Children, Youth and Families

Delinquency Services

Balanced and Restorative Justice - Dane County

Balanced and Restorative Justice, as an intervention strategy, suggests that in response to crime we need to focus on three goals:

Competency Development (of kids and families)

Building, in youth and families, the ability to do the kinds of things that are valued by the community and providing the opportunity to do them

Accountability

Promoting restoration of the human and relational aspects disrupted by crime by having an offender understand and accept responsibility for the harm to others and taking steps to repay the obligation incurred through that harm

Community Protection

Responding in ways that promotes both short and long-term safety for the community

While developed initially as in intervention strategy, many of the principles of Balanced and Restorative Justice are consistent with the best research and practices in preventing delinquent behavior. Research has shown that prevention strategies work. And, more often than not these strategies depend on investments that rely less on public funds and more on the resources of the community (volunteers, faith community, neighborhood centers, civic organizations, etc.)

Without going into semantics, Balanced and Restorative Justice prevention means creating or changing the conditions that impact on the lives and behavior of others before an actual incident occurs. We already know that kids who feel connected to their neighborhood and community, have others who value them and value others, and have support and encouragement are at a much lower risk to become engaged in a multitude of risky behaviors, including delinquency. We know what it takes for youth to become successful, but we too often are busy asking what went wrong rather than what went right.