'Rapid' mental health diversion program succeeds at keeping people out of jail, report says

Researchers recommend more funding for a program that diverts people with behavioral health conditions away from the criminal justice system after a new report showed that program has been successful at keeping recidivism rates low.

Out of the 669 people who graduated from the county’s Rapid Diversion Program since it began five years ago, 91% have avoided having a new criminal case filed, according to a study released last week by the Santa Monica-based RAND corporation.

Retired Judge Songhai Armstead, who heads up the county’s Justice, Care, and Opportunities Department, called the results “pretty phenomenal.” She added that diversion programs like this one are important because they step in to help people before their mental health and/or substance use conditions worsen.

“I saw so many people who I knew that we could stabilize with lighter touches ... but we never did,” Armstead said.

According to the RAND study, between 2022 and 2024, more than 4,300 people were evaluated for the program, and about two-thirds were approved. The researchers found that some 35% of people who participated in rapid diversion were unhoused.

The budget for the program in the last fiscal year was $6.7 million, according to the county.

Although it is not the only option in L.A. County for mental health diversion, the Rapid Diversion Program is considered by some to be "the most suitable" for people accused of lower-level offenses and those with less-serious clinical needs, according to the RAND report.

In short, the Rapid Diversion Program is seen as "truly rapid" compared to other options.

How it started

The rapid diversion program started in 2019, with the goal of keeping people whose mental health played a direct role in the crimes they were accused of committing out of jail. Since then, hundreds of people with mental health diagnoses have seen their Superior Court cases dismissed by following through with treatment and other requirements.

The program started at one local courthouse and has since expanded to seven. It is overseen by L.A. County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department, in cooperation with the Public Defender’s Office, the L.A. City Attorney's Office, the county Department of Mental Health and other local agencies.

Stephanie Brooks Holliday, a senior behavioral scientist who led the RAND study, said rapid diversion was particularly helpful because it allows the court to intervene before a defendant who is accused of a crime pleads guilty.

That means participants in the program can avoid the consequences of having a conviction on their record, which can cause problems when looking for a job or trying to find housing.

When the program started, it only accepted cases involving low-level misdemeanor charges — like vandalism or trespassing — but has since expanded to some felonies. Some charges are ineligible from the get go, including: murder, voluntary manslaughter and DUIs.

How it works

Most cases are referred to the program from the county Public Defender's Office, which represents clients who cannot afford to pay for a private attorney. Certain types of cases are not eligible by law, including murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape and other sex offenses.

The typical process for a person to move through the system is as follows: the case is referred to the program; a clinical team evaluates the person to determine needs and possible treatment; the person is linked to services, and if successful, eventually graduates. The criminal charges are then dismissed.

It takes about two months on average from when someone is evaluated to when they are actually diverted into treatment, Holliday said. If a participant completes a one- to two-year treatment plan for mental health and/or substance use disorder, their case is dismissed.

She pointed to dedicated case managers as a crucial part of the program’s success. They help with everything from getting people medical benefits to transportation. And sometimes they act as cheerleaders, urging people to stay in the program.

“Because a year or two years is a long commitment,” Holliday said.

Armstead said that before she she would see people charged with lower-level offenses frequently, and sentenced to jail or probation, only to see the same people again after their mental health condition had deteriorated. “It would just break my heart that I’m like, had we helped them earlier on and helped to stabilize them they never would have made it to this point,” Armstead said.

Recommendations from researchers

The RAND report offers several recommendations to improve and expand the program, including increased funding and more dedicated treatment beds so that clients can get treatment faster. The report does not specify how much funding would be needed to expand.

Other recommendations include:

• Increasing awareness of the program: That could look like more trainings for attorneys on how the program works.
  
• More support for case managers: These workers wear many hats and some study participants said they were stretched thin. “They have a challenging job, and strategies to mitigate burnout could include reducing caseloads, sharing caseloads, and providing professional development opportunities,” the report reads.
  
• Strengthen relationships between the defense and prosecution teams.

The report notes that the Rapid Diversion Program has faced challenges as it has grown, including its reliance on a "brief evaluation and diversion report" when determining how to handle people facing more serious charges, high turnover for case managers, and resistance from some county authorities.

It also notes the difficulty of linking certain people to treatment that aligns with their needs, including people with complex medical issues or physical disabilities.