UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Making mistakes is part of life. Especially for children and young adults, one’s mistakes often represent the greatest opportunity for learning and growth. But when a mistake ends up bringing a youth into contact with the legal system, they can face punitive and long-lasting consequences that may follow them the rest of their lives and hamper future opportunities.

But what if their experience with the legal system was instead focused on personal growth, taking responsibility and making amends, to be able to move forward into the future as a productive member of their community?

That’s the philosophy behind the local non-profit Center for Alternatives in Community Justice (CACJ), a partner agency of the Centre County United Way. One of the CACJ’s signature programs is the Youth Aid Panel (YAP), which works with individuals under the age of 18 charged with lower level offenses including underage drinking, drug use or possession of paraphernalia, bullying, property damage and theft.

“There are so many avenues in our community where someone finds themselves marginalized or down on their luck, and end up involved with the legal system because they made a poor decision at a time in their life when they’re struggling,” said Phil Jones, CACJ executive director. “I believe in restorative justice — the idea that everyone deserves to learn what they did wrong and pay it back in a positive way, rather than just getting caught up in the system with no focus on restoring that individual or their community.”

Developing strength, communication and confidence

Deborah Llewellyn, Youth Aid Panel coordinator for the CACJ, sees firsthand every day how this philosophy makes a difference in the lives of the youth who go through the program.

Youth can be referred to the YAP by local police, school resource officers or judges as an alternative to the justice system. Once they are connected with the CACJ, trained staff and volunteers work with them to develop an individualized contract and plan of action that includes community service, developing goals for themselves and their future, and making amends directly with the individuals they’ve wronged. Llewellyn said this both saves the county and taxpayers the funds that would otherwise be spent moving these youths through the justice system, and helps develop well-adjusted and productive young adults invested in giving back to their community.

In one recent case, the YAP worked with two youths who had stolen a bicycle from a rack in downtown State College. In addition to taking on community service projects, the two youths both wrote letters of apology to the owners of the bike and documented the consequences of their actions, including how this one act could have impacted their lives in a significantly more punitive and disruptive way.

Finally, they worked together to obtain a dilapidated bicycle from a legitimate source, then repaired it and returned it to working order — all with the goal of being able to provide the bicycle to an individual who needs it in order to have transportation to and from work.

Now, instead of facing a fine or jail time, they’ve worked to restore the relationship with the person they wronged, took responsibility for their actions, and paid their lessons forward by doing something kind for someone else in the community.

“We help our participants develop new strengths and provide for the safety and involvement in the community,” Llewellyn said. “Our graduates come away with better communication with their family and a new focus and confidence in their future.”

Bringing people together

The CACJ is one local agency funded through the Centre County United Way, which is in turn supported by the Penn State United Way campaign.

Each year, one in three Centre County residents access the services provided by the Centre County United Way’s network of partner agencies. And each year, donations from the Penn State community make up approximately 40% of the total dollars raised for the United Way, representing Penn State’s commitment to creating a positive community impact as a 21st century land-grant institution. Members of the University community are encouraged to visit UnitedWay.psu.edu to learn more, and to consider supporting the Centre County United Way through a monthly payroll deduction.

In addition to the Youth Aid Panel, the CACJ provides additional services — including pretrial mediation for adults as an alternative to bail, as well as conflict resolution and mediation services for families, businesses, faith-based groups and other community organizations. A new community conferencing program also focuses on resolving neighborhood disputes; reaching resolutions between individuals involved in or impacted by criminal acts; and helping formerly incarcerated individuals reenter the community with a support system that sets them up for success, instead of reincarceration.

These services, including mediation and community conferencing, are open to all community members and organizations, representing the CACJ’s dedication to building a stronger, more equitable community for all.

“We report each year to the United Way about which of our programs needs the funding the most during that particular year — making it very important to our mission,” Jones said. “The CACJ is a small organization, but one that’s vitally important to this community, because we bring individuals and groups together in positive ways that avoid being involved with the judicial system in perhaps less constructive ways."