Case Studies
July 14, 2026
Reducing recidivism through misdemeanor diversion: Oklahoma County, OK
Published on: July 14, 2026
- Issue Areas
- Justice and public safety
- Outcomes
- Stable and healthy families
MORE ABOUT THE STRATEGY USED IN THIS CASE STUDY Diversion programs and incarceration alternatives
Overview
Summary
- In 2016, Oklahoma voters passed State Question 780, which reclassified several low-level felonies to misdemeanors, including drug possession. While misdemeanor convictions carry lighter sentences than felonies, they can still negatively impact individuals’ ability to secure employment, housing, and more, and they often lead to escalating and cyclical involvement with the justice system. The misdemeanor justice system also has significant economic consequences, with the costs of public defense, prosecution, and incarceration totaling more than $22.7 million annually for Oklahoma taxpayers.
- Launched in 2021, the Misdemeanor Diversion Program (MDP) connects misdemeanor defendants in Oklahoma County with the resources and services needed to succeed and prevent future justice system involvement. MDP clients who successfully complete an individualized 90-day program have their charges dismissed and are not required to pay court fees. The program has successfully reduced recidivism and provided critical stabilizing support for clients experiencing challenges such as substance use disorder, housing instability, and more. MDP is administered by Diversion Hub, a nonprofit organization that aims to reduce justice system involvement through direct services and wraparound supports.
- Maintaining consistent contact with clients can be challenging for MDP case managers, especially for transient clients who lack access to stable housing. An evaluation showed that approximately 58% of unhoused clients completed the program successfully, compared to 80% of their housed peers. Access to transportation is another major challenge: Nearly three-quarters of MDP clients do not own a vehicle, which can make it difficult to fulfill court and program requirements in a sprawling city with limited public transit.
- Keys to success include dedicated and persistent MDP case managers, a highly individualized program model that addresses each client’s unique strengths and needs, and strong partnerships with the Oklahoma County court system. Clients and partners also highlight the importance of Diversion Hub’s commitment to being a convenient “one-stop shop” with over a dozen community partners located on site, streamlining access to services and improving cross-agency collaboration.
Results and Accomplishments
70%
Approximately 70% of clients successfully graduate from the program and have their charges dismissed.
41%
Two years after completing the program, clients had a 41% lower rate of new charges compared to the general county jail population (11.6% vs. 19.6%).
2,200+
MDP has served over 2,200 clients as of mid-2026.
- Graduating clients successfully: Approximately 70% of MDP clients successfully graduate the program by completing their individualized 90-day case plan, resulting in the dismissal of their misdemeanor charges and full waiving of their court fees. When graduating clients go before a judge to have their charges dismissed, they receive a certificate of completion honoring their accomplishments in the program.
- Reducing recidivism: Criminal behavior often escalates from misdemeanors to felonies. MDP aims to break this cycle by putting clients on a path to success and helping them avoid future contact with the justice system. Research found that Diversion Hub clients had significantly lower rates of both new charges and new jail bookings than their counterparts who did not participate in the program.
- Helping individuals access treatment: Individualized wraparound supports, including mental and behavioral health treatment, are a key feature of MDP. Of clients who voluntarily disclosed experiencing challenges with substance use, nearly 83% of those accessed substance use treatment through MDP.
Solution
What was the challenge?
- A growing number of misdemeanors: Following the implementation of State Question 780 in 2017, which reclassified several low-level felony charges like drug possession as misdemeanors, the volume of misdemeanors in Oklahoma increased significantly. The state averages over 53,000 misdemeanor filings annually (including roughly 4,500 in Oklahoma County alone), costing taxpayers more than $22 million each year. While not as serious as felonies, misdemeanor convictions can still have negative consequences, such as incarceration or difficulty securing employment based on one’s criminal record. Furthermore, the complicated legal processes associated with these charges often trap individuals in a cycle of technical compliance violations, where simple mistakes like missing a court date or failing to pay court fees can result in revoked bonds or new arrest warrants.
- Cost burdens on defendants: Oklahoma's justice system places an immense financial burden on defendants. On average, a person convicted of a misdemeanor in the state is required to pay over $1,100 in court fines and fees. These costs can be devastating for those without the disposable income to pay these costs, especially considering that one in seven Oklahomans lives below the poverty line. Individuals who cannot afford to pay can become trapped in a cycle of compounding court costs, and ultimately about two-thirds of all fines and fees across the state go uncollected.
- Systemic factors driving justice system involvement: Traditional court systems often fail to address the underlying drivers of justice system involvement such as housing instability, financial insecurity, unmet mental health needs, untreated substance use disorder. Basic needs insecurity (that is, a lack of consistent access to essential needs like food, housing, and transportation) can make it difficult to meet court system requirements. As a result, vulnerable individuals often end up incarcerated, as traditional approaches fail to provide stabilizing support.
- Disproportionate impacts on communities of color: Oklahoma's criminal code includes over 470 different misdemeanor offenses, including some that are vague and subject to interpretation, such as “disturbance by a loud or unusual noise.” This broad discretion means that misdemeanors can be used to police social settings or criminalize behaviors associated with unmet basic needs. White residents make up about 72% of the Oklahoma County population but only about 43% of MDP clients, suggesting that selective enforcement of misdemeanor codes disproportionately impacts communities of color.
What was the approach?
- Co-designing a misdemeanor diversion model: Diversion Hub drew inspiration from successful initiatives in other cities, including New York and Tulsa, when designing its programs (including MDP). While some diversion programs focus on populations with specific needs, such as individuals experiencing substance use disorder, Diversion Hub wanted MDP to serve a broader population experiencing various forms of basic needs insecurity. Diversion Hub designed the model collaboratively with the courts and intentionally retained flexibility to adapt the model over time to help secure judicial buy-in. Although judges and district attorneys maintain the authority to approve all program admissions, the model requires them to cede some of their traditional control over misdemeanor cases. One judge noted that the courts were willing to make this trade-off in exchange for Diversion Hub taking on the heavy lifting of case management.
- Diverting eligible defendants: Clients are primarily identified for MDP through direct referrals from both public defenders and private attorneys. Most misdemeanor defendants are eligible to participate, with the exception of those facing charges for domestic violence or driving under the influence (stakeholders recommended excluding these charges because in addition to their seriousness, they are also “enhanceable,” meaning that if the defendant is charged with the same crime a second time, it is filed as a felony). Once approved, eligible defendants are diverted into a 90-day program that involves a guilty plea and delayed sentencing. If clients successfully engage with services throughout the program, their delayed sentencing culminates in a dismissal of their case without court costs.
- Creating individualized 90-day case plans: Once enrolled, clients complete a comprehensive strengths and needs assessment during their first appointment with a dedicated case manager. By the end of this initial appointment, they have an intensive, highly individualized case plan mapped out for the 90-day program. Diversion Hub submits a 45-day update to the court on whether the client is fully engaged, partially engaged, or disengaged from services. At the end of the 90 days, clients return to court where case managers present a final report on their accomplishments along with a pass/fail recommendation. At this time, the court is able to raise any concerns or propose an extension, if needed. Successful clients receive a certificate alongside an official dismissal of their charges.
- Connecting clients to services: Diversion Hub case managers serve as navigators who recognize community partners as critical to their clients' success. Partner organizations co-locate at Diversion Hub’s headquarters to provide wraparound supports that simultaneously address housing, transportation, legal services, behavioral health, substance use treatment, clothing, food, and physical health needs during the 90-day program. Employment assistance (such as workforce training and partnering with fair-chance employers) also serves as a critical support to help prevent future justice system involvement: 84% of employed clients graduate the program, more than 10% higher than the overall graduation rate. Clients can continue to access services after program completion through optional post-MDP case management.
Who was involved?
- Diversion Hub staff: Case managers are dedicated full-time Diversion Hub staff who serve as coaches and navigators for their clients. These staff connect participants with specialized service providers to address their specific needs. Case managers also liaise with the courts to advocate for clients and report on their engagement.
- Partner organizations: Diversion Hub co-locates with 15 on-site community providers, such as Red Rock Behavioral Health Services and Upward Transitions, to create an accessible one-stop shop for participants. Diversion Hub also works with several additional community partners located off-site. This network of expert partners collectively addresses a wide variety of stabilizing needs including housing navigation, behavioral and mental health treatment, and more.
- Judges and district attorneys: Court officials actively participated in the program's design and implementation, ensuring key partners felt comfortable delegating authority to Diversion Hub. Critically, judges and district attorneys had to be willing to agree that they would dismiss successful participants’ charges. Diversion Hub secured this buy-in by ensuring district attorneys and judges retained the authority to approve all admissions into MDP and would have the opportunity to weigh in on Diversion Hub’s pass/fail recommendation.
- Clients: MDP actively utilizes client feedback to continuously inform and improve its program model. Staff survey all program participants to gather qualitative data on the program's impact and identify areas for growth.
How was this approach funded?
Diversion Hub's new headquarters, opened in May 2026 with construction funded by the voter-backed MAPS 4 sales tax initiative
- Seed funding from local philanthropy: The Arnall Family Foundation provided the foundational funding to launch Diversion Hub and pilot its initial efforts. This early philanthropic support allowed the organization to start small, understand gaps in the existing justice system, and pilot the initial misdemeanor diversion model The foundation continues to contribute project-based and general operational funding for Diversion Hub, some of which supports MDP’s ongoing operations.
- Voter-backed local investment: Oklahoma City’s Metropolitan Area Projects Plan (MAPS) initiative is a capital improvement program to provide funding for neighborhood improvement, quality of life initiatives, and job creation. Oklahoma City voters passed MAPS 4 in 2019, providing $1.1 billion for public improvement projects through a penny sales tax. Nearly $19 million in MAPS 4 funding was allocated toward a new 35,000-square-foot headquarters for Diversion Hub. While this funding is restricted to physical infrastructure and does not support ongoing operations, the newly constructed facility enables the co-location of more than a dozen community partners under one roof, which is core to MDP’s model.
- State and federal funding focused on substance use: Diversion Hub pursued a Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) grant from the U.S. Department of Justice after internal MDP data revealed that clients experiencing substance use disorder (SUD) were struggling to succeed and needed more accessible support. This three-year, $1.6 million grant successfully expanded on-site SUD and co-occurring disorder treatment services, while also providing critical funding for an evaluation of MDP. MDP has also established a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Use Services that funds one case manager position and is renewed annually.
Timeline
State Question 780 passes as a ballot initiative in Oklahoma, reducing several low-level felonies to misdemeanors.
A staff of five funded by the Arnall Family Foundation begins conducting root cause analyses to understand the drivers of justice system involvement and designing the program that would eventually become Diversion Hub.
Oklahoma City voters approve MAPS 4, a $1.1 billion public improvement initiative funded by a penny sales tax. Diversion Hub is chosen as a MAPS 4 recipient to receive $19 million toward construction of a new headquarters facility.
Diversion Hub is formally launched with a staff of 25 operating two main programs: case management (focused on stabilizing supports) and justice navigation (focused on helping people navigate and meet their court requirements).
After more than six months of collaborative planning with judges, district attorneys, and other stakeholders, MDP officially launches in Oklahoma County in August of 2021.
Diversion Hub receives a $1.6 million grant from the Department of Justice’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program, enabling the expansion of MDP and a three-year evaluation of the program’s outcomes.
Diversion Hub moves into a 35,000-square-foot facility funded by MAPS 4, which better accommodates staff and partners serving MDP clients. 80+ Diversion Hub staff now serve more than 8,000 unique clients per year, including 600+ MDP clients.
This investment will enable a multi-year randomized control trial, considered the gold standard in causal research methods, to evaluate the impact of MDP in two rural Oklahoma counties.
Implementation
What were the key components of the program’s design?
- Supportive and consistent engagement: Diversion Hub’s commitment to wraparound supports emphasizes stability rather than relying on punitive compliance mechanisms like mandatory drug testing or ankle monitors. Case managers are persistent in their outreach and follow-through with clients. When necessary, they can provide clients with tools to enable them to succeed, such as a cell phone so they can stay in touch with their case manager through calls and texts.
- Case dismissal upon program completion: If participants successfully complete their individualized case plan, their delayed sentencing culminates in a complete dismissal of their case. On occasion, if a client needs more time than 90 days to complete their case plan, the court may grant an extension. This incentive of a dismissal without cost encourages high rates of program uptake and ongoing engagement among eligible defendants. By removing the weight of a misdemeanor charge and its associated consequences, the program offers a tangible reward for clients who commit to fully engaging with the program.
- Financial accessibility: MDP is entirely free of charge for clients, and successfully completing the program waives the costly court fines and fees associated with the case. Diversion Hub sometimes even offers targeted financial assistance on a case-by-case basis for highly engaged clients to cover emergency needs like rental assistance, gas cards, or other outstanding court fees.
- Time-bound but flexible programming: The core program is designed to be completed in 90 days, a timeframe that has proven to be a key element of its success and encourages higher participation compared to longer models. However, the program maintains flexibility for actively engaged clients who may struggle to achieve stability within that initial window. When needed, case managers can request formal program extensions of three to six months for participants who need more time to complete their case plans.
- Pre- and post-MDP case management: Diversion Hub offers a pre-MDP track that allows staff to begin providing services to individuals while they await formal enrollment, allowing case managers to present a record of proactive engagement to the judge when a client formally pleads into the program. Similarly, a post-MDP track ensures that graduates who desire continued support can still access stabilizing services beyond their initial 90-day period. An evaluation found that clients who engaged in pre-MDP case management before pleading into the program successfully completed the program at a higher rate than those who did not.
What factors drove success?
- Building trust and human connection: Case managers offer genuine care, consistent follow-up, and human connection in a judgment-free environment. To ensure staff have the capacity to build these relationships, MDP caseloads are capped at 60 clients per case manager. One program graduate emphasized that clients must be willing to put in the hard work to change their lives, and that having a case manager who acts as a trusted friend and accountability partner is essential for success.
- Securing stakeholder buy-in: The program successfully secured early buy-in from the courts by showing that it could alleviate judges’ and attorneys’ workloads through addressing clients’ needs outside the courtroom. By delegating this work to Diversion Hub, court officials were able to focus on their core job duties while trusting that defendants were receiving appropriate support. Furthermore, Diversion Hub committed to remaining highly flexible, inviting ongoing feedback on the model to ensure it met the local justice system’s needs.
- Co-locating services: By centralizing several community partners under one roof, Diversion Hub removes logistical barriers for its clients, some of whom lack access to transportation. This co-location model allows clients to accomplish multiple critical stabilizing steps – such as securing state IDs, applying for SNAP benefits, and scheduling therapy – all in the same place and often in a single day. Centralizing these resources is especially vital in a sprawling city like Oklahoma City, where limited public transportation often creates barriers to fulfilling court requirements and accessing services.
- Responding nimbly to court stakeholders’ and clients’ needs: Diversion Hub staff are reliable partners who bring a "whatever it takes" mindset to their clients and the courthouse, which has helped the organization develop a reputation as a trusted partner to the local justice system and broader community. The hands-on, intensive support that case managers provide sets MDP apart from many traditional models. For example, when an MDP client experienced a severe medical emergency, her case manager personally accompanied her to the hospital and stayed by her side until she was stabilized – a level of commitment that the client credits with building the trust necessary for her to achieve long-term sobriety and housing stability.
What were the major obstacles?
- Navigating transportation challenges: Transportation is a major hurdle in Oklahoma City, a geographically large metropolitan area with limited public transit. Most MDP clients (roughly 68%) do not own a car. To bridge this gap, Diversion Hub provides bus passes, helps arrange transportation through Uber and specialized "ridecare" for medical or sobriety needs, and offers rides from case managers using Diversion Hub-owned vehicles. Despite these efforts, more capacity is needed to serve all clients who struggle with transportation.
- Managing in-custody pleas: In recent years, the program has begun allowing individuals to plead into MDP directly from custody. These individuals often face complex barriers upon release, such as lacking basic contact information, experiencing gaps in medication or treatment, or lacking immediate stable housing. Because these challenges make it harder for highly vulnerable clients to successfully navigate the system, MDP’s overall completion rate has experienced a slight decline since accepting more in-custody pleas.
- Adapting the model for rural areas: As the organization expands its services outside of Oklahoma County, it is required to adapt the program model based on what local county judges and district attorneys are comfortable with. For example, a variation of the model implemented in Cleveland County utilizes a six-month timeline instead of 90 days and does not offer a guaranteed case dismissal upon completion. Furthermore, transportation challenges are amplified in rural settings when clients are spread across large geographical distances, and it is more difficult to co-locate services in communities that lack an abundance of local service providers.
How was the approach measured and refined?
- Partnering with evaluators: Diversion Hub collaborates with multiple external research partners to evaluate its impact. The University of Central Oklahoma conducts annual mixed-methods MDP evaluations as part of the three-year COSSUP grant to analyze client outcomes, including graduation and recidivism rates, and identify ongoing areas for improvement. A partnership with the Oklahoma Data Exchange will soon automate the transfer of court information directly into Diversion Hub’s database, reducing the manual effort required from staff for data entry and freeing up more time for client services. Diversion Hub also partnered with the Urban Institute on a study to assess the outcomes of its full suite of programs (including, but not limited to, MDP) and will continue the partnership on a multi-year randomized control trial to evaluate the impact of MDP in two rural counties.
- Tracking recidivism through administrative data: Diversion Hub partners with the Oklahoma Policy Institute (OPI) to compare client outcomes against the general population of the Oklahoma County Detention Center. Through OPI, Diversion Hub can track the rates of new charges filed and new jail bookings using administrative data. By tracking these data at regular intervals post-program completion, the program can confidently demonstrate that its graduates recidivate at significantly lower rates than the general county population.
- Analyzing internal program data: Staff continuously analyze MDP intake data to identify service gaps and assess whether the right partnerships are in place to meet clients' needs. Additionally, participants complete exit surveys that provide essential qualitative feedback, and Diversion Hub is actively working to increase response rates for those who do not complete the program.
- Maturing evaluation capacity: As the organization's research capabilities grow, its next phase of interest focuses on measuring desistance: the process by which individuals desist, or stop, engaging in criminal activity. Measuring desistance would provide a more nuanced look at behavior change than traditional measures of recidivism and would enable MDP to measure positive incremental changes, such as larger gaps of time between justice system involvement or a decline in the overall severity of crimes committed. Diversion Hub also hopes to eventually conduct a return on investment analysis to quantify the taxpayer money saved through misdemeanor diversion and secure funding for a randomized controlled trial to evaluate MDP’s expansion into rural counties.