Shoshone County rolls out diversion program

WALLACE — Shoshone County Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Allen is taking a step to reduce substance abuse and recidivism in the community through the launch of an innovative adult criminal diversion program called the Shoshone County Idaho Law Enforcement Diversion, or ILED, program.

ILED is a statewide coalition of local diversion initiatives that create an alternative pathway to treatment early in the criminal justice process. Individuals in Shoshone County facing a non-violent drug charge who also meet specific eligibility criteria will be offered substance use treatment and intensive case management in lieu of incarceration.

Participants who demonstrate success and abstinence for a sufficient period of time, usually 12 months, will graduate from the program and be screened out of the criminal justice system, decreasing the workload of local law enforcement agencies and attempting to reduce the financial burden of criminal activity on detention centers and court facilities.

Shoshone County is not the first ILED initiative in Idaho. Other ILEDs exist in southern Idaho and the Idaho State Police launched their own North Idaho initiative last summer in partnership with Panhandle Health District, treatment providers and prosecuting attorneys in Kootenai County.

But Shoshone County will be the first program of its kind in the state with two significant deviations from traditional ILED programs.

First, referrals will come after an initial arrest has been made and defendants have a period of forced sobriety in incarceration to decrease the likelihood of immediate relapse as defendants begin treatment. Second, defendants who meet the criteria for eligibility and desire to obtain treatment will move directly from incarceration to treatment with no waiting periods. This process will be made possible through the use of a treatment provider who will work directly inside the courthouse and have a caseload dedicated solely to Shoshone County defendants. As an added component, the program also calls for a urinalysis testing center to be implemented inside the courthouse, streamlining treatment processes and ensuring accountability.

“If we are going to tackle the issue of drug addiction which continues to plague our small rural towns across Idaho, we have to address the issue at its source, which means not only having the ability to act swiftly to remedy noncompliance but also providing the treatment mechanisms for those desiring help to be able to address their addiction,” Allen said.

The implementation of Shoshone County’s solution comes at a critical time in Idaho’s deadly drug overdose epidemic. The number of Idahoans who lose their lives to an overdose continues to climb, increasing another 8% this past year, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Drug Overdose Prevention Program, and Shoshone County shows up near the top of that list yet again. Fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid that comes in powder or counterfeit pill form, has saturated Idaho’s illicit drug supply and greatly contributed to the surge of overdose deaths in Idaho.

The hiring of a new treatment professional will try to meet these statistics head on and will be made possible through a grant from the Idaho Department of Corrections, which Allen helped write. The final grant, for expedited access to treatment for the most-vulnerable, will dedicate roughly $420,000 over the next three years to facilitate the rollout.

While the ILED planning board has laid the groundwork, the program cannot begin without a treatment provider.

Experienced certified drug and alcohol counselors interested in joining this local partnership between criminal justice, law enforcement, public health and behavioral health should visit Shoshone County's website or contact administrator Colleen Rosson at crosson@co.shoshone.id.us.

"This position, which was formally approved this month by the Shoshone County BOCC, is a full-time position that offers applicants both the benefits of government employment and the unique opportunity to be at the forefront of this groundbreaking initiative," a news release stated.