Pursuant to the 2024 Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation, enacted on June 20, 2024, the Attorney General is charged with the development and administration of a statewide comprehensive educational diversion program for youth engaged in the nonconsensual possession, sharing, posting, forwarding, or purchasing of nude or sexual digital images of other minors. The AGO is partnering with the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) and the Department of Youth Services (DYS) to develop this Diversion Program. The Program educates youth regarding safe and responsible technology use and promotes healthy relationships and sexuality.
Diversion to the AGO program is mandatory for juveniles charged with the offenses under the following sections of Mass. General Laws Chapter 272:
- § 29B: Dissemination of visual material of a child in state of nudity or sexual conduct
- § 29C: Knowing purchase or possession of visual material of a child depicted in sexual conduct
- § 29D: Dissemination, purchase or possession of unlawful explicit visual material of a child by a minor
If a District Attorney objects to diversion, the Court must hold a hearing to make a final determination of eligibility. Youth charged with violations of other laws in connection with conduct related to sharing explicit images may be referred to the Program if the Juvenile Court or District Attorney determines the Program may be beneficial.
The AGO Youth Diversion Program (AGO YDP) is currently operating in an interim phase. The AGO has partnered with the Department of Youth Services (DYS) to administer the Program utilizing the existing structures of the Massachusetts Youth Diversion Program (MYDP). This means that all youth referred to the AGO Youth Diversion Program will be directed to the appropriate regional MYDP Diversion Coordinator in or adjacent to the county in which the youth lives. Youth will meet with the Diversion Coordinator to review and discuss the legal and nonlegal consequences of sexting and sharing explicit images online. Each educational session will be tailored to the age, developmental stage, and circumstances of the individual youth.
If the referring party believes that the youth requires more services than those provided in YDP’s educational diversion program, the Court or DAO may recommend dual referral to Massachusetts Youth Diversion Program or another regional diversion program. Through dual referral, the youth will gain access to the educational diversion session and further resources, including a needs assessment, case management, and MYDP’s resource matrix (e.g., therapeutic services, food assistance, etc.). For more information on MYDP, please contact DYS Senior Director of Strategic Innovation at Katherine.Perry-Lorentz@mass.gov.
The list below contains information on regional juvenile diversion programs and trainings available through county DA’s offices:
- Berkshire County
- Bristol County
- South Coast Youth Courts: A non-District Attorney Program, this organization employs a peer court model to divert youth with eligible offenses away from the traditional justice system.
- Cape & Islands
- Essex County
- Hampden County
- Educational Programs offered through the Community Safety and Outreach Unit on various topics such as “1 in 11: Preventing Dating Violence,” “Social Media Applications: Safe and Risky Use,” and “Internet Safety”
- Middlesex County
- Northwestern Country (Franklin and Hampshire)
- Plymouth County
- Suffolk County
- Internet Safety “Stop, Block, Talk” Training
- Worcester County
*Please note that Norfolk County does not have information available online regarding diversion programs and/or relevant trainings.
- The Department of Public Health: this webpage has additional resources and tools for youth regarding healthy relationships.
- Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs): With twelve locations across Massachusetts, CACs have a multidisciplinary team of professionals who offer coordinated responses to allegations of child sexual and severe physical abuse.
Over the course of the next several months, we will continue to seek feedback from stakeholders across the Commonwealth, with the goal of launching an online learning management system (LMS) which will replace the educational pamphlet.