The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office is interested in developing and launching a diversion program modeled off of Project Reset from the Center for Court Innovation. A local team has been developed, but technical assistance is needed from those familiar with running a successful version of this program. The following technical assistance is needed in the due diligence and program launch phases:
1) Zoom meetings between existing Project Reset program staff in NY and the local team leads in Jefferson County.
1A) Two-hour call to refine programmatic steps for participants, law enforcement, prosecutors, defense counsel, service providers, and program staff. Also, outline timing, communication, forms, software used, and materials needed.
1B) One-hour "train the trainer" discussion with local team leads. CCI to prep local team to plan and lead a training for local law enforcement, program staff and service providers.
1C) Two-hour call between CCI Project Reset staff and local program director after hire
2) Assist in the preparation of relevant program documents
2A) Provide samples of existing policies and procedures manual, consent forms, outreach materials, intake documents, reporting/data collection, and curriculum. Local team will review these materials.
2B) Up to five hours of technical assistance either by phone or email to answer questions regarding revision of documents.
3) Assit in developing data collection protocols and provide staff training on effective data management.
3A) Zoom call to discuss local software and data collection capabilities and proposed program needs.
3B) Advise through email correspondence regarding proposed data collection protocols.
3C) Assist with designing data management training to be conducted by local staff
4) Assist in determining the best data and case tracking tool for referral process and compliance monitoring.
4A) Zoom call to demonstrate Project Reset NY software platform and discuss pros/cons of using existing system or designing new software platform.
5) CCI to facilitate a curriculum workshop over Zoom with selected local service providers to share existing curriculum and develop an appropriate intervention for diversion participants
5A) Provide sample of curriculum for review by local team.
5B) One-hour Zoom call with local team for discussion and planning.
5C) One or two workshops (online) with local service providers.
6) Additional troubleshooting during pilot launch phase (estimated at two one-hour calls per month for six to eight months: 12-16 hours total).
Each year in Jefferson County, Alabama more than 500 people ages 17-24 are charged with felonies for low-level drug and property offenses, including unlawful possession of a controlled substance, possession of a forged instrument, fraudulent use of a credit card, or third-degree theft. A law enforcement officer’s only current option is to arrest these young people, transport them to jail, then book them into the Jefferson County Detention Center. From there, prosecutors and defense attorneys become involved. It might take months to resolve a case. If the defendant is convicted, a sentence of one to five years is possible.
Alabama law permits probation, drug court, pretrial diversion, or community corrections as punishment for Class D offenses. However, these alternatives to prison often cost participants thousands of dollars and require months or even years to complete. Participants are required to take time off work or miss school to comply and are sanctioned with jail time for noncompliance. Failure to pay fees or otherwise complete the program results in a felony conviction that follows someone throughout their life, hindering access to education, employment, voting, and housing.
For a young person arrested with a small amount of marijuana or convicted of theft involving less than $700 in property, their first brush with the justice system can set them up for years of struggle: in fines, fees, and court costs; in punitive supervision by probation officers; and even jail.
Minor offenses turn into long-term problems and create frustration and anger towards a system that demands so much in response to a first-time error. Recidivism is almost certain.
In short, the current model is both inefficient and ineffective, and the community, the victims, and law enforcement pay the price. Rather than treating the root causes of the crime and decreasing the likelihood of reoffending, this approach creates a “revolving door” system of justice. That revolving door drains valuable police resources, taking time and personnel away from responses to pressing public safety issues. In a community with the violent crime concerns of Jefferson County, inefficiency harms everyone.
The Jefferson County District Attorney - Birmingham Division would like to establish a program that diverts people out of jails and prisons with a proportionate, effective, and meaningful response to low-level offending. An existing model from the Center for Court Innovation in New York has been implemented, researched, and proven effective. Local stakeholders have been engaged in the due diligence process and the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office needs the expertise of the Center for Court Innovation to guide the development and launch of a program tailored to meet the needs of our community.
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Participants complete an intake interview and needs assessment at a community location away from the courthouse and jail complex. Participants are then referred to community providers to engage in two- to-four hours of programming. The programs will be geared toward individual needs and can include: education workshops, arts-oriented programming, group or individual counseling sessions, a restorative justice process where participants learn how their actions harmed others, or substance abuse counseling. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their own accountability and discuss ways to avoid future arrests.
Reset cases are tracked through a software system. Everyone in the eligible pool who receives a Class D citation is entered into the system, which allows the District Attorney’s Office, defense attorneys, and Reset staff to access information about participants and monitor progress. Everyone who completes Reset never sets foot in a jail or courtroom. There are also no financial costs required for the participant, though victim restitution may still be required. For people who fail to participate in programming, their cases will return to the court system; but the consequences will be no different than if the program did not exist in the first place.
Reset holds participants accountable, delivers proportionate programming that addresses the root causes of early criminal behavior, avoids the long-term harms that can accompany a criminal conviction, and treats young people who are first encountering the justice system with dignity. It also allows law enforcement to focus on addressing harms to individual victims, rather than an abstract notion of society writ large — officers can have a real, tangible effect on the people they serve.
The leadership of the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office is committed to implementing these reforms and desires to build a strong, effective, and replicable model in Birmingham, AL. In order to achieve this change, we need assistance from those who have successfully implemented these reform efforts in their own community.
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TTA is requested via phone, Zoom and email, not on-site. Aaron Arnold with CCI has expressed a willingness to work with the Jefferson County DA's Office. As these are revolutionary reforms in Birmingham, Alabama, local funding is not yet available to support the technical assistance needs to design and launch a new program. We respectfully request support from BJA NTTAC to access the support we need.