Juvenile Diversion Task Force

In June 2024, Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy announced the formation of the Supreme Court of Ohio Juvenile Diversion Task Force. The goal is to ensure all courts have transparent and effective diversion programs based on best practices to better serve Ohio’s youth, victims, and communities.

The task force includes juvenile judges, law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders, legislators, and juvenile justice experts.

To accomplish this goal, the task force will:

• analyze victims’ rights in the Ohio Constitution and statutes, diversion statutes, and the rules of the Supreme Court of Ohio;
• survey courts and justice system stakeholders on diversion practices, the types of offenses being diverted, and how courts are complying with the requirements of Marsy’s law; and
• identify current funding for diversion programs to ensure continuity.

This work will guide the task force in making recommendations on how to improve diversion in Ohio. The task force will make necessary recommendations to both the General Assembly to harmonize victims’ rights and diversion statutes, and to the Supreme Court of Ohio to harmonize victims’ rights and court rules. The task force will further identify and recommend to the court modifications that should be made to any existing diversion framework to align with best practices.

Meetings

The next meeting of the task force will take place on Monday, September 23rd, 2024, at the Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 South Front Street, Conference Room 281, Columbus, Ohio, 43215.

Inaugural Meeting PowerPoint

Roster