The National Center on Restorative Justice’s Restorative Justice Laws Database was created as a resource for restorative justice advocates, practitioners, and researchers as well as policy-makers across the United States. Our aim is to organize and display in an easily navigated format the ways in which states have codified the use of restorative justice approaches.
Thank you to Shannon Sliva (University of Denver) and Thalia González (UC Law San Francisco) for their advisement and expertise throughout the process of creating this database. Thank you to Karen Sheu and Anna VanRoy for their data collection work.
This Restorative Justice Laws Database builds on an earlier legislative directory created in 2014 by Shannon Sliva in partnership with Carolyn Lambert (Georgia State University College of Law) and hosted by the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work from 2019 to 2024.
The laws included in this database were identified by conducting a search in Westlaw and LexisNexis using the terms visible under “Form of Practice” in the database search options below. Only laws that feature one or more of these terms are included in the database. Use of the terms in the text of the law does not necessarily mean that restorative justice practice is occurring in the given jurisdiction.
The NCORJ is committed to continuing to update this database. If you see something that is missing or a correction is required, please be in touch. For more information about the development of the database, to get assistance navigating it, or to request a copy of the raw data for research purposes, please contact Lindsey Pointer (lpointer@vermontlaw.edu).
(a) There is hereby established a Victim-Offender Alternative Case Resolution Committee to be composed of the Attorney General, Chief Defender, Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Director of the Criminal Justice Council, and the Chief Judge of Family…
(a) All memoranda, work notes or products, case files or programs, and data collected under this chapter are confidential and privileged. This information is not subject to disclosure in any judicial or administrative proceeding. (b) Confidentiality under subsection (a) of…
(3) By October 1, 2017, the Attorney General shall develop a pilot program, in collaboration with community partners, to provide victim-offender mediation as an alternative to the prosecution of juveniles in cases deemed appropriate by the Attorney General; provided, that…
(a) The Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall provide an array of supports to assist local education agencies and schools to achieve the goals of §§ 38-236.03 through 38-236.05 and to adopt trauma-informed disciplinary practices. The OSSE shall…
(a) The duties of the Executive Director shall include: […] (3) Coordinating with District agencies to develop workforce development and restorative justice programming;
(2) The strategic plan shall include recommendations for adopting and implementing inter-agency programming by District agencies to address the following: […] (C) Best practices in restorative justice for victims, youth offenders, including for youth offenders convicted of violent offenses, and…
(b) By the start of the school year beginning in 2021, DCPS shall adopt a school security personnel training curriculum based on the positive youth development philosophy. The curriculum shall focus on training supervisory and on-site personnel to provide security…
(a) There is established an Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (“ONSE”). The ONSE shall include the following programs: […] (4) The Restorative Justice Collaborative, which shall serve as a centralized hub to coordinate and foster restorative justice programming and…
(i) Beginning in Fiscal Year 2022, the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants shall, on an annual basis, issue a grant of $200,000 to an organization that provides advocacy, case, management, and legal services, for the purpose of developing…
(b) The board of education of each local or regional school district shall, with the participation of parents, students, school administrators, teachers, citizens, local elected officials and any other individuals or groups such board shall deem appropriate, prepare a statement…