Establishing Economic Justice.
In many U.S. counties, youth must pay restitution, as well as court fees, before they can be discharged from court or probation supervision. In places like Philadelphia, with pervasive poverty, these economic requirements can result in prolonged and escalating involvement of youth with the juvenile justice system--even when those youth present little or no harm to their communities.
To alleviate the economic burden on youth and help victims receive the money they are owed in a more timely manner, the JJR&R Lab is partnering with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office to evaluate the impacts on juveniles and victims of an alternate approach to restitution payments. This project seeks to decouple youths' financial status from their progress through the system, alleviate youth and families' financial stress, and improve victim satisfaction and payment, all while enhancing system outcomes and community safety.
To evaluate this alternative approach to addressing juvenile restitution, the JJR&R Lab is comparing the impacts on youth (e.g., length of time to system discharge) and victims (e.g., satisfaction with payment process) of two restitution methods: 1) all juvenile restitution and fees ordered by juvenile court (up to a set amount) are paid from a third-party restitution fund, and 2) restitution-as-usual, where youth are responsible for paying all restitution and fees ordered by the court.
This project is supported by funding from the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.
To alleviate the economic burden on youth and help victims receive the money they are owed in a more timely manner, the JJR&R Lab is partnering with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office to evaluate the impacts on juveniles and victims of an alternate approach to restitution payments. This project seeks to decouple youths' financial status from their progress through the system, alleviate youth and families' financial stress, and improve victim satisfaction and payment, all while enhancing system outcomes and community safety.
To evaluate this alternative approach to addressing juvenile restitution, the JJR&R Lab is comparing the impacts on youth (e.g., length of time to system discharge) and victims (e.g., satisfaction with payment process) of two restitution methods: 1) all juvenile restitution and fees ordered by juvenile court (up to a set amount) are paid from a third-party restitution fund, and 2) restitution-as-usual, where youth are responsible for paying all restitution and fees ordered by the court.
This project is supported by funding from the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.