Community Service Outcomes in Justice-Involved Youth: Comparing Restorative Community Service to Standard Community Service

Abstract

Traditional mandated community service (CS) typically consists of picking up trash or performing manual labor, distanced from the community. Some juvenile justice programs have begun to implement restorative community service (RCS) programs that enable youth to complete meaningful CS projects in a shame-free manner alongside community members. This study compared RCS with a standard community service (SCS) program in two counties in Washington State on psychosocial outcomes, including attitudes, peer relationships, school conduct, academic performance, and substance use. Recidivism was also examined. RCS was associated with reduced substance use and fewer school conduct difficulties compared with SCS, and also positively influenced peer relationships and attitudes. These findings suggest that adding a restorative component to CS may improve psychosocial outcomes for justice-involved youth, but there was no evidence that adding a restorative component to CS led to reduced recidivism. Additional systematic studies are needed to determine whether these findings replicate.

Juvenile Community Services for the Benefit of the Local Community: In Search of Effective Methods of Resocialization

“…In general, it involves the juvenile carrying out simple tasks, for example, picking up garbage. 24 Currently, it is increasingly indicated that this does not yield adequate educational effects. Beginning in 2001, the Clark County Juvenile Court in Washington State, US, has begun U M C S using restorative community service (RCS) instead of standard community service (SCS) against juveniles.…”