Alex Menninger

Police deflection programs offer an alternative to arrest by connecting youth to community-based services during police encounters. The Chicagoland Youth Deflection Initiative (CYDI), which allows officers to refer youth encountered during motor vehicle stops to community-based supports, established a Youth Advisory Board (YAB) to incorporate youth perspectives into the planning process for development of the program. This evaluation documents youth participation in the planning process using survey responses and observations of YAB meetings. Youth reported feeling comfortable participating and identified key considerations for the program’s design, including trust, equitable implementation, and the role of law enforcement. Perceptions of the program’s potential benefits varied across meetings, and youth expressed interest in continued involvement. Findings describe how youth engaged in the planning process for the program and highlight considerations for structuring youth advisory boards, including facilitation, sustained engagement, and compensation or professional development opportunities.

Rural, multi-jurisdictional communities face challenges developing coordinated responses that connect people with substance use and mental health needs to services instead of the justice system. We evaluated the action planning (AP) process for Empower, a multi-jurisdictional, police-led deflection program serving six counties in West Central Illinois, developed as part of a statewide Illinois deflection initiative. Deflection initiatives create formal pathways linking people with substance use and mental health needs to treatment and supportive services. The Empower program was developed through six days of guided action planning involving local law enforcement, service providers, and community stakeholders. This process culminated in a written action plan outlining program goals, strategies, and implementation steps. To evaluate the AP process, we conducted structured field observations across all AP sessions and administered daily surveys to participants assessing collaboration, engagement, and perceptions of program feasibility and sustainability. Findings indicate that participants were highly engaged and reported strong collaboration during AP, while also identifying challenges related to uneven participation across counties and sectors, limited service availability, and resource constraints characteristic of predominantly rural regions. The findings reflect participants’ perceptions during the action-planning process and do not assess program outcomes. Based on the findings, we offer three recommendations to support implementation: strengthen participation and representation during planning and early implementation, identify strategies to mitigate service gaps in rural communities, and clarify structures for collaboration and accountability across jurisdictions.

The large number of Americans with substance use disorders and the rising number of drug overdose deaths have resulted in a need for innovative prevention and intervention strategies. The Deflection Avenues Reconnection Team (DART) program, operating in six counties in central Illinois, was developed to address these challenges. This deflection program allows law enforcement to refer individuals to community deflection specialists for behavioral health services in lieu of arrest. This report presents an implementation evaluation of the action-planning process used to design the DART program. We conducted field observations during action-planning sessions, administered surveys following each session, and distributed a collaboration survey at the end of the process. The DART action-planning process involved 34 law enforcement representatives and service providers who met over 5 days to plan the program. We examined facilitation, participant engagement, and perceptions of collaboration. Observations from the DART planning process suggest that facilitation style and community member engagement may influence stakeholder participation during action planning. In addition, participants described facilitators and subject matter experts who reflect the local community’s demographics as well-positioned to build rapport with local law enforcement partners and service providers. Respondents also identified funding for recovery services and other resources as important to program and service provider buy-in.

Rural areas often face gaps in behavioral health resources, with limited availability and the need to travel long distances to access services. To address such challenges, innovative strategies, such as police deflection programs, help connect people in rural areas to treatment without an arrest. In order to advance understanding of rural deflection programs, we conducted a mixed-methods process evaluation of a rural state police-led deflection program, the Southern Illinois Community Engagement Response Team (SI CERT), serving seven counties. We examined who the program reached, how it was implemented in practice, and how collaboration among partners supported or constrained its goals. As part of the evaluation, we explored feedback from the program leadership team, which included deflection staff, law enforcement, and social service providers. We interviewed all 11 team members, and seven completed a collaboration survey. We found leadership team members supported the program and agreed that it was helping the community by referring individuals to supportive services. Program data showed that 223 participants were referred to the program; 66% voluntarily agreed to participate, and of those, 59% were referred to services. However, team members cited notable challenges, including limited resources, the composition of the leadership team, law enforcement engagement, and community visibility. Nonetheless, in its three years of development, the SI CERT program appears to hold promise in helping rural community members with substance use disorders. Future research can extend the scope of evaluation by incorporating participant perspectives and measuring program outcomes.

Police are called to the scene of violent crimes that involve victims who may need, but may not be offered, supportive services. To address this, a police-led deflection program, the East St. Louis Community Engagement Team (CERT), was established in Illinois. While police deflection programs have traditionally helped individuals with substance use challenges, this program sought to assist victims of violent crime. Since little is known about the application of deflection to this population, we conducted a process evaluation of ESL CERT. We sought feedback from program staff and stakeholders, including law enforcement and social service providers. We conducted interviews and administered surveys measuring collaboration with its leadership team made of 11 members, as well as conducted two field visits. Members noted that a strength of the program was that its staff successfully engaged with participants, which led to successful connections to services. However, noted weaknesses included limited support for the program from local service providers and a lack of agreement on whether the program was the most effective way to help individuals who were victims of crime. Our recommendations included improving program development, building trust among program stakeholders, addressing barriers to program engagement, increasing the program’s impact, and addressing program sustainability concerns.

Deflection programs are an emerging approach to redirect people who have experienced police contact away from the criminal legal system and toward supportive services, with the goal of improving outcomes for individuals, communities, the justice system, and public health. The Illinois Multi-Site Deflection Initiative is a groundbreaking project aimed at increasing the number of deflection programs in the state to help individuals who come into contact with police. Since 2021, the initiative has been spearheaded by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) in partnership with the Illinois State Police and Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC). As of July 2024, the initiative has 11 programs operating or in the planning stage across 45 counties. IDHS funded the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) to conduct an independent evaluation to study the programs’ planning, development, and operations, as well as assess and measure outcomes. We share the evaluation design, data, and challenges faced during this multi-year evaluation. The evaluation team’s process evaluation assesses program activities and offers recommendations for programmatic enhancement. We offer a point-in-time description of current evaluation activities and future plans.

Millions of individuals and families are affected by substance use disorders and overdose in the United States. Deflection programs provide an opportunity for law enforcement to connect individuals with substance use challenges to appropriate treatment and services to improve health and public safety outcomes. We evaluated the efforts of community agencies and law enforcement in Jackson, Johnson, and Williamson counties to develop the Little Egypt Alternative Pathways (LEAP) deflection program. We conducted an evaluation using field observations and surveys. Based on our findings, we recommended addressing participant attendance and engagement; clarifying stakeholder roles and responsibilities; and ensuring program outcomes are measurable and achievable.