Local Reentry Council
The Local Reentry Council (LRC) works with formerly incarcerated people to reduce barriers to reentry by providing case management services, connecting people to services in the community, and building a network of individuals, agencies, and advocates within the local community that provide support and coordination of innovative responses to the reintegration of the formerly incarcerated.
Mental Health Diversion Collaboration (CCDR Team)
The Policing and Mental Health Diversion Collaboration is funded by a grant from NC DHHS. The program is a collaboration between the CJRD, the Carrboro Police Department, the Chapel Hill Police Department, the Hillsborough Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and Freedom House Recovery Center. It is an effort to reduce the number of individuals with serious mental illness entering the criminal legal system by diverting them to appropriate community behavioral health providers and support services. The team that assists individuals referred—the Community Care and Diversion Response (CCDR) team—consists of a Mental Health Diversion Coordinator, a Freedom House Clinician, a Freedom House Peer Support Specialist, and social workers embedded in the four law enforcement agencies. Individuals may be referred to the CCDR team from the community, from law enforcement in lieu of an arrest, and post-charge from court.
Orange County Pre-Arrest Diversion (OC-PAD) program
The purpose of the Orange County Pre-Arrest Diversion (OC-PAD) program is to provide law enforcement officers discretion to divert individuals who commit eligible misdemeanor offenses away from the criminal legal system to resources and programing that educates, addresses therapeutic needs and reduces the harm of court involvement and the collateral consequences of having a public criminal record.
Pretrial Services
Pretrial Services seeks to minimize unnecessary detention by supervising people who are likely to appear for future court dates and do not pose a serious risk to the community. This work results in reduced rates of incarceration, less disparities based on an individual’s race or financial resources, and reduced costs for the County. Most significantly, individuals who remain in the community pretrial are able to maintain employment, remain with family, access treatment, maintain stable housing, aid in their own defense, assert their innocence, and mitigate the severity of any active prison term that may be imposed at sentencing.
Street Outreach, Harm Reduction and Deflection (SOHRAD)
The Street Outreach, Harm Reduction and Deflection (SOHRAD) program connects people experiencing homelessness in Orange County with housing and services and deflects them from law enforcement, where appropriate. Peer support and clinical staff use a relationship-based model to provide ongoing engagement and case management for people living unsheltered.
Restoration Legal Counsel
The Restoration Legal Counsel program assists justice-impacted individuals who are unable to pay for court fines and fees or who are otherwise disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system. The program aims to help reduce barriers to employment, housing, continued education, licensing, etc. faced by those with unpaid fines, costs and fees and/or criminal records. The pro bono legal services also include driver’s license restoration and criminal record expunctions.
The Lantern Project
The Lantern Project provides behavioral health services, up-to-date education and information about substance use treatment resources, and education about harm reduction measures taking place throughout Orange County.
The goal of the Lantern Project is to provide increased access to care and support to people with a history of substance use who are involved in the criminal legal system in Orange County through diversion coordination and reentry navigation. Harm Reduction practices, reentry support, and deflection/diversion improve community relations with law enforcement reduce racial disparities in the criminal legal system and improve public health outcomes.
Treatment Courts
Family Treatment Court is a collaborative effort between the court system and the Department of Social Services (DSS), and is for parents who have a case pending with DSS regarding abuse, neglect, or dependency. Participants are referred to the program by DSS Social Workers and through Child Planning Conferences. They are monitored by a multidisciplinary team consisting of a judge, defense attorney, DSS attorney, treatment provider, guardian ad litem, DSS social worker, court coordinator and court case manager. Successful participants enhance their parenting skills and improve the chances of having their parental rights restored.
Recovery Court is a diversionary court for high-risk individuals who are facing significant terms of incarceration. Participants are referred to the program by judges, defense attorneys, and probation officers. The monitoring team consists of a judge, defense attorney, prosecutor, treatment provider, probation officer, and court coordinator. Successful participants avoid incarceration and reduce the likelihood of recidivism.
Youth Diversion Program (YDP)
The purpose of the Youth Deflection Program is to reduce the harm of court involvement for Orange County youth who commit low level, non-violent offenses and who, in the discretion of law enforcement, could be better served with immediate community interventions than in the juvenile court system.