The U.S. Department of Justice awarded a $1 million grant to the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney to grow the OAR Diversion Program. The OAR Diversion Program was created in 2022 in partnership with OAR of Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church (OAR) through the Vera Institute for Justice’s Motion for Justice Program (MFJ).

MFJ brings together prosecutors’ offices and system-impacted communities to design and pilot diversion programs that promote community safety by centering racial equity. The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church was the first MFJ pilot site.

The Department of Justice issued five awards nationally under the FY24 Second Chance Act Pay for Success Program. The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington and the City of Falls Church was the only prosecutor office to receive this grant award, which is the maximum awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Second Chance Act Pay for Success Program.

The Pay for Success grant will allow OAR to grow their diversion program staff and provide services (directly or through referral) to program participants including mental health and substance use disorder treatment, procurement of vital documents, housing, job and vocational training, fitness and physical wellbeing support, and expanding participants’ pro-social support networks.

"This grant is a monumental step forward in our work to create a better, more humane, and more cost-effective model for improving public safety," said Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti. "Our collaboration with OAR to create this diversion program is an evidence based, cost-effective approach to prosecution for people who suffer from mental illness and substance use disorder."

The grant funds project activities from FY 2025 through FY 2030. The Director of Restorative Justice and Diversion, Grace Woodward, was instrumental in obtaining this grant and will oversee performance aspects.

"We have long known that jail and prison do not address the reasons that many people find themselves caught in the criminal legal system," stated Elizabeth Jones Valderrama, Executive Director of OAR. "And yet there has been such limited funding for alternatives that address a person’s underlying needs and address personal and systemic racism, which together help make the community safer."