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).
x) Risk assessment, safety-related, violence prevention curricula, including dating violence curricula, restorative justice strategies, mental health early intervention, self-care and suicide awareness and prevention curricula.
(4) To train students in conflict resolution, restorative justice and crime awareness.
The use of any restraints, such as handcuffs, chains, shackles, irons, or straitjackets, is highly discouraged. The routine use of restraints on juveniles is a practice contrary to the philosophy of balanced and restorative justice and undermines the goals of…
“School-based diversion programs” shall mean programs and interventions designed to redirect youth who commit minor offenses in school from exclusionary disciplinary practices or formal processing in the juvenile justice system, while still holding the student accountable for the student’s actions.…
Pursuant to subdivision(b), financial obligations may be imposed as a plan of rehabilitation consistent with the goals of balanced and restorative justice: 1) the protection of the community; 2) the imposition of accountability for offenses committed; and 3) the development…