Minnesota's School-Based Diversion Model (SBDM): School Year 2020-21 Findings

The Minnesota's School-Based Diversion Model (SBDM) is a student-centered plan to keep youth from entering the criminal justice system due to arrests at school or during school hours. Wilder Research is working with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to help collect and analyze information about how the SBDM is helping each pilot program increase screenings, assessments, and referrals to mental and chemical health treatments, as well as to improve students' school attendance and responses to behavioral situations. This report focuses on data for the 2020-21 school year. It is important to note that three significant events occurred during this reporting period: (1) the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police; and (3) the killing of Duante Wright by Brooklyn Park police. This report provides a brief overview of some of the ways these factors affected the pilot sites for the School-Based Diversion Model, including referrals and service provision as well as opportunities and creative approaches. Due to the limited number of referrals for school year 2020-2021, limited data were gathered for reporting. [For "Minnesota's School-Based Diversion Model (SBDM): School Year 2019-20 Findings," see ED616801.]