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disparities across our systems, efforts such as these should be included in the law-

enforcement/school partnerships moving forward (McCarter et al., 2017).

Finally, after an increase in school-based referrals in the state of Florida, a collaborative

was formed with representatives from the state’s attorney’s office, county government, the juvenile

justice system, the schools, and county/municipal law enforcement (Sullivan, Dollard, Sellers, &

Mayo, 2010). They came to be called the Civil Citation Oversight Group and have since added

members from the public defender’s office, the courts, the NAACP, children’s service providers,

and local philanthropies. They and others suggest that inter-agency collaboration strengthens

juvenile diversion programs and also makes them more effective and sustainable (Prothrow-Stith,

2004). As Joe Cocozza and colleagues (2005) suggest, “good [diversion] programs nurse their

relationships, building bridges of trust and mutual goals” (p. 939).

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