LEAD is a pre-arrest diversion program in which police officers exercise discretionary authority at point of contact to divert individuals to community-based services in lieu of arrest, prosecution, and incarceration for law violations driven by unmet behavioral health needs. One must enter the program through law enforcement.
LEAD offers case management and legal assistance instead of prosecution and incarceration to individuals suspected of low-level non-violent drug offenses. Case management entails connecting participants with existing resources in the community as well as providing financial support for the fulfillment of participants’ basic needs. Case managers use a trauma-informed harm reduction approach to care that applies a nonjudgmental compassionate style, client-driven goal setting, and no requirement of abstinence from substances. Legal assistance entails coordination of prosecution strategies to support rather than undermine participants’ tailored intervention plans with an eye toward maximizing community health and safety. The aim is to stop the cycle of arrest, prosecution and incarceration by addressing issues such as SUD, untreated mental illness, homelessness and extreme poverty through a public health framework that reduces reliance on the formal criminal justice system.
The Santa Fe Community Foundation is devoted to building healthy and vital communities in the region where: