News
Community-Based Diversion Reduces Collateral Consequences of Involvement in the Criminal Legal System
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 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.
Read the full findings here.