The National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies is currently surveying diversion programs throughout the United States. The goal of the survey is twofold. The first goal is to increase the knowledge of diversion programs, their operations and successes. The second goal is to generate a directory of diversion programs for the purpose of networking and arranging courtesy supervision with other diversion programs.

We have attempted to locate programs that fit the standard definition of Diversion, as put forth in the NAPSA standards.

These are programs that:
 

• Offer persons charged with a criminal offense alternatives to traditional criminal justice or juvenile justice proceedings; and
   

• Permit participation by the accused only on a voluntary basis; and
   

• Allow the accused access to counsel prior to a decision to enter diversion; and
   

• Where the diversion occurs no sooner than the filing of formal charges and no later than a final adjudication of guilt: and
   

• Where the end result is a dismissal of charges, or its equivalent, if the diversion program participant successfully completes the program.

If your program does not meet all of the above conditions, we still encourage you to complete this survey. It is relatively short, and if there are questions you prefer not to answer, please feel free to skip them. We do ask, that if you conduct more than one diversion program, you complete a separate survey for each program.
 
There are two ways to complete the survey, online at http://www.dcpsa.gov/napsa/index.htm or the hard copy can be completed and mailed to:

NAPSA Member Services Office,
c/o Marilyn Walzcak, Justice 2000, Inc.
229 E. Wisconsin Ave., #1250,
Milwaukee, WI 53202.

Once the data is collected, the directory information will be compiled and distributed to everyone who responded to the survey. We will also publish a compilation of the responses. INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES WILL NOT BE SHARED WITHOUT PERMISSION.
 
Those who complete the survey will also receive a free associate membership to NAPSA.
 
If you have any questions about the survey, please feel free to contact Anne Gatti, LPCC, at 330-535-8116 or by email at agatti@oapsa.org.