Juvenile Diversion Program

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Juvenile Diversion Program

Remington Building

11011 W. 6th Avenue

Suite 200

Lakewood, CO 80215-5501

720-497-7800

One-stop Youth Services

At theRemington Builiding, the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) now houses all of the County's juvenile justice

services to to provide an immediate response to juveniles at the front end of the justice system to better reduce

violent crime and redirect kids to more productive lives.

The Juvenile Diversion Program was developed in 1976 as an alternative to

juvenile prosecution. Clients are accepted into Diversion for a period of one

year. Each client that participates on the Diversion Program is assigned a

Diversion Officer who will supervise their progress for the duration of the

program. Personal responsibility and personal accountability are core values

that each Diversion Officer tries to

teach and encourage.

Referral Process

When a crime is committed by a juvenile in the First Judicial District, a law

enforcement agency completes an investigation. The investigation is

forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for screening. If a case is accepted

by the District Attorney, one option open to the Deputy District Attorney

assigned to the case is a referral to the Juvenile Diversion Program. The case

is presented to the Diversion Program as a deferred adjudication. This is a

formal referral after the petition in delinquency is filed in the Juvenile Court.

Deferred Adjudication

A juvenile is referred as a Deferred Adjudication to be potentially supervised

by the Diversion Program after the petition in delinquency is filed with theJuvenile Court. The Diversion Program Director screens the cases and assigns

the case to a Juvenile Diversion Officer. The Diversion Officer makes contact

with the juvenile and/or their parents to see if they are interested in the

Diversion Program as an alternative to prosecution by the District Attorney's Office.

The juvenile is also screened at this time to determine if he or she meets

certain criteria to be eligible for a more formal screening with the Diversion

Program. The Diversion Officer gives the juvenile and family a brief

overview of the program and its demands. Initially, the juvenile and family

must express interest in the Diversion Program. Next, the juvenile must

indicate that they feel the charges against them are fair or that they are at least

interested in learning more about the relationship between their behavior and

the law if they are not certain. Lastly, the juvenile must not have any previous district level adjudications or deferred

adjudications.

The juvenile is then scheduled for a Diversion Program Intake group prior to their Court date. The intake group

consists of a presentation about the juvenile justice system and the Diversion Program. In addition, a Diversion

Officer meets individually with each family to determine final eligibility for the Diversion Program . The Program

conducts an additional screening to determine if the juvenile accepts responsibility for their referred offense and has

JAC History

Juvenile Diversion

Mental Health Court

JAC History

Mental Health Court
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the willingness to make changes in their behavior and follow through with the requirements of the program. If the

juvenile is eligible for the Diversion Program and is interested in participating in Program, an affirmative

recommendation is made to the Deputy District Attorney.

The juvenile and their parent(s) would then return to court for the entry of a plea. At that court appearance, the

Deputy District Attorney would then officially offer the Diversion Program to the juvenile if he/she determines that

it is an appropriate offer. The order for deferred adjudication is subject to the approval of the Juvenile Court. If thejuvenile's guilty plea is accepted and a deferred adjudication is ordered, the juvenile then returns to the Diversion

Program at a prescheduled time to begin the program. The juvenile's one year term begins the day they plead guilty

in Court and receive the deferred adjudication.

Juvenile Diversion Supervision

All clients entering the supervised the Diversion Program complete an assessment interview with a Diversion

Officer. The purpose of this interview is to get to know the juvenile and assess what issues should be addressed and

what specific contract items should be completed during the supervisory period. The Diversion Officer also

determines the level of supervision required based on risk factors. The risk factors, (such as current drug use or

maintaining friends still involved in criminal activity) determine the level of services needed and frequency of

supervision meetings.

Once the assessment is completed, the juvenile begins attending meetings with his Diversion Officer at regularlyscheduled times. Supervision is critical in the Diversion Program. This is the opportunity for the Diversion Officer

to monitor the juvenile's compliance with court orders and/or Program requirements.

Typically a juvenile sees his supervising officer anywhere between once per week and once per month depending on

their determined supervision level. The juvenile has the ability to earn the right to less frequent appointments with

his/her Diversion Officer. This is accomplished by making appropriate progress on the requirements of the court and

the Diversion Program and demonstrating an ability to be a productive member of the community. Juvenile clients

can earn the right to seen as infrequently as once each six weeks.

Juvenile Diversion Contract Items

While there may be many requirements of a juvenile while he/she is on the Diversion Program, there are some

standard items that are on each juvenile's contract. Although this is not an all-inclusive list of standard contract

requirements, it does give a general idea of what would be expected by a juvenile entering the Juvenile DiversionProgram.

Regular meetings or contact with the Diversion Officer Community Service Urine Scans Full-time school or full-time work (Clients 17 and under must be attending school full-time) No use or possession of alcohol or controlled substances No further status or criminal offenses Payment of victim restitution (if required by the Court) Respectful/obedient member of the family Remain in Colorado unless given permission to leave by Diversion Officer

Payment of Court and Diversion Program fees Apology to victimIn addition to the above items, the Diversion Program attempts to create a contract that will enhance the client's

ability to make pro-social and non-destructive choices. Further, the contract can be designed in a manner that

provides necessary flexibility, based upon client needs.

In order to facilitate this process, a juvenile may be required to complete additional contract items such as ethics

classes, anger management classes, life skills classes, drug education and treatment, and counseling.


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Juvenile Diversion Statistics

The First Judicial District Attorney's Juvenile Diversion Program serves approximately 300 new juvenile clients per

year.

The Juvenile Diversion Program has a 78% successful completion rate.

Documents

Juvenile Diversion Program