Restorative Justice Laws Database

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).

Massachusetts Minnesota Montana North Dakota Hawaii Idaho Washington Arizona California Colorado Nevada New Mexico Oregon Utah Wyoming Arkansas Iowa Kansas Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma South Dakota Louisiana Texas Connecticut New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont Alabama Florida Georgia Mississippi South Carolina Illinois Indiana Kentucky North Carolina Ohio Tennessee Virginia Wisconsin West Virginia Delaware District of Columbia Maryland New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Maine Michigan Alaska

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10 results found

Vermont - Community Justice Boards and Confidentiality

(a) Each community justice center: (1) shall have an advisory board comprising at least 51 percent citizen volunteers; (2) may use a variety of community-based restorative justice approaches, including restorative justice panels, group conferencing, or mediation; and (3) shall include…

Oregon - Restorative Justice Confidentiality Exceptions

(2) A restorative justice communication is not confidential if: (a) A restorative justice program staff member or facilitator reasonably believes that disclosing the communication is necessary to prevent the commission of a crime that is likely to result in death…

Nebraska - Juvenile and Family Restorative Justice Opportunities

In any juvenile case, the court may provide the parties the opportunity to address issues involving the child’s care and placement, services to the family, and other concerns through restorative justice practices. Restorative justice practices may include, but are not…

Massachusetts - Protections Regarding Diversion Programs

(b) Statutory Bars on Use of Evidence from Community-Based Restorative Justice Programs. (1) Participation in a community-based restorative justice program as defined by G. L. c. 276B, § 1, shall not be used as evidence or as an admission of…

Maine - Confidentiality of Juvenile Case Records

C. At the time a person adjudicated to have committed a juvenile crime other than a crime listed in paragraph A is finally discharged from the disposition imposed for that juvenile crime, the court, upon receipt of appropriate notice of…

Illinois - Parties to a Restorative Justice Practice

(a) This Section1 is intended to encourage the use of restorative justice practices by providing a privilege for participation in such practices and ensuring that anything said or done during the practice, or in anticipation of or as a follow-up…

Delaware - Confidentiality

(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…

Colorado - Juvenile Diversion Program

(4) District attorneys’ offices or the office’s designees shall: (a) On and after January 1, 2021, conduct a risk screening using a risk screening tool selected pursuant to section 24-33.5-2402(1)(c), as it existed prior to its repeal in 2022, for…

Colorado - Alternative Sentencing Option Restorative Justice

(b.5)(I) Except as otherwise provided by subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (b.5), any defendant who, in the determination of the court, is a candidate for an alternative sentencing option and who would otherwise be sentenced to imprisonment pursuant to paragraph…