More than 20 people charged with crimes in Wayne County are receiving help getting a job and other services as part of a pilot program aimed at helping low-level, non-violent offenders get back on their feet.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel launched the diversionary program in June, and Wayne, Genesee, and Marquette counties are testing it.
With a combined $4.8 million in funding, the job courts are set up to help several hundred defendants find employment and services, and if they complete the year-long program, their charges will be dismissed.
Calling the program “transformative,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said her office plans to help up to 200 defendants.
“We really want people to succeed,” Worthy said at a news conference Monday. “When someone looks at a prosecutor’s office, they don’t look at that as our mantra. They look at us as just putting people in jail, throwing away the key, and that is never the mantra at this office.”
To qualify for the program, a defendant must have committed a low-level, non-assaultive crime and demonstrate a strong likelihood for rehabilitation.
So far in Wayne County, the average age of participants is 30, and most have been charged with concealed weapons and lower-level drug offenses. Eighteen of the participants are men, and three are women.
Worthy said her office is trying to spread the word about the program to ensure up to 200 defendants participate.
“It seems like the largest impediment is getting the word out,” Terry Anderson, chief of trials for the prosecutor’s office, said. “We just hope that many applicants apply.”
Those offering jobs to defendants in Wayne County are Focus: Hope, Bridgewater Interiors, Stellantis, Detroit Works, Goodwill Industries, Michigan Rehabilitation Services, and the Carpenters and Millwrights union.
Participants are also offered services for addiction, mental health, literacy, transportation, food, clothing, and driver’s license restoration.
Participants who successfully complete the program will have their cases dismissed, Worthy said.
“This program is smart on crime and reduces the burden on the community,” Worthy said. “When people enter the Wayne County justice system, we want to make sure they are successful, especially when it’s lower-level crimes.”
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