The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, located in Colorado’s 20th Judicial District, has long been a pioneer in diversion programming. With juvenile diversion programming in place for decades and a strategic expansion to include adults, the DA’s Diversion Program has evolved into one of the most robust and thoughtfully implemented models in the country.
Led by Erin Siffing, Deputy Director of Diversion and Restorative Justice, and a talented leadership team, the office has spent the past ten years redefining diversion through the lens of implementation science, harm reduction, restorative practices, and evidence-based supervision. The team diverts nearly 800 youth and adult cases per year, with an impressive 92% successful completion rate. Most individuals who complete diversion have their cases dismissed and records sealed—allowing them to move forward with their lives and avoid long-term justice system involvement.
The challenge
While the diversion team had built a comprehensive and risk-responsive model of diversion, they lacked a digital behavioral health solution that matched the program’s clinical sophistication. Certain tools offered static courses that provided required psychoeducation, but there was not a scalable solution in place that addressed a range of risks and needs, nor were these tools able to offer actionable insights on client progress and engagement to staff.
The team needed a more dynamic, motivational, and person-centered tool—especially for low- and moderate-risk individuals in both supervised and unsupervised diversion. The solution had to align with their values: trauma-informed, strength-based, rooted in motivational interviewing, and designed to avoid unnecessary system entanglement.
The approach
In early 2025, the Boulder County DA’s Office adopted Atlas, a digital behavioral health platform that integrates Interactive Journaling® with motivational interviewing and criminogenic need alignment. Thanks to state-level grant funding, the team was able to launch Atlas free of charge for participants across all diversion tracks—including supervised, unsupervised, and a behavioral health track serving individuals facing acute needs such as homelessness, food insecurity, and lack of Medicaid.
Key to successful implementation was the fit between Atlas and the office’s existing approach. Journals were assigned based on risk and need level, with content supporting both offense-specific education and broader personal growth. Participants engaged with reflective questions, skill-building exercises, and motivational prompts—then discussed their work with diversion coordinators, who reported that Atlas provided structure and depth to those conversations.
Notably, staff appreciated Atlas’s AI-generated participant summaries, which allowed for faster preparation, better documentation, and a clearer picture of progress. As one diversion coordinator noted, “Kids have expressed it has helped them to think of options on their own. It’s not a lot of pressure, but it makes them think.”
Outcomes and growth opportunities
Tangible results so far include:
- Widespread usage: Atlas is now used across all tracks of diversion, including low-risk, moderate-risk, and behavioral health cases.
- Case plan achievement: Among supervised clients with individualized case plans, Atlas supports goal achievement for an estimated 80% of participants.
- Desistance support: Among participants who successfully complete diversion using Atlas, the platform is estimated to play a meaningful role in reducing recidivism for ~60% of individuals.
- Positive participant feedback: Clients reported that digital content was “making them think” and helping them reflect.
The future of diversion programming
While the original decision to adopt Atlas was driven by a need for higher-quality digital interventions, the DA’s Office has stayed with the platform because it enhances—not replaces—the human connection at the heart of their work. Now, with all 50 user seats consistently full and growing interest among participants, the office hopes to continue to scale Atlas to bring consistent, evidence-based proagramming to its diversion programs
Evidence-based, behavioral health Interactive Journaling® curricula are available digitally on Atlas. Atlas can save staff time while supporting fidelity to evidence-based practices.
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