Since its beginning in 1998, the countywide Restorative Justice Program—whose philosophy is based on "it takes a village to raise a child"—has been successful in engaging community members to help youth offenders understand the harm they have done to the community and take responsibility for their actions. But funding for the program has been fading away.

The offenses the program covers range from cutting classes to shoplifting to smoking on campus 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 contact that addresses how the youngsters can repair the harm they have caused. In Cupertino, these meetings are held in a cozy room at St. Jude Episcopal Church.

Depending on the offense, a typical contract includes financial restitution to the victim, letters of apology, skill-development classes and community-service hours. The offenders have to complete the contract in three months. Once the youngsters finish the contract, the crime is taken off their record.

During the first four years, the program was effective. About 85 percent of the youths finished their contracts. But the success rate has been dropping since last year. Only 72 percent of the county's 4,000 youth offenders in the program completed contracts.

The reason for the decline in success is simple—not 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. All skill-enhancement training for volunteers was eliminated. Juggling with an increasing workload and a smaller staff, probation officers and social workers stopped paying home visits to children in high-risk cases.

This year, the program is likely to suffer a deeper cut.

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 its recommendations is to eliminate the neighborhood accountability boards. 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.

Right now, all the neighborhood accountability conferences are suspended.

"The NAB members are the cornerstone of the program," said Jared Gregory, probation community coordinator, 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."

Harold Griffin, who has volunteered as a NAB member for two years, said it would be a shame to lose a worthwhile program.

NAB member Angie Chiappa, 60, said she is sad that whenever there is a budget crisis, youth programs are cut first.

"I think the program is cut because it is hard to quantify how much a kid has changed in his or her demeanor," said Chiappa, who works for a drug and alcohol treatment center in San Jose. She has volunteered in the Restorative Justice Program for two years. "Normally when a contract is over, the students will come back to meet us. It is very rewarding to hear parents say they have learned something from the process."

Sheila Ettinger, a 65-year-old retired school psychologist, has been a NAB member for two yeas. She has probably helped about 100 children through the Restorative Justice Program.

"Instead of assigning blame, the program gets the students and families to accept responsibility," Ettinger said. "The process helps restore the victim's and the community's confidence in young people. It is a win-win-win situation."

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 services 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 fee as if I were a bad person."

Rich Kulish, county supervisor of the Restorative Justice Program, said the program will remain but is likely to be in a different format.

"We can use the NAB members as mentors or volunteers to support probation officers," Kulish said. "No matter how the program will evolve, the goal will be the same, to divert youth offenders from the court system and give them an opportunity to correct their behaviors."