The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.

program within three to four months and don't break laws for a year, their record and
arrest are erased.
"What they do is completely individualized to them" and their needs, Krause said.
Someone with a job who tried drugs a few times may have to undergo a drug evaluation
and do community service while someone who uses drugs everyday and doesn't have a
job or high school degree may have to undergo treatment, find employment and obtain
a GED, he said.
John, who will complete his requirements in a week or two, said he completed a
treatment program that made him realize that stress, especially about being in debt,
triggered his drug use. So in addition to completing treatment, he had to be regularly
drug tested, read a book about debt, and make a debt-repayment plan.
"I actually feel like I have a plan in place, and I feel like I'll be able to attack it and get
this burden off my back," he said.
"It's not cookie cutter," that's why it's a successful program, Shiffermiller said. "We get
people involved in things that they're interested in, we get people involved in ways that
they can better their lives. So, it's not just here's your charge, do 10 hours of community
service, go on your way."
Program Expansion
While juvenile diversion has existed in Pennington County for many years, adult
diversion was created in January 2016 by State's Attorney Mark Vargo. It was overseen
by the supervisor of the misdemeanor division and only accepted young adults (18- to
25-year-olds) charged with petty theft or possessing two ounces or less of marijuana.
Krause was hired in September 2016 with seed money from the MacArthur
Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge, a program the county is participating in
to address racial and economic inequality within the criminal justice system and reduce
its jail population. Once he came on board, Krause began accepting young adults
charged with other non-violent misdemeanors.
"The young adult (program) was really based around the brain science," Krause said.
"The science shows that a person's brain is not fully developed into an adult brain until
they're 25" or as old as 30.
Around March 2017, Krause began accepting young adults charged with low-level, nonviolent
felonies. And two months ago, he expanded the program to adults of any age.
The program sees people arrested for crimes ranging from property destruction to
trespassing to embezzlement to drug possession, Shiffermiller said. But it's off limits to
those arrested for DUIs or crimes related to heroin and meth.
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