"A lot of times it's hard to balance protection of the public with the fact the they are kids," said Marathon County Deputy District Attorney Theresa Merriwether.

I think that one of the problems with the juvenile justice system is that it treats young people as mini-criminals. Instead of taking into account their age, capacity, and intelligence levels, people automatically lump youth offenders into the same category as adult offenders.

One major component of RJ that I think makes it superior to the traditional juv. justice system is that it allows for a face-to-face meeting, and victims are given a chance to hear from the offender's perspective. Adultism will always exist, but RJ can help to erase some of the misconceptions and stereotypes that people have about young folks.

"We want every juvenile who comes through our doors to be successful, to complete high school and to go on and live productive adult lives," Bogen said. i believe the restorative justice system can work, but i definitely believe that it starts with the younger generation, which is why i posted the above quote. If younger kids are helped at a younger age then they wont keep doing wrong and they can reshape their lives before ruining their lives.

I think it's great that social services are working with youth to find alternatives for them not to end up in the penal system. With the restorative justice principles being implemented into the programs, it can defintely decrease the chance of the youth reoffending. Other cities can look at these programs and build from them to help prevent criminal behavior with youth.

I think it is great to see restorative justice programs implimented and working in some counties. However, I believe they can also work for the more at risk juveniles as well. It is unfortunate that these at risk juveniles are being sent to formal court hearings. Instead, I believe these are the juveniles who need the most help. I think it would highly benefit them if they sat down with the victim and their family and talked face to face. These are the youth's who need guidence and habilitation. I don't think court and jail time is going to help them. Instead it is just the beginning of a prison lifestyle. Can't these at risk juveniles also take part in restoritive justice programs? Why must they be excluded?

I think it is really amazing that so many juvenile justice approaches are turning toward means of restorative justice with kids. Kids need second chances more than anybody because they have not had the life experience/ full mind development that adults have to rely on when making decisions. If we leave kids in juvenile facilities when they have committed little harm, our communities are subjecting those kids to being labeled and cast adide from the community. Sometimes people fulfill labels because nobody has ever believed them to be anybody else. By giving kids a second chance we are offering them a chance at spending their time somewhere besides a juvenile detention center, and we are showing them that we believe in them enough to give them a second chance. The effect of this could be very powerful for some kids.