Diversion in Action: Minnehaha County, South Dakota

Posted in Announcements  |  Tagged

This summer, we hope you join us for our “Diversion in Action” spotlight series! We’ll be showcasing how CYJ Fellows across the country are building effective, locally tailored diversion programs through their Capstone Projects. These stories highlight the power of cross-system collaboration, community leadership, and data-informed strategies. If you’re looking to strengthen or expand diversion efforts in your jurisdiction, don’t miss this opportunity to learn what’s working–check out our Diversion in Youth Justice Certificate Program, now accepting applications!

Minnehaha County, South Dakota

The Minnehaha County/Sioux Falls Team set out to reduce racial and ethnic disparities for youth with low-level offenses in Minnehaha County. Their Capstone’s key strategies included:

  • Developing an MOU between schools, the courts, law enforcement, and the local government to establish standard institutional responses to behavioral incidents in schools.
  • Creating a Diversion Coordinator position to oversee pre-arrest diversion and to connect youth and families to services.
  • Providing training to local stakeholders and improving access to culturally informed programming for youth of color.

As a result of their Capstone efforts, the team has established partnership across systems, and cross-agency stakeholders meet on a regular basis. The team also created a Diversion Coordinator role within the State’s Attorney’s office, which has helped to increase the number of youth being diverted in Minnehaha County, including youth of color. This Diversion Coordinator diverts low-level, non-violent youth offenders as an alternative to filing a formal petition, connecting them with programming best suited to their needs. To get stakeholders on board with this approach, the Minnehaha County team offered trainings on the research behind diversion, including conversations around adolescent brain development and the over-policing of typical youth behavior. The team continues to build out community capacity and data collection efforts to better understand how youth of color experience diversion services.

As a result of this work, diversion numbers have doubled in Minnehaha County, coupled with a reduction in the number of youth on probation. Specifically, the number of youth of color who successfully completed a diversion program in 2024 was 257 as compared to 55 youth of color in 2017. Additionally, youth in Minnehaha County are now eligible for more than one chance at diversion, demonstrating the County’s commitment to keeping youth out of the legal system.