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).
(17)(a) “Diversion” means a decision made by a person with authority or a delegate of that person that results in specific official action of the legal system not being taken in regard to a specific juvenile or child and in…
Restorative Justice Programs. (1) With the consent of the victim(s), the Department and the juvenile may stipulate to a stay of disposition pending a referral of the matter to a restorative justice program. The parties must inform the restorative justice…
(3) A minor may, with the consent of the Department and the victim(s), condition an admission to one or more acts alleged in the petition upon the court’s agreement to the recommendations made by a restorative justice program to which…
B) Restorative justice. “(2) The department shall: “(A) Develop information concerning the resources needed by school districts to reduce discipline and the restraint of students with disabilities using the strategies in subdivision (e)(1) of this section; and