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 cause to the community and take responsibility for their action.

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 contract that addresses how the youngsters can repair the harm they cause. For the Willow Glen area, these meetings are held at the Washington United Youth Center on South First Street because the community coverage includes the Willow Glen, Washington and Santee neighborhoods.

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, 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 their contracts.

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. 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, which is anticipated to have a $1 million cut during the next fiscal year.

One of the recommendations made by the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council to reduce expenses is to eliminate the neighborhood accountability boards. Although these recommendations won't be official until county supervisors make their 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.

"It's a tremendous loss because we had community involvement," said program coordinator Maria Ramirez. "The youth had someone who believed in them and supported them after they made mistakes."

Ramirez added that it was a touching experience to sit down with the youth, who sometimes had no idea who they had affected, including their family.

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

Board member Angie Chiappa, 60, said she is sad that whenever there is a budget crisis, youth programs are the first to go.

"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 board member for two years. 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 service and took competency-development classes.

"The minute I was caught, I instantly regretted," said Lolitta, 15. "The board 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."

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 board 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."

Staff writer Beth Walker contributed to this story.