Program Goals/Target Population
The Adolescent Diversion Program (New York State), or ADP, is a diversion program for 16- and 17-year-old defendants in New York state’s adult criminal justice system. The program seeks to divert older adolescents from the adult criminal justice system, providing them with age-appropriate alternatives and services. Overall, the goal of the ADP is to provide services to 16- and 17-year-old juveniles and reduce the use of conventional criminal penalties, while ensuring that recidivism does not increase and public safety is not jeopardized.
In the state of New York, 16- and 17-year-old defendants are automatically considered adults rather than juveniles, regardless of the crime they commit. As a result, each year between 40,000 and 50,000 16- and 17-year-olds are arrested and prosecuted as adults. In 2011 the state sought to rethink its approach and developed a process that would divert older youths from formal processing in the adult criminal justice system and provide them with age-appropriate services. Thus, New York implemented a pilot project (the ADP) in nine jurisdictions throughout the state, which included the five boroughs of New York City, as well as Erie, Nassau, Onondaga, and Winchester Counties (Rempel et al. 2013).
Program Theory
The ADP uses diversion as its framework. Diversion attempts to redirect youths from formal prosecution in the adult justice system because of the potential negative consequences of being involved with the system, such as the loss of voting rights and access to school, employment, and housing. Employers and landlords can use an individual’s criminal record as a means of not hiring an individual or refusing housing, both of which can impede an individual’s ability to reenter society (Cox et al. 2014). Responding to the potential lifetime consequences of processing juveniles in the adult criminal justice system (Lundman 1993), the ADP program sought to create a diversion program that would enable eligible 16- and 17-year-old defendants to avoid formal prosecution and receive services that aim to apply a rehabilitative, developmentally appropriate response to late adolescent behavior.
Program Components
ADP functions as a diversion program for 16- and 17-year-old juveniles involved in the adult criminal justice system, not the juvenile justice system. The program begins at the initial arraignment. If the case is not resolved during the arraignment, it is assigned to a specialized court through the ADP. The presiding judge—who had previously received training on adolescent brain development, trauma, substance abuse, family dysfunction, and other topics that may affect older adolescents—completes a clinical assessment of the juvenile and has the discretion to order age-appropriate services for the adolescent. Although the services vary by jurisdiction, court-ordered services can include individual counseling, family mediation, drug or mental health treatment, educational/vocational programming, or community service. In some instances, a youth may participate in the ADP as part of a predisposition agreement, meaning that the youth has not pled guilty or received a case disposition. In other cases, the defendant is required to enter into a guilty plea before participating in the ADP program. Whether the adolescent participates in the ADP program predisposition or postdisposition, completion of his or her assignment typically results in dismissal of charges or reduction of the charge to a noncriminal level. It is also possible that the judge offers an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD) in exchange for service participation or offers an ACD following participation. An ACD is an agreement between the district attorney’s office and the defense to adjourn a defendant’s case for 6 months, with the hope that the case will eventually be dismissed as long as the defendant does not commit another crime. ACDs are not offered in felony cases (Murray 2012).
Participation in the ADP program is voluntary. Regarding offense type, all jurisdictions accept adolescents charged with misdemeanors, while two (Erie and Nassau) also accept felonies. All jurisdictions except Manhattan and Staten Island allow some juveniles to begin court-ordered services before disposition, as part of the pretrial diversion. Even if the youth is not diverted through the ADP, the common goal of avoiding a criminal record is the same.
