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).
AN ACT to amend and reenact §49-1-206 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §49-4-725 of said code, all relating to the juvenile restorative justice programs; defining the term “restorative justice program”; authorizing…
(2) The court may order the person to engage in pretrial services. Pretrial services may include the pretrial services coordinator: (A) supporting the person in meeting conditions of release imposed by the court, including the condition to appear for judicial…
(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…
authorizes the Family Court to order restitution in juvenile delinquency cases, a vital component of the “balanced and retroactive justice”
identifying, developing recommendations on, and setting crime response policies that may impact the range of victim populations, including restorative justice approaches and other solutions; and
The victim-offender dialogue program, which shall be a victim-initiated, voluntary program to assist crime victims who seek access to restorative justice programs as provided under RSA 21-M:8-k, II(u), under the direction of the victim services coordinator, who shall:
Restorative justice practices, restorative justice services, or restorative justice programs include, but are not limited to, victim youth conferences, victim-offender mediation, family group conferences, circles, peer-to-peer mediation, truancy mediation, victim or community panels, and community conferences. Restorative justice programs may…
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…
If a juvenile appears to be a juvenile described in subdivision (1), (2), (3)(b), or (4) of section 43-247, the county attorney or city attorney may utilize restorative justice practices or services as a form of, or condition of, diversion…
The county attorney or city attorney, in making the determination whether to file a criminal charge, file a juvenile court petition, offer juvenile pretrial diversion or restorative justice, or transfer a case to or from juvenile court, and the juvenile…