- ADVERTISEMENT - Starting this week, anyone facing of a misdemeanor in Long Beach will now be considered for the program if there’s evidence the defendant has a mental health condition or substance-abuse disorder, City Prosecutor Doug Haubert announced Tuesday. Before, the program—known as Priority Access Diversion (PAD)—was only open to people who were already in custody and were facing a minimum of one year in county jail. Haubert’s office created PAD in 2018 to offer repeat offenders with drug and mental health problems the option of going into live-in treatment programs instead of jail. Most people who’ve taken advantage of the PAD program so far have done so after having charges filed or after being convicted, but Haubert said his office is working to offer the option to more people soon after they’re arrested or cited—before their cases even makes it to a courtroom.