Cohort 2022

CHOOSE 180

Demonstrating Equitable Outcomes for Community-Led Diversion in King County 

King County, WA

Over 2,000 young people a year are referred to the juvenile legal system in King County, Washington, a disproportionate share of whom are Black. Incarceration and criminalization can harm people by impacting their mental health, education and career outcomes, and even life expectancy. They can also harm entire communities. Though numerous studies have demonstrated the harms incarceration and criminalization cause, there has been little research on the outcomes of restorative alternatives to punishment.  

With Catalyst Grant funding, CHOOSE 180, a nonprofit that has provided diversion and intervention programming to thousands of young people in King County since 2011, will partner with the Black Brilliance Research Project to research the effectiveness of its young adult diversion programs. Staff from CHOOSE 180 will partner with staff leads and young adult researchers at the Black Brilliance Research Project. This work will leverage programmatic data, interviews with community members, and connections with current and former program participants to assess the impact of programming. The two organizations will also investigate the fit of existing metrics and identify gaps through targeted focus groups with program participants, staff, and community members. Community members will review preliminary results and will be invited to attend collaborative design sessions. The final results will include a narrative synthesis of quantitative and qualitative data and data visualizations using PowerBI. The organizations will share results with stakeholders to provide accessible tools for those interested in transforming the criminal legal system.