§ 10A-2-2-104.1 — Diversion services.

A. Diversion services shall be offered to children who are at risk of being the subject of a child-in-need-of-supervision petition. Diversion services shall be designed to provide an immediate response to families in crisis and to divert children from court proceedings. Diversion services may be provided by outside agencies as designated by the district courts, juvenile bureaus, court employees, or a combination thereof. If a child would be charged with a delinquent act as a result of a first-time offense which would be a misdemeanor if committed by an adult, diversion services shall be provided prior to the district attorney filing a petition alleging the child to be in need of supervision or upon the assumption of custody pursuant to Section 2-2-101 of this title. B. Diversion services shall clearly document diligent attempts to provide appropriate services to the child and the family of the child unless it is determined that there is no substantial likelihood that the child and family of the child will benefit from further diversion attempts. C. Where the primary issue is truancy, steps taken by the school district to improve the attendance or conduct of the child in school shall be reviewed and attempts to engage the school district in further diversion attempts shall be made if it appears that such attempts will be beneficial to the child. D. Efforts to prevent the filing of the petition may extend until it is determined that there is no substantial likelihood that the child and family of the child will benefit from further attempts. Efforts at diversion may continue after the filing of the petition where it is determined that the child and family of the child will benefit therefrom. E. A child-in-need-of-supervision petition shall not be filed during the period that the designated agency, juvenile bureau, or court employee is providing the diversion services. A finding that the case has been successfully diverted shall constitute presumptive evidence that the underlying allegations have been successfully resolved. F. The designated agency, juvenile bureau, or court employee shall promptly give written notice to the child and family of the child whenever attempts to prevent the filing of the petition have terminated and shall indicate in the notice whether the efforts were successful or whether a child-in-need-of-supervision petition should be filed with the court. A petition may or may not be filed where diversion services have been terminated because the parent or other person legally responsible for the child failed to consent to the diversion plan or failed to actively participate in the services provided. G. Diversion services shall include, but not be limited to, Functional Family Therapy, first-time offender programs, community- at-risk services, or other similar programs. H. The Office of Juvenile Affairs shall evaluate the rate of recidivism for children who are offered diversion services and shall publish the rate publicly in the Office’s annual report. Data disclosed in the annual report shall be unidentifiable to an individual.

Legislative History

Added by Laws 2013, c. 404, § 7, eff. Nov. 1, 2013. Amended by Laws 2025, c. 375, § 6, eff. Nov. 1, 2025.