Balanced & Restorative Justice (BARJ)

Program Description

Traditionally, the Juvenile Justice System has been defined somewhat narrowly as the Judges, Probation Officers (and other Court Staff), and the public and private agencies to which juveniles have been referred and/or committed for services. However, with the changes that were made to the Juvenile Act in 1996, the Juvenile Justice System is to be viewed more broadly. Instead of the juvenile offender being the primary client of the Juvenile System, the new purpose clause of the Juvenile Act requires that all clients (victim, community, and the offender ) of the Juvenile System receive "balanced attention." The Juvenile System is now required to address goals regarding community protection, offender accountability, and the development of compentencies in each case. As appropriate to the individual circumstances of each case, no one client of the Juvenile System should receive greater attention than the other and the system should be balanced.

Program Goals

• To hold juvenile offenders accountable for offenses committed.
• To protect the community from known juvenile offenders.
• To assist juvenile offenders in developing competencies.
• To develop disposition plans that impose the minimum amount of confinement that is consistent with the protection of the community and rehabilitation needs of the juvenile.

Services

• Community service
• Victim impact classes
• Anger management classes
• BARJ Principles training
• Competency development
• County BARJ team