A growing number of probation officers, judges, prosecutors and other youth professionals are advocating for a juvenile justice system that is largely based on restorative justice. These groups of people are frustrated by political uncertainty between pay and treatment, as well as unrealistic and unclear public expectations. As a primary mission, the balanced approach or policy allows juvenile justice systems, together with its agencies, to improve their ability to protect the community and ensure accountability of the system and offenders. It enables young people to become productive and competent citizens. The guiding philosophical framework of this policy is restorative justice as it promotes maximum involvement of the community, victim and offender in the judicial process. Restorative justice also represents a valid alternative to sanctions and interventions based on assumptions of traditional or retributive treatment. In the proposed restorative justice policy, 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 considers how restorative justice reduces the referral of children to the criminal and juvenile justice systems and provides a proposal on the implementation of restorative justice in the community together with a series of recommendations. For example, preliminary research reveals that applying restorative justice in schools significantly reduces school expulsions, suspensions, and referrals to the criminal justice systems. Restorative justice programs are an alternative to zero tolerance policies for minors or youth. Crime is only...half of the 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: Progress in 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.