The bill established eligibility for first time non-traffic misdemeanors or class 3-6 felony juvenile
offenders, while House Bill 15-1094 allowed the DA the discretion to waive the first-time offense
constraint, where the program would only be offered to juveniles charged with a first offense (O’Neil,
2015). For juveniles to meet eligibility standards, they must take responsibility for their actions and be
willing to participate (O’Neil, 2015).
The Restorative Justice (RJ) pilot programs were shown to be effective in operating at a lower
cost than the “transactional cost” associated with a juvenile interacting with the JJS from, “arrest,
filing of a petition, diversion, deferred adjudication, adjudication, and probation”, as well as, reducing
the juvenile’s future involvement with the JJS (O’ Neil, 2015). One of the challenges O’Neil faced with
estimating recidivism costs was potentially over-estimating true cost avoidance due to the RJ
programs because youth might be at a low risk of recidivism regardless of RJ participation (2015). As
a state-funded, pre-file diversion program, there were no start-up costs associated with the
initiative, only an increase in workload that usually resulted in one part or full-time employee hire
per DA office (O’Neil, 2015).
The RJ program uses an assessment tool for the juvenile’s risks and needs at the beginning of
the program. The juvenile then participates in structured conferences where offenders, victims and
community members all come together to “address the harm of the crime and decide how best to
repair it” (O’Neil, 2015). During “circle” meetings, the juveniles engage in conflict resolution, speaking
honestly and developing relationships, and building a sense of community, which are protective
factors for reducing recidivism (O’Neil, 2015). However, O’Neil recognized the limitation of the study
as a lack of acknowledgement of the societal benefits generated aside from a general cost reduction
due to an inability to quantify fiscal benefits of protective factors (2015).
Restorative Response Baltimore is a current restorative justice program that accepts felony offenses
like auto theft and does not require juveniles to be a first-time offender. This program uses
community conferencing to help juveniles, victims of the crime committed by the juvenile, and
community leaders to come together and resolve their conflicts in a safe, productive space. Trained
facilitators gather everyone involved in and affected by the crime (offender, victim and the support
systems of those involved) typically within two weeks of the incident into a community conferencing
circle in order to give everyone a voice and build problem-solving skills, as well as fostering
accountability for the juvenile (Abramson, 2019). In this format, the community conferencing circle
listens to each other and collectively decides the best way to rectify the situation in an effort to heal,
understand each other, learn from the incident, and move forward in a positive way (Abramson, 2019).
Community conferencing has helped 19,000 people resolve their own conflicts by giving
participants the tools necessary to effectively communicate with one another. This program has seen
a 50% reduction in recidivism within one year of program completion by juvenile felony offenders at
one tenth of the cost of traditional court processing (Abramson, 2019). After two years,
juveniles who have successfully completed the program are one third less likely to reoffend
(Abramson, 2019). Over 95% of the juveniles diverted into Baltimore’s restorative response program
are African American youth, which helps address the racial bias and disparities seen within the
justice system (Abramson, 2019).
In local diversion programs like the Juvenile Pre-Arrest Diversion program in Florida (JPAD),
juvenile offenders are held accountable in various ways [dependent on the program] without an arrest
record and the processing fees that accompany booking a juvenile (2016). JPAD is only an option for
juveniles who have committed less than three misdemeanors (2016). Using “victim
restitution payment[s], community service, and participation in special treatment programs”, JPAD
serves around 9,000 juveniles annually and has a 5 percent recidivism rate, which is the lowest rate
under the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (2016). The author even cites a study of Lee
County that shows a one percent recidivism rate (JPAD, 2016). Some of the JPAD programs include
Teen Court, juvenile arrest avoidance programs, juvenile second chance programs, work-in-lieu-of-ar-
rest (WILA) programs, first offender programs, and juvenile civil citations (JPAD, 2016).
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