We are in need of assistance to plan, implement and evaluate the feasibility of a felony diversion program in Santa Barbara County. This may include assistance with analyzing data, facilitating planning sessions, and attending site visits to other felony diversion programs that are currently operating throughout the country. Our main objectives are for the Center for Court Innovation (CCI) to complete an on-site assessment, conduct resource mapping, and assist with the development of an implementation plan for a felony diversion program in Santa Barbara County.
The District Attorney’s Office has identified a service gap throughout Santa Barbara County for low-level, non-violent felony offenders who are not suffering from mental illness. In order to fill this service gap, we would like to determine the feasibility and need for a felony diversion initiative in our community. Proposed felony diversion initiatives include an education and treatment program that addresses specific underlying behaviors and attitudes that may affect criminal behavior. Similar programs have been implemented across the nation, and have proven to change the trajectory of the low-level felony population before they are sentenced to state prison and their futures are permanently impacted. In addition, our local criminal justice system is experiencing many of the same struggles as have been seen across the nation due to staggering caseloads. A felony diversion program will offer the prospect of “off-ramping” suitable cases early in the court process, potentially alleviating the strain on our overburdened criminal justice system and resulting in increased case processing efficiency, reduced court backlogs, and additional tools for prosecutors. An effective felony diversion program will thereby enable local prosecutors and other criminal justice stakeholders to invest greater resources in the most serious criminal cases, including those headed for trial. Recent findings have also shown that there is a disproportionate number of people of color involved in our local criminal justice system. A felony diversion program will help mitigate this gap and work to create a more equitable criminal justice system in Santa Barbara County.
Please check the box next to the following questions if the answer is 'yes'.
Please enter the applicable Event Date if there is an Event associated with this TTA.
When entering an Event Date, the Time is also required.
If the TTA is targeted to a particular audience or location, please complete the questions below.
Milestones are an element, activity, work product, or key task associated with completing the TTA (e.g. kick-off meeting, collect data from stake holders, deliver initial data analysis).
Please complete the fields below, if applicable, to create a milestone for this TTA.
Please respond to the Performance Metrics below. The Performance Metrics questions are based on the TTA Type indicated in the General Information section of the TTA.
1. Is a felony diversion program necessary in our community?
2. What will the basic program parameters be?
3. What are the goals and objectives of the felony diversion program?
4. Who is eligible for the felony diversion program?
5. How are cases screened, assessed, and routed to the program?
6. What staffing, services, case management, or other policies apply to the program?
Please submit a signed letter of support from your agency’s executive or other senior staff member. The letter can be emailed to or uploaded with this request. The letter should be submitted on official letterhead and include the following information:
- General information regarding the request for TTA services, i.e., the who, what, where, when, and why.
- The organizational and/or community needs specific to the request for TTA services.
- The benefits or anticipated outcomes from the receipt of TTA services.
By submitting this application to BJA NTTAC, I understand that upon approval of this application for TTA, the requestor agrees to keep BJA NTTAC informed of any circumstances that may impact the delivery of the TTA, including changes in the date of the event, event cancellation, or difficulties communicating with the assigned TTA provider.
Please call [site:phone] if you need further assistance completing this application.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office was a supportive partner in a local BJA 6th Amendment initiative that was spearheaded by CCI. Based on CCI’s prior experience with our community and criminal justice partners, they are the ideal candidate to assist with addressing our need for a felony diversion program. Through informal and formal discussions, support for a felony diversion program has been unanimous amongst stakeholders in our community and is supported by the County of Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors. Our office has been successful in launching misdemeanor and pre-trial diversion initiatives, and is looking forward to continuing to explore further diversion initiatives. Our jurisdiction has multiple community-based systems of care that have been identified as potential providers for the felony diversion program. However, these organizations would need significant guidance, technical assistance and training to be able to implement a meaningful felony diversion program.