In 2017, the U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, funded the Young Adult Diversion Technical Assistance Initiative to help diversion programs connect justice-involved young adults (ages 16–24) with special education, career and technical education, and other workforce development opportunities (e.g., vocational rehabilitation). The initiative supported 14 partnerships composed of state and local education, justice, social service, and workforce development agencies. (Two additional partnerships were selected to participate in the initiative but withdrew because of staff changes.)

The initiative developed a research brief that summarizes the evidence for how diversion initiatives can provide alternatives to formal justice involvement and explains the need for such initiatives to incorporate education and training. Grounded in this research, the Young Adult Diversion Framework was developed to guide the partnerships’ efforts, which are summarized in a policy brief.

The initiative was led by RTI International and its partners, the Council of State Governments Justice Center and Manhattan Strategy Group.

Please email Sean Addie at sean.addie@ed.gov with any questions.