Under the Supervision of the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office, the Juvenile Arbitration Program will hold juvenile offenders accountable for their crimes and the harm they cause to their victims. The program is designed to teach juvenile offenders the importance of becoming productive citizens while ensuring public safety by strengthening a community's capacity to prevent and control crime. Participants in the arbitration hearing process include a trained volunteer arbitrator, the juvenile offender and his or her parent(s) or guardian(s), the victim(s) of the crime and the arresting officer. All participants are afforded the opportunity to share their account of the incident, how they have been affected and their ideas of appropriate punishment. After reviewing the case and hearing all recommendations, the Arbitrator decides the appropriate actions that the juvenile must take in order to make reparations to their victim(s) and deter future crimes. These actions include, but are not limited to, monetary restitution to the victim, community service, charitable donations, educational programs, topical essays and research papers, counseling and drug/alcohol testing. Juveniles who do not wish to participate or fail to complete all requirements will be referred to the Solicitor's Office for prosecution of the original charge in the Juvenile Court System.

The success of the Juvenile Arbitration program depends upon citizen volunteers to serve as Arbitrators. To develop qualified Arbitrators, training is provided by the Solicitor’s Office in the areas of Juvenile Criminal Law, Mediation, Restorative Justice, Communications Skills, Hearing format and victimization. No prior experience in criminal law or juvenile justice is required. To be eligible to volunteer in the Juvenile Arbitration Program you must:
(1) be 21 years of age,
(2) have a High School Diploma or GED,
(3) pass a Criminal Background Check (Local, NCIC and DSS), and complete 21 hours of Arbitrator training.