Court Diversion History

Court Diversion Programs in Vermont were originally funded in 1979 by Federal dollars from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration and disbursed by the Vermont Commission on the Administration of Justice. In addition to that funding, the Turrell Fund of East Orange, New Jersey, provided three years of supplemental funding for the development of the original Juvenile Program. 

Originally, seven pilot Court Diversion projects were initiated throughout the State of Vermont. Success of those pilot projects quickly led to the availability of Court Diversion in every county and the formation of the Vermont Association of Court Diversion Programs (VACDP). In 1980, the Vermont Legislature voted to fund the Court Diversion Program for juvenile first time offenders for all counties in the State.

By 1982, several Court Diversion Programs had begun to handle adult first offender cases in addition to juvenile cases. When the adult portion of the Court Diversion Program proved to be as successful as the juvenile portion, the Vermont Association of Court Diversion Programs requested that the Legislature amend the statute to include adults and increase funding to provide for an expanding caseload. 

Such a bill was enacted in 1984. Rather than providing for the full cost of the adult program, the Legislature required that each Court Diversion participant pay a fee to the Program to help ensure its continuation.