www.vtbar.org
To replace court-first approaches, these
institutions have recommended pre-court
school- and community-based diversion
services. Although research on pre-court
truancy diversion programs is only just
starting to be produced,16 there are myriad robust studies regarding rapid diversion
programs for delinquency. As compared
with court-first models, both sets of studies
show that diversion programs are cheaper, developmentally appropriate, more effective in preventing future court involvement, and ethical.17 Overall, diversion programs work because they have the flexibility and speedy services that struggling children and families need, but courts are not
designed to provide.
Nationally, there are hundreds of local
truancy diversion programs providing precourt intervention services to students and
families. New York, Maine, Minnesota, and
other states have c ɕ