Objectives: Created to combat the school-to-prison pipeline, the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program offers voluntary community-based services to eligible youth accused of minor school-based offeses in lieu of arrest. This study evaluated program effectiveness in accomplishing goals related to reductions in school-based arrests, serious behavioral incidents, and recidivism. Hypotheses: We expected the annual number of school-based arrests in Philadelphia schools to decrease over the program's first 5 years and predicted that the annual number of serious behavioral incidents would not increase. Further, we expected that diverted youth-compared to youth arrested in schools the year before Diversion Program implementation-would have significantly lower rates of recidivism arrests in the 2 years following their school-based incidents. Method: Using a quasi-experimental design, we examined data from 2,302 public school students (67.0% male; 76.1% Black; age range: 10-22 years) who were either diverted from arrest through the Diversion Program or arrested in Philadelphia schools in the year prior to Diversion Program implementation. We compared rate of recidivism arrest, number of arrests, and time to arrest between diverted and arrested youth. We also used district-wide descriptive statistics to examine 5year trends in school-based arrests and serious behavioral incidents. Results: Since program implementation, the annual number of school-based arrests in Philadelphia has declined by 84% and the number of serious behavioral incidents has declined by 34%. Diverted youth demonstrated less recidivism than arrested youth in the 2 years following their initial incident; however, after propensity score matching, we no longer observed significant differences. Conclusions: Findings indicate that a prearrest diversion program can safely reduce school-based arrests and suggest a need for future research regarding the role of demographic and incident-related characteristics in recidivism outcomes.Jennifer Cox served as Action Editor.

Objectives: Developed to keep youth in school and out of court, the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program allows youth to avoid arrest for specified school-based summary and misdemeanor offenses. This study examined whether diverted youth were also less likely to experience exclusionary discipline, both in response to the referring incident and in the following calendar year. Hypotheses: We predicted that diverted youth-compared to youth arrested in schools the year before program implementation-would have been less likely to receive a suspension for their school-based incident, receive a suspension in the year following the incident, and be referred for permanent school removal in the year following the incident. Method: Using a quasi-experimental design, we examined data from 1,281 diverted youth and 531 comparable youth arrested in Philadelphia schools in the year before program implementation. These 1,812 students (67% male, 75% Black) ranged from 10 to 22 years of age. After using propensity score matching techniques, we conducted mixed-effects logistic regression analyses to compare the matched groups on 3 outcomes: incident-related suspension, postincident suspension, and postincident referral for permanent school removal. Results: No statistically significant group differences in likelihood of incident-related suspension emerged; however, age and gender moderated the relationship between diverted/arrested status and incident-related suspension. Diverted youth were less likely than matched arrested youth to experience both postincident suspension and postincident permanent school removal referral. Conclusions: The Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program shows promise in reducing the likelihood that youth will experience future exclusionary discipline following a school-based incident. Public Significance StatementYouth diverted through the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program appear to be less likely than matched students arrested for school-based offenses to experience exclusionary discipline via suspension in the year following the referring incident. These promising results suggest that prearrest diversion programs can contribute to a reduction in the use of exclusionary discipline in schools and, thus, may improve school climate and contribute to the dismantling of the school-to-prison pipeline.

Growing recognition of the school-to-prison pipeline and its associated detrimental effects has spurred efforts aimed at reducing the rate of school-based arrests across the United States. One such initiative, the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program, has demonstrated promising findings related to reduced numbers of school-based arrests and improved school outcomes among youth. However, without information about the financial costs and benefits associated with program operation, stakeholders may be hesitant to implement similar programming in other localities. Therefore, we conducted a cost–benefit analysis of the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program. Results indicated that this diversion program produced approximately $1.6 million in inflation-adjusted net benefit in its first year of operation and approximately $1.9 million in inflation-adjusted net benefit in its fifth year of operation. Findings may inform decisions about program replication in other jurisdictions where stakeholders seek alternative school policing strategies.

In response to school-based arrests representing a growing proportion of youth arrests nationwide, several programs have emerged to divert youth from school-based arrests. However, few such initiatives have undergone empirical evaluation, and none have been evaluated with a focus on long-term (i.e., 4-to 5-year) youth outcomes. To address this gap, this study compared long-term recidivism arrest and school outcomes (i.e., out-of-school suspension, dropout, and on-time graduation) among students diverted through the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program (n = 427) and comparable students arrested in Philadelphia schools (n = 531). Mixed-effects logistic regression results revealed that diverted youth were significantly less likely than matched arrested youth to experience a recidivism arrest within 5 years of their initial school-based incident. However, we did not observe significant between-group differences for school-related outcomes once relevant covariates were considered. Findings indicate small yet significant long-term program effects on public safety and potential time-limited effects on exclusionary discipline.