Justice Policy Board: Fulton County diversion center underused; board seeks staffing, warrant clinic and outreach

Fulton County officials said Wednesday the county’s diversion center is functioning but far below its intended use and outlined steps to increase referrals from law enforcement.

Judge Robert McBurney, co-chair of the county’s Justice Policy Board, told the Fulton County Board of Commissioners the center has handled about 400 diversions through May and turns people around quickly: an average drop-off ‘‘turnaround time’’ of about 83 seconds. But overall daily traffic is ‘‘about 3 a day’’ instead of the modeled capacity of up to 40 per day.

The center was created to give officers an option to bring people in crisis to a staffed facility for assessment and services rather than book them into jail. McBurney said the facility is consent-based, open 24/7 and modeled on similar centers in Tucson and Houston. ‘‘We change 3 lives a day. That's great. That's 3 more than before, but we built something that can do more and we ought to empower it to do,’’ McBurney told commissioners.

Why it matters: diversion aims to reduce short, costly jail stays for people with behavioral health or basic needs problems while connecting them to services. Board members said higher utilization…