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Typical Cases: Juvenile Restitution at Work The following examples illustrate the wide variety of restitution programs operating in the United States. They are not meant to be representative of all the restitution programs. They do, however, demonstrate the broad range of services, target populations, and philosophical approaches being utilized. Victim Assistance and Restitution Program The Program: Juvenile offenders are provided job assistance and work under contracts with public and private agencies in the community. Victim assistance counselors are responsible for keeping restitution statistics, making recommendations to the court, and providing information about job programs to probation officers. They also arrange victim services, including victim-offender meetings. Typical Case: Four boys, ages 13 to 16, "trashed" an elementary school. They broke windows; wrote graffiti; sprayed a fire extinguisher on walls, books, and windows; and so forth. The cost of repairs was $200,000. The school s insurance policy had a $500 deductible. As detailed in the restitution plan, each boy was ordered to pay $500 in restitution on a "joint and several" basis of responsibility. Each was also ordered to write a paper, to be read in court, explaining how the offense affected school faculty and staff, students, and the offenders' parents. To write this paper the offenders were required to interview the persons affected. The outcome of the case was that each offender paid his share of the restitution order and presented the statement on the effects of his offense in court.
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