Legal deflection programs for support services, not arrest, available in one-third of states as of 2024

Since September 1, 2024, there have been 17 states with clear diversion routes expressed in state law, leading people with drug addiction and / or mental health disorders of imprisonment, according to the new data published by the University Center for Public Health Law Research temple.

Deviation laws provide an alternative to arrest intended to provide possibilities to access the treatment of people with consumption of consumption of substances and / or mental health disorders that need support services.

New research by the Center for Public Health Law Research show that this potentially vital opportunity for care and support is authorized in around a third of the American states.

“Deviation offers individuals the voluntary option to stay outside the judicial system and request support. The alternatives to arrest allow the first stakeholders to better identify and meet the needs of a community, and to encourage and allow people to seek the aid they need, without involving the judicial system, which can complicate health and create obstacles to care,” said Jon Larsen, JD, At CPHLR and the main project.

Data capture data of deviation laws in the 50 states and the Columbia district on September 1, 2024, an identifier which qualifies for deviation, when the deviation can be used and how the programs are monitored and evaluated by the State.

Some other data results include:

• Of the 17 states with deviation laws, 13 have specific criteria for WHO which is eligible for deviation.
• Five of these states give access to deviation without qualifications.
• Twelve states authorize the deviation by the intervention of the crisis.
• Six states require an assessment of their deviation programs.

Deviation programs are an opportunity based on evidence identified by CPHLR experts to integrate states’ drug policy efforts.

The first deviation program in the United States began in 2011 in Seattle. Estimates in 2020 suggest that there are around 850 sites across the country, but only those of the 17 states with laws are supported by clearly articulated routes.

“These data provide us with a clearer image of the legal landscape and a nuanced look at state approaches to the state. We hope that researchers, defenders, decision -makers and others are able to use this data in their work to support communities at best of our capacities,” said Larsen.

The data set is part of a collection to illustrate how law and policy shape efforts to response to the opioid crisis in the United States. Data sets capture the laws governing the decriminalization of drugs, drug paraphernalia, homicides induced by drugs, the laws on the good Samaritans, the expansion of Medicaid and 1115 derogations, as well as the procedure linked to the disputes for the settlement of opioids. These data sets and more can be explored on lawatlas.org.