Restorative Justice Inventory: An Organizational Assessment for Juvenile Justice Agencies.

Source: (2000) Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

BARJ is a new framework for juvenile justice reform that seeks to engage citizens and community groups as clients of juvenile justice services and as resources in a more effective response to youth crime. To do this, the BARJ approach attempts to ensure juvenile justice intervention focuses on basic community needs and expectations. Restorative justice is a new way of thinking about and responding to crime that emphasizes one fundamental fact: crime damages people, communities, and relationships. Further, restorative justice calls for a comprehensive approach balanced by objectives of public safety, accountability, and competency development. This approach primarily seeks to repair harm by involving each of the affected parties–victim, offender, and community. An assessment inventory is provided to evaluate diverse strategies known to lead to successful implementation of restorative justice policies and practices. This inventory contains the following components: administration, leadership, line staff alignment (culture and climate), juvenile justice system alignment, reward systems, assessment and intake, case planning, victims, offenders, and community. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.