Chapter 276A

Section 1. The following words, as used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, shall have the following meanings:— ''Assessment'', a thorough and complete measurement of the needs of an individual in, but not limited to, the following areas: education, vocational…

Section 10. A probation officer of a district court, in Boston, the municipal court of the city of Boston or the officer's official designee, when gathering information in accordance with section 85 of chapter 276, shall, at or prior to arraignment of a defendant on a criminal co…

Section 11. A defendant who is determined to be a veteran, on active service or has a history of military service in the armed forces of the United States and who is eligible for diversion or treatment under section 10 may, at arraignment, be afforded a 14–day continuance by the …

Section 12. Nothing in this chapter or chapter 276B shall limit or govern the authority of a district attorney or a police department to divert an offender or to require a district attorney or police department to accept an offender into a program that they operate.

Section 2. The district courts, and in Boston, the municipal court of the city of Boston, shall have jurisdiction to divert to a program, as defined in section one, any person who is charged with an offense or offenses against the commonwealth for which a term of imprisonment may…

Section 3. The probation officers of a district or municipal court, or an official designee of such a probation officer, when gathering information in accordance with section 85 of chapter 276, shall also screen each defendant for the purpose of enabling the judge at arraignment …

Section 4. (a) For the purposes of this section, the term ''serious mental illness'' shall mean a current or recent diagnosis by a qualified mental health professional of at least 1 of the following disorders described in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical …

Section 5. Upon the expiration of a fourteen-day continuance granted pursuant to section three, the director of the program to which the defendant has been referred shall submit to the court a written report of its assessment. The report shall contain the information obtained thr…

Section 6. During a stay of proceedings or a continuance without a finding, as provided in section five, the director of a program shall submit periodic reports to the court relative to the progress of the defendant. The director shall also report violations of program conditions…

Section 7. Upon the expiration of the initial ninety-day stay of proceedings or a continuance without a finding, the program director shall submit to the court a report indicating the successful completion of the program by a defendant or recommending an extension of the stay of …