Discuss diversion in regard to juveniles. Explain whether you disagree or agree with the use of ...

One of the most important alternatives chosen at intake is nonjudicial disposition or, as it is variously called, nonjudicial adjustment, handling or processing, informal disposition, adjustment, or (most commonly) diversion.
 Juvenile diversion is the process of placing youths suspected of law-violating behavior into treatment-oriented programs prior to formal trial and disposition in order to minimize their penetration into the justice system and thereby avoid stigma and labeling.
 Diversion implies more than simply screening out cases for which no additional treatment is needed.
 Screening involves abandoning efforts to apply coercive measures to a defendant. In contrast, diversion encourages an individual to participate in some specific program or activity to avoid further prosecution.
 Most court-based diversion programs employ a particular formula for choosing youths for diversion.
 Criteria such as being a first offender, a nonviolent offender, or a status offender, or being drug or alcohol dependent, are used to select clients. In some programs, youths will be asked to partake of services voluntarily in lieu of a court appearance. In other programs, prosecutors will agree to defer, and then dismiss, a case once a youth has completed a treatment program.
 Some programs can be initiated by the juvenile court judge after an initial hearing.
 Student responses will vary.