Stories of Success
A Qualitative Analysis of Diversion Officials' Experiences With Clients Who Completed Prosecutor‐Led Diversion
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7158604 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elizabeth J Curley (0000-0002-8353-2293, Florida State University Tallahassee Florida USA, corresponding author), Sara Julian (Wellbeing & Equity Innovations Hygiene Colorado USA), Carrie Pettus (0000-0003-3378-3008, Wellbeing & Equity Innovations Hygiene Colorado USA) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | e70083-e70083 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Community Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0090-4392 • E-ISSN: 1520-6629 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/jcop.70083 |
| PMID | 41586445 |
| OpenAlex | W7125696170 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 19 |
Prosecutor-led diversion programs are a promising alternative to incarceration. This study explores how diversion officials perceive and facilitate successful diversion programming for clients to provide information to the field that may enhance the impact of diversion programming. Eleven diversion officials were recruited via snowball sampling across 10 jurisdictions. We explored their experiences in designing and implementing diversion programs using phenomenological qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews. Diversion officials' experiences had two categories: perception and facilitation of success. Themes of perception are related to how the prosecutor understands crime (conceptualization of crime), clients' investment in diversion and accountability (aha moments), and client transformation (re-defining outcomes). Themes of facilitation include interpersonal strategies to enhance engagement (alliance), use of discretion (discretion), and empowerment through collaboration (partnership). A humanistic approach appears most effective, helping clients thrive by emphasizing life outcomes that extend beyond traditional legal and justice system processing.
Accountability · Criminal justice · Discretion · Empowerment · Interpersonal communication · Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Perception · Qualitative research · Snowball sampling · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
Phenomenological Research Methods
Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research
Models of Prosecutor-Led Diversion Programs in the United States and Beyond
Achieving excellence in interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)
The Well-Being Development Model
Using thematic analysis in psychology
People make mistakes” stakeholders and participants’ perceptions of the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of diversion and deferred prosecution programs
Phenomenological psychology and qualitative research
Quotations in Qualitative Studies
Coding In-depth Semistructured Interviews
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |