A diversion program touted as highly successful by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is set to expand to cover even more low-level offenders this month.

The Project Reset program originally began as a pilot program in 2015 to divert 16- and 17-year-olds in northern Manhattan arrested for low-level offenses from being prosecuted. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.'s office found that participants in the two-session program resulted in recidivism rates as low as 8 percent.

In 2017, Vance announced the program would expand to include participants 18 years and older who were first-time offenders charged with nonviolent misdemeanors across the borough. The $6.5 million initiative, funded through banking violation asset forfeitures, would be run by the Center for Court Innovation, the Osborne Association and Young New Yorkers, with each organization responsible for different Manhattan communities. The program is expected to serve 5,000 people a year.

“The criminal prosecution of these low-level, non-violent offenses should not be a part of a reformed 21st century justice system,” Vance said in a statement. “Absent a demonstrated public safety risk, criminally prosecuting New Yorkers accused of these offenses does not make us safer. Today, by committing to divert these misdemeanor cases out of Criminal Court in Manhattan, we will further eliminate unnecessary incarceration, and reduce the risks of deportation, loss of housing, and loss of employment that often accompany a criminal prosecution.”

In a letter reviewed by the New York Law Journal from the DA's Office to be sent to eligible participants, individuals are informed that completion of the program will mean they will not have to go to court, appear before a judge or get a criminal record. The program lasts two to four hours over the course of one to two days, “and is designed to be productive, offer resources, and make connections to additional services, if needed,” the letter states.

Beginning Thursday, participation is open to all those eligible in central and northern Manhattan, according to the letter. The Center for Court Innovation is operating programming for all ages in its community court in Midtown, as well as for 16- and 17-year-olds at its Harlem Justice Center. Those 18 and older in northern Manhattan are directed to the Osborne Association facility in Harlem.

Currently, only teenage participants are eligible for programming in lower Manhattan provided by the Center for Court Innovation. For adults, programming is expected to become available for arrests that occur after July 1.