A Fairfax-based restorative justice pilot program could become permanent after receiving a grant from Microsoft and the Urban Institute.
Adult Accountability for Safer Communities (AASC) is one of 25 nonprofit organizations selected to join the Catalyst Grant Program, which aims to advance the use of data and technology to improve racial equity and reform in the criminal legal system.
Though the grant won’t fully fund the program, its receipt is an endorsement of the need for alternative solutions in the justice system, program coordinator Taylor Piepenhagen told FFXnow.
“It’s a commitment to leveraging collaboration and the power of technology and data to move towards policies, programs, and practices that prevent unnecessary system involvement and decrease racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal legal system,” Piepenhagen said.
Modeled after a similar option for juveniles, the AASC pilot program started in 2022 as a collaboration between the NVMS Conflict Resolution Center and the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. It focuses on providing judicial alternatives for young adults — holding them accountable without dooming their future, according to NVMS’s website.
There have been 30 participants in the program so far, according to Piepenhagen. It’s open to people between the ages of 18 and 26 charged for the first time with certain eligible offenses, including assault and battery, trespassing, vandalism or property destruction, disorderly conduct, and harassment or bullying.
AASC involves trained facilitators working with the offender at the victim’s request to help them understand how their actions have negatively impacted others, rather than merely punishing them through incarceration.
The victim and other community members affected by the crime are invited to participate in the process, which, if successful, results in an agreement for how the offender can repair the harm they caused. If the terms of the agreement are met, the charges could be dismissed — as in a pride flag theft case in Arlington.
“The young adults have been very receptive to restorative justice,” Piepenhagen said, “often quick to take accountability for their actions and work towards repairing the harm done to individuals and the community as whole.”
With the grant and tools formulated by Microsoft, AASC will develop the technical infrastructure to move closer to outright eliminating the risk of racial biases in its program, according to its website.
“An automated, unbiased referral process will give more individuals the opportunity to participate and further avoid the further criminal and legal involvement and downstream consequences,” Piepenhagen said.
The amount of the grant wasn’t publicly released, a standard practice for Microsoft, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office says.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced the grant yesterday (Thursday) in a press release:
Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced today that a victim-centered young adult restorative justice program, created by the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney in collaboration with local nonprofit NVMS Conflict Resolution Center, has received a grant from Microsoft and the Urban Institute to advance racial equity and reform in the criminal legal system.
NVMS will use this added funding to expand the OCA’s restorative justice diversion program, Adult Accountability for Safer Communities (AASC), launched by CA Descano’s office in 2022. The AASC program accomplishes three main goals: providing an alternative to incarceration for youth whose brains are still developing, giving victims a voice in determining how the harm done to them is resolved, and reducing recidivism. AASC will use tools provided by Microsoft to improve programming and reduce bias throughout the referral process.
“This grant will allow us to build on the success of the AASC program,” said CA Descano. “AASC is one of the most powerful tools our office has to build long-term community safety, lower crime in our neighborhoods, and make the system work as it should.”
About the Catalyst Grant Program: NVMS is one of 25 nonprofit organizations across the country selected to join the Catalyst Grant Program, an initiative by the Urban Institute and Microsoft to support local communities that are using data and technology to reform racial bias out of our legal system. NVMS was chosen following a highly competitive selection process and will receive funds to cover project implementation; assistance on data, policy, and community engagement from Urban; access to technology and related support; and peer learning opportunities. Key learnings and resources emerging from the Program will be shared with and beyond the justice reform field. Find out more at urbn.is/catalyst2025.
“We are thrilled to be a part of the Catalyst Grant Program,” said Arleen Borysiewicz, Executive Director of NVMS. “Beyond the overwhelmingly positive effect that AASC will continue to have on our legal system, as a result of this grant, we will be able to identify patterns within the program in order to advance reform, avoid racial bias, and support overall community safety.”
