Restler asks if ADAs know diversion programs and alternatives

Great.

I will try not to.

Is this working?

Yeah.

Okay.

I'll try not to take full advantage of the time to keep Chair Stevens on schedule.

Gay Clark, it's great to see you.

Good to see you.

Do you feel that your assistant DAs have a comprehensive understanding of

the diversion programs and alternatives that are available for young people instead of detention?

I think that we do know what is available.

We don't know everything.

So there's, like anything else, there's a lot of programs, there's a lot of resources, but unless you know about them, we can't take advantage of them.

So there needs to be a concerted effort, and we've tried to do that before.

I held a summit of all youth justice stakeholders to say, okay, you do this, you do that.

Let's put everything together so we know what is available, what the requirements are, so we can take advantage of that.

So the answer is yes and no.

We know what we know, but we don't know what we don't know.

Right.

So I just want to underscore that to say that I think Chair Stevens'legislation in particular would be really helpful, that there be an up-to-date, real-time guide that's available of all of the different programs that we could be placing people into instead of detention.

And so I hope that's something that you're supporting.

I do support that.

And with that, also said that not only to just know those resources, to make sure that you evaluate them to well, to make sure that they're effective.

Because there's a lot of folks out here putting up tents saying they do this, that, and the third, and they're not really, you know, producing what they say they're going to be.

But I 100% support that effort.

100% programs should be evidence-based and effective.