Gov. Malloy: Juvenile Court Referrals See Significant Results Following Expansion of State’s School-Based Diversion Initiative

Initiative Works to Reduce Juvenile Justice Involvement and End the School-to-Prison Pipeline Among Youths

(HARTFORD, CT) – On January 18, 2017, Governor Dannel P. Malloy and State Department of Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell announced that schools participating in the state’s School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) saw significant results during the 2015-16 school year, with school-based court referrals declining by 21 percent and behavioral health service referrals to Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services (EMPS) increasing by 24 percent, surpassing the statewide average by 15 percentage points and 14 percentage points, respectively. Among the schools that adopted the program early in the school year, results are even more impressive, with a 33 percent drop in referrals to the juvenile court system and a 42 percent increase in referrals to mobile crisis interventions.

The goal of SBDI is to reduce juvenile justice involvement among youth with certain mental, emotional, and behavioral health needs. It was expanded during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years as part of Governor Malloy’s Second Chance Society reforms.