SANTA ANA, CA- (March 27th, 2025)- The Orange County Probation Department (OC Probation) was awarded a grant by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) funded through the Proposition 47 Grant Program, focused on supporting mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, and diversion programs for those in the criminal justice system.
OC Probation is utilizing this opportunity to fund community-based organizations (CBOs) and other supportive services to be available to local law enforcement agencies within the county to address youth delinquency behaviors without the need of Probation intervention.
Chief Deputy Probation Officer Jessica Johnson stated, “What a great opportunity to support diversion services throughout Orange County. It will be beneficial to both local law enforcement agencies as well as the youth and families within those communities, by expanding diversion options and providing essential supports and resources more quickly”.
OC Probation will coordinate contracts with CBOs throughout the county, concentrating on building up diversion services in areas where the highest number of referrals are received that could potentially be diverted. These providers will be required to provide trauma-informed, gender-responsive, culturally competent and other supportive services to assist in building strong peer and familial relationships. The target population would be youth under the age of 18 residing in a city not served by existing programs and arrested for an offense that would fall under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
Through such efforts, we can create meaningful, long-term impacts in the lives of at-risk youth and within the communities they reside.
