Youth Diversion Center

Project Description

The Youth Diversion Center, operated by the Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, serves as an alternative to juvenile detention for Harris County youths ages 13-17, who have committed low-level, non-violent offenses and temporarily need respite care due to a behavioral health crisis. Offenses qualifying for diversion are determined by the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department and the District Attorney’s Office. The Youth Diversion Center provides clients with comprehensive rehabilitation services in a safe, supportive environment with crisis intervention, family counseling, and reintegration services included during their stay.

This rehabilitation program diverts youths out of the criminal justice system and helps them to learn new skills and be able to successfully transition back into their communities. A team of trained professionals, including psychiatrists, mental health counselors, care coordinators, nurses, and peer navigators, will work with children and their families at the center to develop individualized diversion plans. The length of stay for most children averages around 10 days, and clients receive frequent assessments to determine when they are ready to leave the center. To further promote enduring success and prevent recidivism, youths are connected to long-term behavioral health services within the community. The Youth Diversion Center’s wraparound services will impact around at least 700 cumulative unduplicated youth throughout program implementation.

PRIMARY PARTNERSHIPS

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The Harris Center collaborated with the Harris County Juvenile Justice Department and the District Attorney’s Office to develop eligibility, discharge, and referral processes for the Youth Diversion Center. A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Youth Diversion Center was held on May 15, 2023. Additionally, there have been press releases about the new center’s grand opening and diversion services offered to Harris County youths. The Harris Center also distributed flyers to community partners, and their outreach team responds to requests from the community for speakers and information at community events around the County.

TARGET IMPACT

The Youth Diversion Center provides an alternative to traditional processing for youths involved in low-level, non-violent crimes in need of temporary respite care due to a mental health crisis, thereby reducing stigma and recidivism and connecting youths to community services.

Primary metrics to be tracked include:

  • Number of bookings into the juvenile detention center
  • Average length of stay in the juvenile detention center
  • Number of bookings per participant/juvenile before and after participating in the program
  • Demographic data for program participants
  • Utilization of other outpatient services (i.e., psychiatric hospitalizations, outpatient mental health treatment)
  • Impacts on school participation or delinquency
  • Participation within a diversion program versus those with similar group characteristics not able to participate in diversion to determine the impact on new charges and bookings

WEBSITE LINK

USE OF EVIDENCE & PROGRAM EVALUATIONS

The Harris Center is currently collaborating with the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University on a Robert Wood Johnson Grant proposal to evaluate the program. Kinder Research plans to collaborate with additional community partners, including, but not limited to, the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, Harris County Resources for Children and Adults, the District Attorney’s Office, and Law Enforcement Agencies, for the collection and evaluation of outcomes.