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L.A. County looks to expand jail diversion program

by City News Service • October 23, 2018

LOS ANGELES – A pilot program aimed at getting homeless people who commit low-level crimes into treatment or housing rather than jail cells is likely to be expanded, based on a vote Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said 42 of the 109 people enrolled in the pilot have since moved into in-patient substance abuse treatment programs or bridge or permanent housing. About 80 percent of those enrolled were homeless when they entered the law-enforcement assisted diversion or LEAD program.

“The county’s LEAD pilot program has demonstrated how smart and targeted interventions can reduce incarceration and homelessness,” Kuehl said. “For many people, the LEAD program can end the revolving door from jail to homelessness and back to reincarceration.”

The pilot is run by the county’s Office of Diversion and Reentry and was launched 10 months ago. The hope is that it will reduce recidivism while also decreasing homelessness.

Research on a similar program in Seattle showed that program participants were 58 percent less likely to be arrested in the two years after enrolling and 46 percent more likely to be employed or enrolled in a vocational training program or internship than a control group that didn’t participate.

Supervisor Hilda Solis co-authored the motion.

“The expansion of the LEAD program directly addresses the causes of crime and elevates the broader needs of the individual, the family and the community,” Solis said.

The state provided $5.9 million in funding for the pilot and the county matched 10 percent of that total. The board’s vote directs county staffers to identify new service areas and funding to grow the program, but the motion didn’t specify the scale of the expansion.

A report back is expected in 90 days.

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Filed Under: Politics

5 comments for "L.A. County looks to expand jail diversion program"

  1. Drug Addicts says

    October 23, 2018 at 11:56 pm

    “The hope is that it will reduce recidivism while also decreasing homelessness.”

    LA and LAC have a lot of work to do.

  2. Rony Witherson says

    October 23, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    MOST OF THE HOMELESS IN TH AV ARE EX VETS ADDICTED TO DRUGS I DONT WANT MY HARD EARNED DOLLARS GOING TO EX VETS WITH DRUG PROBLEMS WE NEED TO START DRUG TESTING THEM, MOSTLY ALL VETS USE DRUGS .

    • Chad Bradford says

      October 25, 2018 at 3:52 am

      What do you mean by “EX VETS”? A veteran is defined as a person who has served in the military. How can you be an ex person who served on the military? Also Rony, why do you type like that? In a case study you can find if you did some research it will say ~7% of veterans have a substance abuse disorder. How is that nearly most?

      • Rosy Wilkerson says

        October 27, 2018 at 7:39 pm

        Yes im also sick and tired of spending my hard earned tax dollars on these leech vets just doing drugs 80% of vets are addicted to drugs and most are trump supporters how sickening im scared of them what about helping our homeless first nobody owes them nothing unless they are tested for drugs.

  3. Emily says

    October 23, 2018 at 7:02 pm

    Of the array of western civilizations’ scholastic disciplines, our most dismal, consistent failure the last 200 years is, our behavioral sciences.

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