Seattle’s law enforcement assisted diversion (LEAD) program: within-subjects changes on housing, employment, and income/benefits outcomes and associations with recidivism

For repeat drug offenders, homelessness, unemployment, and lack of access to legitimate income and benefits are obstacles to community integration and quality-of-life improvement. Seattle’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a collaborative, prebooking diversion program that provides indiv...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Clifasefi, Seema L. (Author)
Contributors: Lonczak, Heather S. (Other) ; Collins, Susan E. (Other)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2017
In: Crime & delinquency
Year: 2017, Volume: 63, Issue: 4, Pages: 429-445
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Intervention
Policing,
Substance use
Harm reduction
Diversion
Recidivism
Straftäter
Behandlungsmodelle
LEAD-Programm
Seattle, WA
Description
Summary:For repeat drug offenders, homelessness, unemployment, and lack of access to legitimate income and benefits are obstacles to community integration and quality-of-life improvement. Seattle’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a collaborative, prebooking diversion program that provides individuals suspected of low-level drug and prostitution offenses with legal assistance and harm reduction–oriented case management instead of prosecution and incarceration. We conducted this single-arm, within-subjects study to test changes in participants’ housing, employment, and income/benefits both prior and subsequent to their LEAD program referral. Findings indicated significant within-subjects improvements for LEAD participants (N = 176) across all outcomes of interest. Moreover, achieving housing and employment was associated with 17% and 33% fewer arrests during the follow-up, respectively.
ISSN:1552-387X
DOI:10.1177/0011128716687550