The Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA) is excited to announce the Survivor Centered Diversion Pilot Site Initiative funded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
 
There is a strong correlation between gender-based violence and eventual interface with the criminal justice system, however few resources exist to provide diversion, services and a pathway to healing for survivors.
 
The goal of this Initiative is to select two (2) sites to:

  • Create an alternative pathway for criminalized survivors away from traditional prosecution while addressing traumas that are the underlying causes of their criminal behavior
  • Center healing and support by connecting survivors with community providers and services

Interested prosecutors’ offices are encouraged to complete a brief application by Friday, June 30, 2023. We anticipate this application will take 5 minutes to complete. Offices indicating interest will be contacted in July 2023 regarding next steps.
 
Participating sites, during the period of September 2023 through June 2025, will receive: 

  • Development and Planning: APA and partner subject matter experts will work with the selected offices to identify local needs and community advocacy partners and develop program goals for a survivor centered diversion pilot program. Each pilot site will also work with APA’s research partner Bowie State University (BSU) to identify data to be collected.  
  • Implementation: Each selected pilot site, with guidance and technical assistance from APA, will implement a survivor centered diversion program in collaboration with their community advocacy partner to divert criminalized survivors and provide services and a pathway to healing.
  • Evaluation: After program implementation, the project team will work with the selected sites to assess program success. BSU will work with each site to ensure programmatic outcomes can be evaluated.
  • Sustainability: In addition to working with each site during the planning phase to ensure sustainability, APA and BSU will provide each site with a final set of concrete recommendations.

Participating offices will commit to:

  • Engaging in a collaborative assessment, planning, and implementation process with project staff September 2023 through June 2025.
  • Assigning a staff member who has authority to make decisions about diversion programs to coordinate office involvement in the project, collect data, and identify and collaborate with a community advocacy partner.
  • Host in-person and/or remote site visits for project staff to meet with key office personnel, system stakeholders, and community partners.
  • Provide (de-identified) case-level data for assessment and program evaluation.

 
 Please reach out to Aviva.Kurash@apainc.org with any questions.

APPLY HERE: APA Survivor Centered Diversion – Pilot Site Interest Survey (surveymonkey.com)