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(but without due process) intervene with lower-level offenders whose petitions would have been

dismissed and unintentionally involve more youth in the system (Bates & Swan, 2018; Béchard,

Ireland, Berg, & Vogel, 2011; Mears et al., 2016). As Mears et al. (2016) write, “Net-widening

traditionally has been viewed as arising when the juvenile court, through diversion programs,

expands its reach” (p. 966). If the police do not divert children that they would typically ignore,

then no net-widening occurs. But if there are vendors or programs with a vested interest in

promoting diversion, the juvenile justice net may in fact ‘catch’ more youth than intended (net-

widening.) The number of diversions alone does not serve as an indicator of successful diversion.

After controlling for factors that impact officers’ decisions to arrest or divert, the data should

demonstrate that youth charges are decreasing rather than remaining constant or increasing

(Greene, 2011). A number of precautions can reduce the risk of net-widening, including informing

officers regarding their discretionary role in referrals to diversion programs; ensuring diversion

programs are not used to fill the role of non-justice-related, community-based social service

agencies; mandating a strict eligibility criteria to ensure youth are appropriately routed into

diversion programs; and adequately assessing the number of charges/youth under jurisdiction

administration. Finally, one significant reason that attention must also be paid to the role that

discretion plays in potential net-widening is that this discretion often compounds racial and ethnic

disparities.

Thus, with all community-based programming, special precautions should be made to

ensure that the benefits are made equitably to the youth of all races and ethnicities. Part of the

collaboration for the YDP includes a partnership with Race Matters for Juvenile Justice which uses

institutional organizing, education, and workforce development (including race analysis and

implicit bias training) to reduce disproportionality and disparate outcomes for youth and families of

color (www.rmjj.org). Given the current level of racial and ethnic disproportionality and

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