The Diversion Center, Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) 2005 project #33, was opened in the spring of 2012. It is operated by the Athens-Clarke County Corrections Department and is designed to house non-violent offenders who have been sentenced to a work-release program and do not have to be housed in the main jail complex.

Today, the Diversion Center also operates as a Transition Center welcoming our community's returning citizens who are completing their Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) sentences. In sharing the many resources that Athens-Clarke County offers its citizens, the Transition Center's returning citizens receive employment stability, economic independence, and self-sufficiency before their release. These foundational tools will increase their chances of long-term success while reducing their likelihood of recidivism.