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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:19 pm
Time: 8:19 pm
Results for jail diversion
1 results foundAuthor: Cowell, Alexander J. Title: A Cost Analysis of the Bexar County, Texas, Jail Diversion Program. Report 2: An Analysis of Cost-Shifting between the Treatment and Criminal Justice Systems Summary: This report is the second in a series of reports on a cost analysis of the jail diversion program in Bexar County, Texas. The overall study addressed three main questions: What does it cost to divert one person? How does diversion shift costs between the criminal justice system and the treatment system? What is the cost-effectiveness of jail diversion? This report presents results for the second question: How does diversion shift costs between the criminal justice system and the treatment system? The study combined a strong research design with detailed data on criminal justice and treatment resources that were underwritten either in part or in full by Bexar County and the city of San Antonio. The main findings are as follows. ES.1 Pre-Booking Diversion Combining criminal justice and treatment costs during pre-booking diversion was associated with $3,200 in lower costs per person during the first 6 months after diversion. In the absence of pre-booking diversion, cross-system (i.e., criminal justice and treatment) costs would have been more than $1.2 million higher during the 6 months immediately after diversion. Criminal justice resource needs — a large proportion of which are underwritten through local funds — may have been more than $1.4 million higher had pre-booking diversion not been in place. The study did not find reliable evidence on the impact of pre-booking diversion on treatment costs. However, the findings did indicate that, in the 12- to 18-month and 18- to 24-month periods, diversion was associated with improved access to treatment. ES.2 Post-Booking Diversion Post-booking diversion was associated with about $1,200 in lower costs per person more than the 18- to 24-month period after entry into diversion. Across the criminal justice and treatment systems combined, had post-booking diversion not been in place, costs would have been $700,000 higher. Post-booking diversion was also associated with $400,000 in lower criminal justice costs in the 18 to 24 months after diversion. There was little reliable evidence on the degree to which costs were shifted into treatment. Limited evidence indicated some improved access to the Center for Health Care Services (CHCS) in the 6- to 12-month period and indicated that treatment costs overall were actually lower in the 12- to 18-month period. As Bexar County continues to expand its public safety net, it now has strong evidence that one of its cornerstone programs can be justified on fiscal grounds. Its jail diversion program encompasses the two major types of diversion—pre-booking and post-booking diversion— and is designed to help people with mental health problems and people in need of treatment along the spectrum of criminal justice interactions. Both pre-booking and post-booking jail diversion were associated with lower taxpayer costs particularly criminal justice costs. The program provides hope to jail diversion participants that they can obtain the treatment they need and integrate safely back into the community rather than getting stuck in the repetitive criminal justice cycle. This study has demonstrated that the program also helps contain public costs and is an effective use of scarce community resources. Details: Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International, 2008. 83p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2011 at: http://www.naco.org/programs/csd/Documents/Criminal%20Justice/Jail%20Diversion%20Forum%20Materials/Cost%20Benefit%20Study.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.naco.org/programs/csd/Documents/Criminal%20Justice/Jail%20Diversion%20Forum%20Materials/Cost%20Benefit%20Study.pdf Shelf Number: 121662 Keywords: Cost-Benefit Analysis (Texas)Costs of Criminal JusticeJail DiversionTreatment Programs |