By Michelle Blouin
A typical cycle for someone caught in the U.S. criminal justice system due to poverty-related issues may look something like this: Risky behavior on the individual’s part leading to arrest for a low-level crime such as shoplifting, followed by court-appointed community service. Repeat the pattern every few years and it’s a fairly accurate representation of the labyrinth such individuals navigate without guidance on escaping the cycle. An A2J Lab study, launched in Toledo, Ohio, earlier this year, aims to find out whether a community diversion program offers a better chance of breaking this cycle than community service programs.
Recidivism Reality: Raising the Profile
The most recent data on recidivism rates in the U.S. note that 62% of prisoners released across 34 states in 2012 were re-arrested within 3 years, and 71% were re-arrested within 5 years. While sobering, this data does not, however, distinguish violent offenders from low-level offenders, a population in which little data appears to be collected. A 2016 report focused on low-level offenders found that “low-risk offenders supervised at higher levels are more likely to reoffend compared to low-risk offenders who are placed under supervision programs involving minimal levels of contacts, treatment, monitoring, etc.” While this report highlights a “light-touch” approach, the focus remained on supervision of offenders rather than education for individuals.
The lack of information on low-level offenders, regarding recidivism and an absence of socioeconomic coping tools, helped guide the A2J Lab when it received a phone call in 2019 from Toledo Municipal Court. The call enthusiastically promoted the Court’s Community Diversion Program, which the court had formed in 2018 among widespread community support. It took another seven years before the Lab could secure funding, courtesy of Arnold Ventures, to launch the RCT, which would study the program’s efficacy and ability to be replicated.
“We were struggling to convince funders that evaluating a ‘light-touch’ program was worthwhile,” said Renee Danser, Associate Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships at the A2J Lab. “These programs are being used, they are being replicated, and real people are affected by these programs. It is imperative that we evaluate them.”
“Light-Touch” Tools
Newly launched in March, the study looks at the diversion program curriculum created by the Center for Justice Innovation and Toledo Municipal Court. The education component of the program discusses crime risk factors for participants including decision making, accountability, and de-escalation of situations. The community resources component covers personalized help in securing stable housing, finding job training and stable employment, and navigating obstacles—often poverty-related ones—to success. Packaged in one 3.5-hour facilitated conversation, the program is “light-touch” in both effort and affordability, enabling it to be replicated in other court systems if the study finds it to be effective to the community, the participant, and the courts.
“This is a unique program because of the population,” said Danser. “It focuses on the persistent low-level offenders. The goal of studying socioeconomic outcomes, in addition to recidivism, also makes this evaluation unique from those that have come before.”
Study participants must be repeat low-level offenders. If they complete the program, their case is dismissed; if they do not, a judge finds them guilty and sentences them. Data collected from the 1,200+ study enrollees over the next two and a half years will show whether participants (and the community and courts) benefited from the Community Diversion Program. Given that a zero-arrest goal for participants is not realistic, program success will be measured by recidivism outcomes in comparison to community service, the alternate condition assigned to study participants, as well as indicators such as stable employment and housing, which Danser noted were the two socioeconomic outcomes most needed by participants.
Forward Progress
The community of Toledo has propelled this study forward with support from the City Council, law enforcement, incarceration facilities, the prosecutor’s office, the public defender’s office, and the Department of Corrections. The launch of the study also included press coverage and a demonstration diversion class for community stakeholders—a reception unlike most study launches, Danser indicated.
The RCT timeline includes participant enrollment lasting three years and data collection of court, housing, and employment information taking another two years. It’s going to be about six years before data could translate into action, but the A2J Lab will bring study updates along the way.
If you’re interested in more details of this project, listen to our Proof Over Precedent podcast episode on the topic.