As a result of funding issues, the countywide Restorative Justice Program—a program meant to divert the county's youth from the criminal justice system—is facing a drastic restructuring that promises to have troubled youth from Campbell to Palo Alto seeking other ways to make good on their infractions.

"The Restorative Justice Program will still be around," said Jared Gregory, probation community coordinator with the program. "There will still be something set up, but it will have to be set up in a different way."

Since its beginning in 1998, the Restorative Justice Program—whose philosophy is based on "it takes a village to raise a child"—has helped youth offenders understand the harm they cause to the community and take responsibility for their action. The offenses the program covers range from cutting classes to possession of illegal substances.

Neighborhood volunteers are trained to conduct neighborhood accountability conferences, where they sit with the youth offenders and their guardians and negotiate a contract that addresses how the youngsters can repair the harm they cause. A typical contract includes financial restitution to the victim, letters of apology, skill-development classes and community-service hours.

The offenders complete the contract in three months. Once they finish the contract, the crime is taken off their record.

During the first four years, the program had about 85 percent of the youths finishing their contracts. But the success rate has been dropping since last year, with only 72 percent of the county's 4,000 youth offenders fulfilling their obligations.

The reason for the decline in success is simple: there isn't enough funding.

Last year, the program suffered a 39 percent reduction in staff. Some youths had to wait for months before attending a meeting instead of the ideal two weeks, and a smaller staff, probation officers and social workers stopped paying home visits to children in high-risk cases.

And this year, the program is likely to suffer a deeper cut, Gregory said.

The Restorative Justice Program is one of the five programs funded by the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act. As the funding is expected to get a $1 million cut in the next fiscal year, county supervisors recently adopted the recommendations by the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council to reduce expenses, one of which is to eliminate the neighborhood accountability boards, a major component of the program. Although these recommendations won't be official until county supervisors make final decisions on the budget in June, it's likely the Restorative Justice Program won't be much more than a name, Gregory said.

As of the middle of May, all the neighborhood accountability conferences have been suspended.

"The NAB members are the cornerstone of the program," said Gregory, who recruits and trains neighborhood accountability board members. "They can show the youth how their actions affect the community. They also know what community resources are available to the youth."

Youth offenders, who need community guidance and support, are the biggest victims in the budget crisis.

Lolitta, who wants to keep her last name confidential, said she has benefited from the program. She was caught shoplifting about a year ago. To make up for her mistake, she wrote letters of apology to Macy's and her mother, did 35 hours of community service and took competency-development classes.

"The minute I was caught, I instantly regretted," said Lolitta, 15. "The NAB members were really nice to me. When they were talking to me, they didn't make me feel as if I were a bad person."

Staff writer Martin Nobida contributed to this story.