Earn & Learn Juvenile Restorative Community Service (Earn & Learn) is the only community service/restitution program in Buncombe County or the city of Asheville. Earn & Learn accepts juveniles between the ages of 11 and 18 referred from the Division of Juvenile Justice to complete court-ordered community service throughout our service area. If a client must pay restitution (damages) to a victim, then a client may earn a wage of $7.00 an hour for up to $700.00 or 100 hours. We serve both diverted and adjudicated youth through supervised work and interactive journals. Juveniles in the Earn & Learn program provide an important service to the community while acknowledging the harm they may have caused through their choices.

Earn & Learn Juvenile Restorative Community Service provides face-to-face interaction with community members, adult staff members, and other youth in a setting that is in stark contrast to school and home. This allows juveniles to express themselves in a positive environment where they come to understand the consequences of both positive and negative decision-making. Our process of restorative justice (giving back to the victim, community, family, and juvenile) not only provides compensation to victims, but also allows the juvenile to change their worldview, leading to positive decision making and fewer encounters with the juvenile court system.

For more information about the Earn & Learn program or our specific community service locations, please contact Juan Holladay, Director of Program Services and Community Development, at (828)707-3800 or juan@buncombealternatives.org.