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.
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