How Juvenile Court Diversion Transforms Youth Justice in NH

When a young person gets into trouble with the law, what happens next can affect the entire trajectory of their life.

When a young person gets into trouble with the law, what happens next can affect the entire trajectory of their life. For many youth in New Hampshire, juvenile court diversion programs offer a chance to make things right without stepping into a courtroom or going deeper into the judicial system.

The New Hampshire Juvenile Court Diversion Network, a statewide 501(c)(3) organization that accredits diversion programs, trains practitioners, and partners with state agencies, has coordinated this community-based work since 1994.

What Is Diversion and Why Does It Matter?

In the broadest sense, diversion refers to any intervention that keeps a young person from moving further into the formal court system. “We’ve been doing diversion in New Hampshire for more than 40 years,” said New Hampshire Center for Justice & Equity Executive Director Alissa Cannon, who has led the NH Juvenile Court Diversion Network for the past seven years. “What started as grassroots community problem-solving in the 1980s has become a formalized, statewide system focused on keeping youth out of the courts whenever it’s safe and appropriate to do so.”

For New Hampshire’s accredited diversion programs, that definition includes restorative practices that address the harm done, motivational interviewing to support behavior change, and screening for mental health and substance use needs.

Cannon notes that more than 60% of youth referred to diversion programs screen positive for mental health challenges and substance use. Importantly, diversion is now the preferred first option for most youth encounters with law enforcement, for a variety of charges. And thanks to statewide juvenile justice transformation efforts completed in 2022, young people can participate in diversion more than once, acknowledging real-life changes in circumstances, development, and risk.

“A 13-year-old and a 17-year-old are entirely different developmentally,” Cannon said. “Why shouldn’t they get another opportunity to make amends and move forward?”

How Juvenile Court Diversion Works

While the NH Juvenile Court Diversion Network does not run diversion programs itself, it provides accreditation, oversight, training, and financial support so that local programs across the state can do the on-the-ground work.

Member programs can be structured as independent nonprofits, municipal entities, county programs, or even police department-affiliated organizations. The Upper Room in Derry, for example, operates its diversion program within a Family Resource Center, meaning that when a youth’s needs are identified during the diversion process, they can access services like anger management, parenting support, and family counseling under the same roof.

In Manchester and Nashua, Police Athletic League (PAL) programs offer diversion within a space already dedicated to after-school activities and positive engagement with law enforcement.

Municipal programs like the City of Keene Youth Services and Dover Teen Center, operated by the Dover Police Department, connect youth with structured activities and recreational opportunities that reduce the chances of future involvement with law enforcement. Merrimack County’s program deploys two county navigators who ensure that youth can be connected to appropriate local resources regardless of where they live.

“What I love about this network is that programs reflect their communities and are built on the belief that youth deserve support, not a criminal record,” Cannon said. “We know that having these options available for youth to be active and engaged in their community reduces the chances of them recidivating.”

An Alternative Path With Proven Results

Last year, the statewide completion rate of youth court diversion programs was over 90% across delinquency and violation-level cases. Additionally, a six-cohort recidivism study (2012–2020), which tracked youth one and three years after diversion, found that New Hampshire’s participants reoffend at rates well below national averages.

“That tells us the model is working,” Cannon said. “Youth aren’t returning to the court system. They’re making amends, addressing the root causes of their behavior, and moving forward.”

And since youth can now participate in diversion more than once, the NH Juvenile Court Diversion Network is preparing a new study that will redefine recidivism to align with the state’s reformed probation and assessment system.

Equity and Access in the Diversion System

These strong outcomes have helped solidify diversion as a central component of New Hampshire’s juvenile justice system, but questions about equity mirror the broader criminal justice system.

NHCJE previously reported, incarceration in New Hampshire disproportionately affects Black and Brown residents, and diversion referrals, anecdotally, show similar disparities. However, identifying exactly where inequities occur is difficult because New Hampshire lacks consistent data on first-contact decisions.

“That critical moment of discretion, whether a law enforcement officer gives a youth an informal warning and sends them home, or escalates the encounter by filing a petition, is not tracked uniformly across New Hampshire’s many law enforcement agencies,” Cannon said.

To address this, the NH Juvenile Court Diversion Network convened a Center for Youth Justice (CYJ) team, modeled on Georgetown University’s capstone approach and spanning the entire referral pipeline. This includes law enforcement, juvenile prosecutors, JPPO supervisors, program coordinators, and Cannon. Together, they are working to develop training for both police officers and prosecutors on equitable referral practices, identify gaps in geographic access (particularly for rural areas), and have a goal of eliminating program fees so diversion is financially accessible.

Building Community Support

While policy reforms and training are key to strengthening equity and access, Cannon says diversion ultimately depends on community involvement. Beyond financial barriers to participation in diversion programs, awareness remains a major challenge. “People don’t know this option exists,” Cannon said. “They don’t know there’s a program in their community.”

Residents can volunteer on panels, mentor youth, partner on community engagement opportunities, serve on nonprofit boards, or support to local diversion programs. “We need organizations willing to empower our youth,” she said. “They make mistakes. But they deserve guidance, connection and the chance to grow.”