A growing number of probation officers, judges, prosecutors and other youth professionals are advocating for a justice system for minors largely based on restorative justice. These groups of people have been frustrated by the political uncertainty between retaliation and treatment as well as unrealistic and unclear public expectations. As a primary mission, the balanced approach or policy enables juvenile justice systems and their agencies to improve their ability to protect the community and ensure system and offender accountability. This enables young people to become productive and competent citizens. The guiding philosophical framework of this policy is restorative justice as it promotes maximum participation of the community, the victim and the offender in the justice process. Restorative justice also presents a viable alternative to sanctions as well as interventions based on traditional or retributive treatment assumptions. In the policy proposal for restorative justice, the mission of the balanced approach helps the juvenile justice system become more responsive to the needs of the community, victims, and offenders. Therefore, this article examines how restorative justice reduces juvenile referrals to the criminal and juvenile justice systems and presents a proposal on implementing restorative justice in the community along with a number of recommendations. For example, preliminary research reveals that implementing restorative justice in schools significantly reduces expulsions, suspensions, and referrals to criminal justice systems. Restorative justice programs are an alternative to zero tolerance policies for minors or young people. The just criminal...... middle of paper ......ide. Available at: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/sisfcf/Larry Sherman and Heather Strang, Restorative Justice: The Evidence (London: Smith Institute, 2007) Sharon Lewis, Improving School Climate: Findings from Schools Implementing Restorative Practices, (Bethlehem, PA: International Institute for Restorative Practices, 2009). Kim, Catherine Y., Daniel J. Losen, and Damon Hewitt. 2010. The school-to-prison pipeline: Structuring legal reform. New York: New York University Press. Sherman, Francine T. 2011. Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy, and Practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Kafka, Judith. 2011. The history of “zero tolerance” in American public schools. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. http://www.palgraveconnect.com/doifinder/10.1057/9781137001962.Church, Wesley T. 2014. Juvenile Justice Sourcebook: Past, Present and Future.