Professor of Criminal Justice, Texas State University
- The extent and meaning of diversion for juveniles in the juvenile justice system is unclear. It’s meaning ranges from juvenile court’s dismissal of cases to lower sanctions.
- A problem in evaluating diversion is assessment and identifying counterfactuals, which means determining which juveniles were not helped by being diverted from the juvenile justice system.
In the article, “New Call for Assessing the Effects of 21st Century Juvenile Diversion,” Stafford and his coauthors examine the history of diversion in juvenile justice policy by assessing its strengths and weaknesses. The authors agree there is much potential in juvenile diversion, but since many aspects are still unclear, the potential impact could help or hurt juveniles. To resolve some of this uncertainty, the authors call for better assessment and ways to deliver services to juveniles.