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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77 results found

West Virginia - Community Based Program Definitions

“Child welfare agency” means any agency or facility maintained by the state or any county or municipality thereof, or any agency or facility maintained by an individual, firm, corporation, association, or organization, public or private, to receive children for care…

Washington - Classroom Training on Restorative Justice

(2) The educational service districts must identify or develop classroom training on the following subjects: (a) Constitutional and civil rights of children in schools, including state law governing search and interrogation of youth in schools; (b) Child and adolescent development;…

Washington - Resource Officer Training

a) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must establish and implement a grant program to fund training for school resource officers as described in RCW 28A.320.124. Eligible…

Virginia - Establishment of Restorative Justice Programs

SECTION 19.2-11.5. ESTABLISHMENT OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAM. A. AS USED IN THIS SECTION: “FACILITATOR” MEANS A PERSON TRAINED IN RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES WHOSE ROLE IS TO FACILITATE, IN A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL MANNER, THE PARTICIPATION OF THE PARTIES…

Vermont - Restorative Justice Definition

(11) “Restorative justice program” means a program developed and implemented by the Commissioner, consistent with State policy and legislative intent as provided by section 2a of this title.

Vermont - DV and SV Referrals to CJC’s

(a) Notwithstanding section 1967 of this title, community justice centers may accept referrals for domestic violence and sexual violence cases, provided the community justice center has a current and executed memorandum of understanding with a local member organization of the…

Vermont - Restorative Justice Programs

This chapter establishes a program of restorative justice for use with offenders required to participate in such a program as a condition of a sentence of probation or as ordered for civil contempt of a child support order under 15…

Vermont - Risk Assessment

(2) If the child participates in such a screening, the Department or the community provider shall report the risk level result of the screening, the number and source of the collateral contacts made, and the recommendation for charging or other…