Katherine Wilson McCoy

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.