funded program that diverts people post-arrest to a community-based intervention—allows participants to avoid harmful collateral consequences and improves their views of the criminal legal system. Project Reset’s strengths and challenges point to opportunities for the expansion and improvement of community-based diversion.
Project Reset offers voluntary post-arrest, pre-arraignment diversion programming through one of three providers—the Center for Court Innovation (CCI), Young New Yorkers (YNY), and the Osborne Association. The program originally engaged young adults and adults arrested for low-level nonviolent offenses who did not have a criminal record. In July 2019, it expanded to include individuals with prior convictions (referred to as the program’s “expanded population” or “Reset +”). Since February 2018, Project Reset has successfully diverted more than 2,400 individuals from typical court processing.
Recent findings from the RAND Corporation’s interim evaluation of Project Reset highlight key program strengths and challenges. Findings include that:
Participants enrolled in Project Reset avoid a criminal record and traditional court obligations; the program’s community-based locations also reinforce it as an alternative to traditional case processing.
Participants completed Project Reset with more positive views of the criminal legal system, and expressed satisfication with their decision to enroll.
Improvements in participant contact and outreach are necessary to ensure everyone eligible can benefit from diversion programs.
Designing Light-Touch Community-Based Diversion Programming
Following an arrest, eligible participants are identified by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (DANY) and their contact information is shared with the Project Reset providers to begin program recruitment. Required programming generally includes a two- to three-hour activity such as a discussion- and arts-based workshop, psychoeducation on the social resilience model, restorative justice, Narcan training, or a community service event. Providers additionally offer voluntary referrals, including to mental health and legal services. As one participant noted in a feedback survey, “It was a great learning experience, and I was able to get connected to services that would help me overcome my mental health issues that led me to my arrest in the first place. I am so grateful for the program!”
When participants successfully complete programming, DANY declines to prosecute their arrest. Among the population of originally eligible participants whom programs were able to contact and invite to programming, 98% enrolled. Of those individuals, 96% percent successfully completed programming, allowing them to avoid court appearances and a criminal record.
RAND’s evaluation found that the providers’ community-based, inviting locations were conducive to participant engagement. Participants reported that they participated in the program to seal their records without fines, fees, or jail time, as well as to avoid collateral consequences from court involvement. These components comprise key strengths of Project Reset’s model.
Additional Work is Needed to Expand the Reach of Diversion Programming
Difficulties contacting potential participants create barriers to successful program enrollment. Program providers were not able to reach around 4 in 10 individuals (41%) in the original eligibility population and about 7 in 10 individuals (73%) in the expanded eligibility population, due to invalid or insufficient contact information collected at arrest or non-response from individuals.
Participants were also unfamiliar with the program before being contacted for enrollment; without reliable community knowledge about Project Reset, some participants were doubtful of its authenticity, believing it was “too good to be true.” Increased community engagement and front-end information about Project Reset at the point of arrest, as well as the collection of more accurate contact information, would allow the program to reach a larger portion of its eligible population.
Program data also reflect inequities in program engagement. For example, providers were about 10% less likely to successfully contact men than women, and Black-Latine participants were significantly less likely to be successfully contacted than non-Latine white participants. Identifying inequities in outreach outcomes is a first step to addressing these barriers so that diversion options are widely available to all eligible individuals.
Diversion Programs are Worthwhile Investments and Can be Improved and Expanded
RAND’s evaluation found that Project Reset’s benefits extend beyond reducing court involvement and its collateral consequences. Participants overwhelmingly felt that they made the right decision in participating and had learned useful information about the legal system. As one participant said, “Knowing that young people, especially young folks of color, can have access to a program that will help them be in the best position to take care of themselves, i.e., not having a record or going through the legal system gives me a great deal of comfort. I will absolutely speak highly of this program.”
Further, participants completed the program with improved views of the criminal legal system. Surveyed participants held mostly negative perceptions of the law—less than half felt that the law protected their interests (45%), and more than half felt that people in power used the law to try to control people like themselves (63%). However, after completing the program, 57% of participants had more favorable opinions of the police, and 67% of participants had more favorable opinions of the court system.
Looking to the future, the evaluation identified several lessons learned to improve and expand Project Reset’s community-based diversion:
Participants expressed interest in additional program sessions and clearer instructions on how to obtain documentation that they had fulfilled program requirements.
Provider staff were interested in expanding program eligibility and growing the resources available to former participants.
RAND identified several areas for expansion, including increasing community awareness of the program and highlighting its benefits to improve recruitment; monitoring and addressing inequities in engagement and completion; supporting staff autonomy to create flexible and responsive program content; and offering programs in-person when possible, given the benefits of Project Reset’s community-based locations (programming was primarily online during 2020-21 due to COVID-19).
About the Program and Evaluation
The Project Reset evaluation, conducted by the RAND Social and Economic Well-Being division of the RAND Corporation, was managed by the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance. The program was funded through the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (DANY). Feedback from participants and findings from the RAND Corporation’s interim evaluation are useful for understanding how Project Reset can be further strengthened to meet the goals of its participants. The RAND Corporation plans to analyze administrative data and post-program outcomes and conduct a cost analysis of the program. Findings from the complete evaluation will be shared in a final report in 2022.
About the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG) and the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII)
The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance manages the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII), which was established by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 2015. ISLG provides technical assistance, conducts oversight, measures performance, and manages all CJII grantees.
The CJII focuses on three investment areas—crime prevention, reentry and diversion, and supports for survivors of crime. Project Reset is funded through the Early Diversion Programs initiative, whose goal is to increase diversion opportunities and improve service delivery options for individuals who are involved in the criminal justice system. This initiative is part of the CJII’s investments in Diversion and Reentry Support.
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