The Suffolk County District Attorney Office (SCDAO), under the leadership of newly elected DA Rachael Rollins, is dedicated to its mission of serving victims and protecting the citizens of Suffolk County, while effecting meaningful, substantive change and reform to the criminal justice system. The Juvenile Alternative Resolution (JAR) program was launched in February 2017 under the auspices of SCDAO and in connection with half a dozen community-based agencies, to provide individualized services to young people as an alternative to traditional prosecution. Building on the success of the JAR program for juvenile offenders, the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office wants to explore expanding its diversion programs to include adult offenders.

SCDAO has engaged HNMCP to conduct a stakeholder assessment (including victim and offender advocates, DA Rollins, ADAs, public officials) to better understand existing diversion programs in Suffolk County, as well as assessing additional capacity, need, opportunity, and barriers to expanding diversion programs for adult offenders in Suffolk County.

Activities & Deliverables

• Research young adult and adult offender diversion models and services in select jurisdictions;
• Research empirical studies and data about the effectiveness of such diversion models and services;
• Identify a set of proven best practices, models and services, that could be transferred and adopted to fit the needs of the Suffolk County DA’s Office;
• Provide guidance, as appropriate, regarding offender classifications (e.g. age group, type offense, court, etc.) that would be most suitable for diversion in Suffolk County.