Arlington’s criminal justice diversion program receives a $1 million federal grant

A program in Arlington that transitions people out of the criminal justice system and strengthens their social safety nets has received a $1 million federal grant.

The U.S. Department of Justice awarded the funds to support the expansion of the Offender Aid and Restoration Program at the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for Arlington and Falls Church.

““Our collaboration with OAR to develop this diversion program is an evidence-based, cost-effective approach to prosecuting people suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said in a news release. “We have already seen success in our pilot program and This grant will sustain and expand the program over the next five years.”

“We know that the ‘tough on crime’ model has failed to make our communities safer through behavior change or improved outcomes for this population,” Dehghani-Tafti added. “Instead, this failed approach has been proven to result in more arrests and more incarceration of at-risk populations. We work to break this cycle, increase community stability and reduce criminal behavior by connecting program participants with supportive services where they live.”

Specifically, the following is intended to be achieved with the grant.

• Expand the program’s staff
• Connect participants to treatment for substance abuse and mental health issues
• Help participants obtain important documents
• Connect participants to housing, work and job training
• Support the fitness and physical well-being of participants
• Expand participants’ prosocial support networks

“We have known for a long time that prison and prison do not address the causes [why] A lot of people end up in the criminal justice system,” OAR Executive Director Elizabeth Jones Valderrama said. “And yet there are such limited resources for alternatives that address a person’s basic needs and combat personal and systemic racism, which together help make the community safer.”

The grant will fund activities through fiscal year 2030.