BROOKINGS – Ten months after its inception, the Brookings County State’s Attorney’s Office and community partners who helped start an alcohol diversion program here say it’s working.

As of Dec. 20, 120 individuals had accepted the program. One hundred successfully completed it, along with a total 1,000 hours of community service, and 13 were pending and on track for completion. 

Seven individuals have been unsuccessful with the program.

The program is intended for adults ages 18-20 who are cited for underage consumption of alcohol, and it must be their first-time offense and the only charge they are facing, State’s Attorney Dan Nelson said.

When defendants come to court and are advised of their rights, they’re offered to participate in the voluntary diversion program. They may choose to proceed with the court case and ultimately pay a $120 fine if convicted.

If they select the diversion program, they have 30 days to complete 10 hours of community service at a participating nonprofit and a three-hour Prime For Life class, which includes an up-front $100 fee.

Upon completion of the diversion program, the underage consumption charge is dismissed, and, per state law, the arrest can be expunged from an individual’s criminal record after 15 months.

Completing the diversion program is more work than simply paying a fine, but Nelson says it’s worth it to keep from having a criminal record. Even a misdemeanor conviction can affect a person’s future, perhaps keeping them from landing a job or being accepted into or progressing in an academic program, such as pharmacy or nursing.

“I can’t tell you the amount of times where I’ve had an individual call me asking what they can do to try to get an underage citation conviction off their record,” Nelson said. He also hears from prospective employers looking into applicants’ backgrounds.

More than one-third of those cited for underage consumption in Brookings County in 2019 – there were a total of 310 as of Dec. 20 – have chosen the diversion program. Some weren’t able to due to it being a second offense or they were facing other charges. Also, the program wasn’t available until early March.

Praise from partners

Two entities involved in the program, Brookings Behavioral Health and Wellness, which hosts the class, and Brookings Area Habitat for Humanity, which offers community service opportunities for those in the program, believe it’s helping both the program participants and the community.

Brookings Behavioral Health and Wellness’ Substance Abuse Services Director Robin Erz developed the risk-reduction class, versus an abstinence-only model.

“It’s really based in having them assess their level of risk based on biology, economics, other outlying factors, ... and then make different choices.”

Erz said she aims to provide education, prevention techniques and coping strategies for participants. The class also includes an element of science, by showing brain scans that show the effects of drug and alcohol use.

Students identify their goals moving forward, how they’re impacted by the choices they’ve made in the past, and what they’ll choose to do in the future.

“I think it’s been very beneficial, and I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from those who’ve participated,” Erz said. “It’s been eye-opening, the information that’s presented and the way it’s been presented.”

BBHW Executive Director Mary Beth Fishback said the facility continues to grow its mental health and substance abuse treatment services and bring on new staff members, “because we’ve just seen an incredible need in Brookings County for services.”

Also a diversion program nonprofit partner, Brookings Area Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore puts volunteers to work behind the scenes, doing tasks such as cleaning and processing donations, moving shelving or inventory, and other one-time projects.

They’ve had 20 volunteers as of Dec. 1 come from the diversion program, BAHFH Executive Director Dan McColley said.

“There’s only three fulltime people who run the ReStore, so we rely on volunteers,” ReStore Manager Randy Grimsley said. “This is certainly a resource that we can utilize and can respectfully help them out while they help us. ... It also allows us to take on projects beyond our day-to-day operations.”

Grimsley sees the diversion program as turning a bad experience into a positive one.

Both entities say the program has also exposed participants, many of whom are college students not from Brookings, to services and organizations in the community of which they previously may not have been aware. 

It integrates them into the community, Erz said, and gives them a sense of responsibility to give back and grow. “It puts them on a different footing moving forward for the rest of their college career.”

Some ReStore volunteers have returned for more service even after they’ve completed the diversion program’s 10-hour requirement. 

“They feel tied into the community in a different way, which I believe that leads to a respect in the community in a different way, too,” Grimsley said. 

And Erz said some individuals who’ve been to the alcohol class have sought out ongoing or other services offered by Brookings Behavioral Health and Wellness – treatment they may not have known was available here before that.

“They now know that our services are available, and if they’re struggling, they can reach out for help,” Fishback added.

Meeting a need

Nelson said he feels the alcohol diversion program has met a need in the community and has been so successful that he wants to start other programs for different types of offenses, such as first-time marijuana misdemeanor charges.

Research supports that law enforcement can do a better job of keeping individuals from reoffending with a diversion program than they can with a criminal conviction, Nelson said.

Of the 120 participants here, three have returned to the criminal justice system, either on the same charge or a different charge. 

“It’s incredibly low recidivism,” Nelson said. “I don’t think we’re getting soft on crime. I think we’re getting smart on crime. And I think that’s a key distinction, because this program holds them accountable, and it sets them up for success rather than failure.

“This is the future. ... You have to strike a balance between an effective program but also a program that can be completed without too many hoops to jump through.”

Nelson said most of the individuals who sign up for the program are responsible, successful, motivated South Dakota State University students who made a mistake.

“They realize that this conviction, as small as it might be, is going to hold them back. … That’s the last thing I want. Why would I, or anyone else in this room, want a student to not complete that schooling? For something as small as this, where we can have them reinvest in the community, get some substance abuse help or mental health help, is a no brainer.”

Contact Jill Fier at jfier@brookingsregister.com.