Jail diversion programs are gaining ground across the country, from community cleanup efforts in Bexar County to co-response expansions in Pittsburgh. This week's roundup covers the latest in diversion models, new funding, and the policy hurdles standing in the way.

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office partnered with its Bexar Gives Back jail diversion program, which allows eligible defendants to perform community service instead of serving jail time, to clean up an abandoned homeless camp, an effort officials say has saved taxpayers millions of dollars while reducing jail overcrowding.

Dallas County officials gathered for a multi-day summit to study Miami-Dade's successful 26-year Criminal Mental Health Project, but found that a key element, holding people in mental health crisis at deflection centers involuntarily for up to 48 hours, would require changes to Texas law before the model could be fully replicated.

Sponsored by:

Let’s image a 34 year old army veteran named Marcus.

Marcus calls 911 on the weekend at 2 a.m., agitated and disoriented. The officers who respond don't know he has PTSD. They don't know he's been seeing a VA behavioral health counsellor for six months. They don't even know he stopped taking his medication three days ago.

That information lives in a system they can't access. So Marcus ends up in handcuffs. Then a cell. Then a courtroom.

And his counsellors only find out on Monday morning...

This is what happens when the people trying to help can't talk to each other.

With Julota, Marcus's care team can see what they need to see, when they need to see it. The next time he calls at 2 a.m., the responding officer knows. The co-responder knows. And instead of a cell, Marcus gets a callback from his counsellor by morning.

Same person. Same call. Completely different outcome.

That's one of the abilities Julota gives your program.

Bettendorf, Iowa is moving to contract with a mental health professional to assist police officers on calls involving mental health crises, funded by a one-year, $114,000 federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grant running from July 2026 through June 2027. The city plans to partner with UnityPoint Health's Robert Young Center to provide the co-responder, pending city council approval. The co-responder's role would include reducing unnecessary emergency room transports, preventing avoidable arrests, connecting individuals to long-term services, and lowering repeat crisis-related calls.

Police Chief Doug Scott noted that officers regularly encounter calls involving substance abuse, mental health emergencies, and other situations where a clinical professional could offer a more effective response. Scott estimated the program could assist with roughly 300 calls per year, with applications spanning death notifications, juvenile issues, and parenting challenges — and hopes to have someone in place within two months.

A Michigan House bill sponsored by Rep. Sarah Lightner would create a prison diversion program for drug-related offenses, with supporters arguing it would address the root causes of repeat arrests and cost the state roughly $5,000 per person compared to the estimated $43,000 cost of incarceration.

Pittsburgh is relaunching and expanding its co-response program, a partnership between the city's Office of Community Health and Safety and the police bureau that pairs officers with mental health clinicians to provide specialized care on calls. Police Chief Jason Lando said the program is designed to reduce unnecessary arrests, decrease inappropriate emergency room visits, and improve the chances that individuals receive proper treatment and support.

The expanded model calls for six co-responders, one per zone, plus a downtown-focused team lead, as well as six "integrated responders" who are clinicians able to go to calls without an officer when one isn't needed. The program currently operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but officials plan to extend those hours, and eight vacancies still need to be filled. Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams was clear that the initiative is meant to supplement, not replace, law enforcement response, with Mayor Corey O'Connor describing the goal as building a system that is responsive, innovative, and centered on people in need.