Juvenile Restitution Program

The Juvenile Restitution Program is run by the Washtenaw Justice Project, in coordination with the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office and the Washtenaw County Public Defender’s Office with financial support from the Song Foundation, Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, and the Skillman Foundation. This is a uniquely designed program that aims to minimize the financial burden of a juvenile adjudication if all non-financial conditions are met. 

The program will allows justice-involved youth to “earn” money towards mandatory restitution by staying out of trouble and abiding by the terms of their probation. Money “earned” through the program will be paid directly to crime victims, through the normal court process. Though the money earned will reduce the debt that court-involved juveniles owe, young people will not directly receive funds.

The program incentivizes young people to get back on the right track—while avoiding prolonged exposure to the justice system for lack of financial resources. It also ensures that crime victims who are owed restitution can be compensated quickly and efficiently.

The program is available to all youth involved in the Washtenaw County Juvenile Court whose sentencing meets the following criteria:

• Defendant must be under 18 years of age at the date of sentencing 
• Defendant must not owe more than $1000 in restitution
• Defendant must not have any previous restitution owed on the date of sentencing

A defendant, their attorney, or a third party advocating on behalf of a young person (i.e. CMH, school admin, parent/guardian, community organization, etc.) must submit a written request of admittance to [email protected].  Requests should detail the Defendant's Name, Date of Birth, Case Number(s), and the amount of restitution owed for each case. Requests will be reviewed by the Prosecutor’s Office, in consultation with the Washtenaw Justice Project.