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).
A system of community justice centers that operates under the authority of a single statute will: (1) help each community justice center collaborate more closely with law enforcement and State’s Attorneys, State agencies, social service providers, victim advocacy organizations, and…
The Court Diversion Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. All fees and assessments of the juvenile and adult court diversion programs shall be recorded in the Fund. Quarterly, the director of each court diversion program shall report to…
As used in this subchapter: (1) “Child” has the same meaning as in 33 V.S.A. § 5102(2). (2) “Community referral” means a referral of an individual to a community-based restorative justice provider that does not involve criminal offenses or delinquencies…
(a) Purpose. (1) The Attorney General shall develop and administer a juvenile court diversion program, for both pre-charge and post-charge referrals to youth-appropriate community-based restorative justice providers, for the purpose of assisting children or youth charged with delinquent acts. (2)…
(a) Purpose. (1) The Attorney General shall develop and administer an adult court diversion program, for both pre-charge and post-charge referrals, available in all counties. (2) The program shall be designed to provide a restorative option for persons alleged to…
(a) Support from the Agency of Human Services. The Agency of Human Services shall provide to the community justice centers the information, analysis, and technical support that the community justice centers, in collaboration with the Agency of Human Services, determine…
15) Participate in the Restorative Justice Program conducted by a community reparative board, pursuant to chapter 12 of this title. The court may direct a reparative board to assist in determining restitution to the victim, as provided by subdivision (6)…
7) Refer a child directly to a youth-appropriate community-based provider that has been approved by the Department, which may include a community justice center or a balanced and restorative justice program. Referral to a community-based provider pursuant to this subdivision…
(C) If the court concludes that the defendant is not in contempt because the defendant does not have the ability to pay the amount due, the court may: (i) suspend all or any part of the amount due in the…
(10) to charter, establish, and fund through grants such municipal entities or nonprofit organizations as may be required for providing crime prevention and restorative justice programs for offenders, victims of crime, and the public.