Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Opioid Overdose Education & Naloxone Distributions
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Opioid Overdose Education & Naloxone Distributions
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion/ Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (LEAD) is an evidence-based community diversion program that is a harm reduction response to the criminalization of people with unmet behavioral health needs. LEAD is a voluntary pre-arrest/community diversion program. Operating under the harm reduction model, participants identify personal needs and work together with their case manager to meet the goals outlined in an individualized care plan. There is no time limit to LEAD services. Case management services are offered as long as the individual wishes to participate and as long as they remain eligible.
LEAD Referrals
There are 3 referral pathways into LEAD: prebooking diversion, social contact referral and community referral. All referral pathways aim to refer the same priority populations to LEAD, just at different moments in time. LEAD aims to serve people who have had repeated contacts with the legal system and due to unmet mental health needs, substance use and/or extreme poverty AND are typically excluded or underserved by existing social safety net programs, including: people who are transgender, people experiencing homelessness, immigrants, people with living with HIV, and people who’ve experienced racial disparities in arrests and incarceration.
Prebooking diversion: law enforcement identifies people who have had frequent contact with the justice system and are at the point of arrest for an eligible LEAD offense. The law enforcement officer offers LEAD in lieu of arrest and prosecution. If the person agrees, a case manager meets this individual and law enforcement in the field and begins to work with the participant on goals that are important to them. Charges are held in abeyance for 30 days while the participant completes an assessment and care plan with the case manager. Once these are completed, charges are not filed and the participant has no further legal obligations related to LEAD. The participant and case manager continue to work together on things the participant identifies as important for as long as the participant wishes to remain in LEAD.
Social contact referral: law enforcement or other justice partners, such as probation, prosecutors and public defenders, identify people appropriate for LEAD during regular duties (but not at point of arrest) and refer to a LEAD case manager. Case managers offer the same services, but there are no charges being held in abeyance with a social contact referral.
Community referral: non-justice entities can refer individuals to LEAD who have had or are at risk for repeated law enforcement contact.
Los Angeles County LEAD Sites
ODR currently operates three LEAD sites in Los Angeles County: South Los Angeles/North Long Beach, Hollywood and East Los Angeles.
South Los Angeles/North Long Beach started in November 2017. The partners include: SSG-HOPICS, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Long Beach Police Department, and Long Beach City Prosecutor.
Hollywood started in May 2019. The partners include: Community Health Project Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police Department, City Attorney of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and USC Keck School of Medicine.
East Los Angeles started in May 2021. The partners include: Alma Family Services, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Department of Public Health – Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, LACADA and USC Keck School of Medicine.
Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND)
DHS Providers | LA 50k Partners | OEND Direct to Community | Jail Vending | Jail In Custody | Totals | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Kits Distributed | 9,729 | 3,441 | 19,343 | 20,437 | 300 | 53,250 |
Total Doses Distributed | 19,458 | 6,882 | 38,686 | 40,874 | 600 | 106,500 |
2019 Kits | 841 | - | - | - | - | 841 |
2019 Doses | 1,682 | - | - | - | - | 1,682 |
2020 Kits | 5,144 | - | 9,739 | 14,304 | - | 29,187 |
2020 Doses | 10,288 | - | 19,478 | 28,608 | - | 58,374 |
2021 Doses | 3,744 | - | 9,604 | 6,133 | 300 | 19,781 |
2021 Doses | 7,488 | - | 19,208 | 12,266 | 600 | 39,562 |
LA 50K (since 7/1/21) Kits | 2,724 | 3,441 | 3,251 | 1,770 | - | 11,186 |
LA 50K (since 7/1/21) Doses | 5,448 | 6,882 | 6,502 | 3,540 | - | 22,372 |
Total Reported Uses | - | 132 | 4,776 | - | - | 4,908 |
LA 50K Reported Uses | - | 132 | 1,092 | - | - | 1,224 |
Summary of LEAD Referrals by Site
Hollywood | SLA / NLB | East LA | All Sites | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SPA 4 | SPA 6,8 | SPA 7 | ||||||
N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | |
Total Active | 38 | 56% | 153 | 47% | 11 | 100% | 202 | 50% |
Total Refereed Inactive | 30 | 44% | 176 | 53% | 0 | 0% | 206 | 50% |
Total Referrals (incl. re-ref) | 68 | 100% | 329 | 100% | 11 | 100% | 408 | 100% |
LEAD Referrals by Referral Type, Status and Site
Pre-Booking | Social Contract | Community Referral | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hollywood SPA 4 |
Active | N | 0 | 33 | 5 | 38 |
% | 0% | 87% | 13% | 100% | ||
Total | N | 1 | 62 | 5 | 63 | |
% | 1% | 90% | 7% | 100% | ||
South LA / North Long Beach SPA 6, 8 |
Active | N | 42 | 121 | 0 | 163 |
% | 27% | 79% | 0% | 100% | ||
Total | N | 131 | 198 | 0 | 329 | |
% | 40% | 60% | 0% | 100% | ||
East Los Angeles SPA 7 |
Active | N | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 1% | ||
Total | N | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | |
Total | Active | N | 42 | 165 | 5 | 212 |
% | 20% | 78% | 2% | 1% | ||
Total | N | 132 | 271 | 5 | 408 | |
% | 32% | 66% | 1% | 100% |
LEAD Participant Demographics by Status and Site
Gender | Female | Male | Trans Women | Trans Men | Other | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hollywood SPA 4 |
Active | N | 6 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
% | 16% | 66% | 18% | 0% | 0% | ||
Total | N | 18 | 34 | 14 | 0 | 1 | |
% | 26% | 50% | 21% | 0% | 1% | ||
South LA / North Long Beach SPA 6, 8 |
Active | N | 112 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
% | 73% | 26% | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||
Total | N | 228 | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
% | 69% | 30% | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||
East Los Angeles SPA 7 |
Active | N | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
% | 36% | 64% | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||
Total | N | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | Active | N | 122 | 72 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
% | 64% | 38% | 4% | 0% | 0% | ||
Total | N | 250 | 140 | 15 | 0 | 1 | |
% | 63% | 35% | 4% | 0% | 0% |
Ethnicity | African American Black | Asian Pacific Islander | Caucasian White | Latinx | Native America | Other | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hollywood SPA 4 |
Active | N | 19 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
% | 50% | 3% | 34% | 8% | 0% | 3% | ||
Total | N | 35 | 1 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 3 | |
% | 51% | 1% | 29% | 10% | 0% | 4% | ||
South LA / North Long Beach SPA 6, 8 |
Active | N | 82 | 0 | 28 | 31 | 3 | 0 |
% | 54% | 0% | 18% | 20% | 2% | 0% | ||
Total | N | 157 | 4 | 72 | 33 | 3 | 0 | |
% | 48% | 1% | 22% | 25% | 1% | 0% | ||
East Los Angeles SPA 7 |
Active | N | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0% | 0% | ||
Total | N | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | Active | N | 101 | 1 | 41 | 45 | 3 | 1 |
% | 53% | 1% | 21% | 23% | 2% | 1% | ||
Total | N | 192 | 5 | 92 | 101 | 3 | 3 | |
% | 48% | 1% | 23% | 26% | 1% | 1% |
LEAD Outcomes
Based on evaluation of South LA/North Long Beach Site
- colorLEAD
- colorComparison
At 12 Months
- Felony arrests were five times lower for LEAD participants.
- Felony cases were almost five times lower for LEAD participants.
- LEAD participants spent about 4 x less months on probation as people in comparison group.
- Misdemeanor arrests were 50% lower for people in LEAD.
LEAD participants had lower odds of:
Outcome | AOR | 95% CI |
---|---|---|
Misdemeanor arrest at 6 mo | 0.52 | 0.35,0.78 |
Felony arrest at 6 mo | 0.13 | 0.07,0.29 |
Felony filed cases at 6 mo | 0.14 | 0.05,0.37 |
Misdemeanor at 12 mo | 0.65 | 0.45,0.91 |
Felony arrest at 12 mo | 0.19 | 0.08,0.45 |
Felony filed cases at 12 mo | 0.21 | 0.07,0.59 |
Probation months at 12 months | 0.24 | 0.10,0.60 |
Summary of LEAD Referrals by Site
South LA / North Long Beach | Hollywood | East Los Angeles | All Sites | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | |
Total Referrals | 329 | 100% | 68 | 100% | 16 | 100% | 413 | 100% |
Pre-Booking | 131 | 40 | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% | 132 | 32% |
Total Referrals (incl. re-ref) | 198 | 60% | 62 | 90% | 16 | 100% | 276 | 67% |
Total Referrals (incl. re-ref) | 0 | 0% | 5 | 7% | 0 | 0% | 5 | 1% |
LEAD Participant Demographics by Status and Site
South LA / North Long Beach | Hollywood | East Los Angeles | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | % | N | % | N | % | |
Female | 228 | 69% | 18 | 26% | 4 | 36% |
Male | 99 | 30% | 34 | 50% | 7 | 64% |
Trans Women | 1 | 0% | 14 | 21% | 0 | 0% |
Trans Men | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
Other | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% |
African American / Black | 157 | 48% | 35 | 51% | 0 | 0% |
Asian / Pacific Islander | 4 | 1% | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% |
Caucasian / White | 72 | 22% | 20 | 29% | 0 | 0% |
Latinx | 83 | 25% | 7 | 10% | 11 | 100% |
Native American | 3 | 1% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
Other | 0 | 0% | 3 | 4% | 0 | 0% |