The standards pertain to the point of pretrial diversion, eligibility for pretrial diversion, enrollment, services, dismissal, noncompletion, confidentiality, program evaluation, and organizational structure. One of the goals reflected in the standards is for pretrial diversion to provide the traditional criminal justice system with greater flexibility and enable the system to conserve its limited resources for cases more appropriately channeled through the adversarial process. The standards are also designed to provide eligible defendants with a dispositional alternative that avoids the consequences of regular criminal processing and possible conviction, yet ensure defendants basic legal rights. Compliance with the standards advances the legitimate societal need to deter and reduce crime by impacting arrest-provoking behavior as it offers participants opportunities for self-development. The standards also help pretrial diversion programs to attain their goals in the most efficient, economical, and nonduplicative manner possible. Commentary accompanies each standard. Appended discussion of staff/participant privilege and the monitoring and evaluation of pretrial diversion program performance and practices