Restorative justice involves creating a criminal restitution process focusing on the needs of all stakeholders, including the victim, the offender, and the community. It can include mediated dialogues between criminal offenders and their victims, which are used to foster offender accountability, victim forgiveness, and social reintegration for both parties.
In the United States, restorative justice programs are used both in criminal justice and school settings. Examples of a wide cross-section of these are listed below.