INGHAM COUNTY JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY AND
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
PROGRAM
Juveniles who are first-time offenders and have received tickets for low-level offenses are offered an opportunity to participate in the Juvenile Accountability and Restorative Justice Program (JARJP) instead of being processed through the Juvenile Justice System. Successful completion of this program will prevent the youth from receiving a juvenile record due to the offense for which they were referred to the program.
JARJP partners
The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, Lansing School District, Lansing Police Department, and Resolution Services Center of Central Michigan (RSCCM) – provide a youth diversion program based on a Restorative Practice process that focuses on:
What happened?
Who was harmed or impacted?
How can the harm be healed?
The goal is to expose youth to tools that they can use in countless situations to avoid negative interactions with the criminal justice system/law enforcement and make better decisions in the future. JARJP focuses on the following topics:
Conflict resolution without aggression
Peer resistance
Goal setting and accomplishment
Decision-making process
School performance
Time management
A Comparison of the Court Process v. A Restorative Practices Process
juvenile
court process
Ticket
The petition is filed with Circuit Court: Youth becomes part of the court system
Preliminary Hearing: Youth informed of charges (mandatory attendance).
Informal Process
(if not completed, will transfer to formal process):
- Referral to community services
- Fees
​
OR
Formal Process:
- Court / Adjudication
- Punishment
JUVENILE RECORD
Ticket
​
Referral to JARJP RSCCM with Intake:
- Outreach/Interests
- 3 Questions: What happened? Who was harmed or impacted? How can the harm be healed?
​
Conference w/ youth, family, &
community rep.
Life Skills Seminar:
- Skills development
- Goals for future success
- Family
- School
- Community
NO JUVENILE RECORD
RESTORATIVE
PRACTICES
A strong parental component offers parents direction to develop appropriate consequences and consistency when disciplining their child. Referrals to other community resources are provided when concerns fall outside the scope of JARJP programming.
Email mediate@rsccm.org to make a referral.