PAD helped create the Center for Diversion and Services in order to expand the ability for officers to make pre-arrest diversions 24 hours/day, 365 days/year. PAD staff, volunteers, and even participants worked tirelessly for eight years to design the facility, secure funding, educate stakeholders, and develop the protocol to bring our vision to fruition. Today, the Center is operated by Grady Hospital, although PAD remains a core partner in advocating for and delivering the services that make diversion successful.
As a core partner, PAD advances the work of the Center through:
Case management services for individuals diverted to the Center. PAD provides these services through warm hand-offs to our Care Navigation team, who work with individuals for as long as needed to help them stabilize their lives. Of the $5M dollars that the City and County jointly invest in this project, just under $1M is explicitly directed to PAD Care Navigation services.
Post-booking jail diversion for missed diversions. PAD receives referrals from any Justice Policy Board member for individuals who are arrested and booked into Fulton County jail or ACDC. PAD screens individuals in the jail, establishes a housing and/or treatment plan, attends court, and picks up diverted individuals at release. PAD provides immediate emergency housing and direct resources such as food and MARTA cards and enrollment into Care Navigation.
Extensive engagement to law enforcement to educate about and promote arrest deflection through 311 and pre-arrest diversion through the Center, including attending roll calls, and assisting officers to make diversions at the Center.
Promote the model to local, state, and national audiences to leverage funding, technical expertise and policy advancements. PAD is a respected national leader in the fields of alternate response and pre-arrest diversion and regularly hosts jurisdictions from across the country as well as local and national funders. PAD consistently leverages these relationships to assist in the development of diversion strategies in Atlanta and Fulton County.
The Center for Diversion and Services is operated through a shared governance model led by the Justice Policy Board, which was established through an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Atlanta and Fulton County (21-O-0801).
This agreement describes the collaboration between City of Atlanta, Fulton County, PAD, and the Center operator (Grady Hospital). The IGA requires the operator lead the “day-to-day operations of the Center according to a future protocols document that will be developed in collaboration with the City, County, PAD, and Grady.” It further states that the Operator “coordinates on-site partners, intake, referrals, and other services in collaboration with PAD” and “sets protocols and processes, in coordination with PAD and the Justice Policy Board.”