Behavioral health diversion is built on a guiding hypothesis: Diverting non-violent individuals with serious mental illness away from the criminal justice system and into community-based treatment and support services will transform lives, reduce recidivism, generate cost savings, and ease the burden on jails, courts, and state hospitals. This hypothesis has been proven in well-resourced urban centers like Miami. The Wyoming Judicial Branch is now testing whether it holds true in a rural, under-resourced jurisdiction like Wyoming.
To test this hypothesis, the Wyoming Judicial Branch launched the state’s first diversion pilot in Campbell County on January 1, 2024. The program operates as follows: eligible individuals (those who commit non-violent misdemeanors, have a diagnosis of serious mental illness, are assessed as moderate to very high criminogenic risk, and do not pose a public safety threat) are offered the option of diversion. Participants who choose diversion and successfully complete an individualized treatment plan have their charges dismissed. Those who decline or fail to complete the program return to the traditional criminal justice process.
With funding from the State Justice Institute, the Wyoming Judicial Branch partnered with the National Center for State Courts to provide training and technical assistance for the Campbell County pilot and up to three additional pilots across the state.
Early results are promising. The pilot program’s first graduate spent 623 days in jail before entering diversion and zero days in jail after entering the program. While it is too early for definitive conclusions, these results suggest behavioral health diversion works in rural settings.
January 1, 2025
The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has brought together experts and practitioners to develop comprehensive guidance on AI Readiness for the state courts. The project, funded by SJI, aims to provide resources for courts along the whole spectrum of AI maturity, from courts that are just beginning to think about AI to courts that …
December 1, 2024
The RFK National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice (RFKNRCJJ) has used a proven framework to partner with state and local jurisdictions to conduct multiple probation and youth justice system reviews designed to improve outcomes for youth and families at-risk or involved in the juvenile justice systems for more than fifteen years. RFK’s successful technical assistance …
November 1, 2024
The Keeping Families Together: Preserving and Reunifying Families with Substance Use Disorder (KFT) project was established to refine and test a Family Recovery Court (FRC) model for child welfare-involved families with substance use disorders. In collaboration with the Williamson County Family Recovery Court, Dr. Catherine LaBrenz and her team at the University of Texas at …
October 1, 2024
The Assessment Center Outcome and Reporting Network (ACORN) initiative was established to create a more consistent performance and outcome measures for Assessment Centers (AC) nationwide. The National Assessment Center Association (NAC) in collaboration with the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) and Dr. Jeff Kretschmar, worked to support a cohort of six ACs (listed below) …
September 1, 2024
Many people who become involved in the criminal legal system experience behavioral health and social service-related needs that remain unmet throughout their system involvement. These unmet needs can result in people cycling through the system, taking a toll on their well-being and placing a burden on the system. In recognition of this challenge, jurisdictions across …
August 1, 2024
The Trauma-Informed Practice Strategy Lab (TIPS Lab) was born out of the need to address the trauma of people involved in criminal courts—an urgent need shown by statistics on the prevalence of violence and victimization in the United States. The Center for Justice Innovation is leading the development of the TIPS Lab, which includes a …