More than 40% of people in state prisons have been diagnosed with a behavioral health disorder and half of people incarcerated in state prisons report having a mental health problem. Further, many formerly incarcerated individuals, especially those with behavioral health conditions, return to their communities without the supports needed to succeed. Thus many people, including those who would be better served with treatment, become trapped in a cycle of arrest and incarceration.
At the Wilson Center, we seek to interrupt the cycle of incarceration and improve community safety by providing research and policy recommendations on deflection, diversion and reentry. We evaluate the effectiveness of promising deflection and pre-arrest diversion programs and recommend policies in line with those findings. Further, we evaluate what range of supports are needed for success in reentry and identifie model reentry programs. The Center also documents reentry supports available in specific local communities and potential gaps in services, disseminates those findings to stakeholders, and supports implementation of effective programs.
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Evaluation
A key component of the Wilson Center's work in Pre-Arrest Diversion is evaluation of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) in North Carolina. LEAD is a community-based, pre-arrest diversion program that connects people who use drugs and are at risk of arrest for low-level unlawful conduct with support services such as social and medical services, behavioral health treatment, and harm reduction resources. Police officers can use their discretion to refer eligible individuals to LEAD either as an alternative to arrest and prosecution or simply because the officer believes an individual could benefit from the program.
Our research team, in consultation with North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, conducted an evaluation of four LEAD sites in North Carolina to determine the program’s effectiveness in reducing criminal justice involvement and increasing service utilization among program enrollees as well as investigating issues of equity in the program's application.
Read the findings, full report, and recommendations below:
Understanding the Reentry Experience
Improving reentry supports relies on understanding the lived experience of our returning neighbors. The Wilson Center works with partner organizations such as OurJourney, local reentry councils, and others to highlight, document, and share the stories of formerly incarcerated people through events, focus groups, and other programs.
Selected Publications
- Policy Brief: Ensuring Access to Medicaid During and After Incarceration: Key Policy Considerations in the Wake of Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina (2023)
- Reliance on Community Emergency Departments by People Ever Detained in Jail: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study By: Michele M. Easter, Nicole L. Schramm-Sapyta, Maria A. Tackett, Isabella G. Larsen, Becky Tang, Matthew A. Ralph, and Luong N. Huynh in Journal of Correctional Healthcare (2023)