Briarpatch Youth Services is proud to share a significant milestone within our Youth Restitution Program (YRP). With the support of dedicated staff, young people have paid back more than $2,000,000 in restitution to victims. While that number is powerful, the true story isn’t about the dollars. It’s about accountability, growth, and the opportunity for young people to take meaningful steps toward repairing harm and rebuilding trust.
The Briarpatch Youth Services Youth Restitution Program (YRP) provides court-involved youth with structured opportunities to earn money and pay restitution to victims. A team of thoughtful, caring, and dedicated staff members provide employment support, skill-building, and consistent mentorship. As a result, youth learn responsibility, not as punishment, but as a pathway forward. Since its inception, YRP has seen a consistent successful completion rate of over 90%. With a growing 96% program completion rate in 2025 (representing participation by 310 youth, including youth with community service obligations), YRP demonstrates that when young people are given clear expectations, consistent mentorship, real support, and a chance for self-reflection, they show up. They commit. They follow through. That completion rate reflects youth who are choosing to put in the work to better their own lives while reflecting on choices and making amends.
For the young people involved, paying restitution represents more than fulfilling a court order. It restores a sense of dignity. It allows them to move forward without unresolved debt hanging over their future. It reinforces the message that their positive actions matter and that they have the power to make things right. For the youth themselves, the experience is often transformative, and the victim is also factored into the equation.
Dean Bossenbroek, Briarpatch Youth Restitution Program Manager, says, “In the Youth Justice System, victims are often out of sight. They did not choose to be involved with Youth Justice programming. A major part of what we do in the Youth Restitution Program is to make every effort to ensure victims receive all their restitution ordered by the court.”
One longtime YRP Participant said, “Thank you both for giving me another chance to change my ways. I am definitely a different and better person than I was when I was 18. I will be graduating from Nursing School this May and I am so grateful to have been given this chance.”
This milestone also reflects the strength of partnership. Briarpatch Youth Services has worked closely with Dane County since 1978 to ensure young people have a structured, supportive pathway to accountability, rather than deeper system involvement. Investment in programs like YRP strengthens community safety while centering restoration over punishment.
Two million dollars repaid tells one story. The deeper story is this: young people are capable of growth. When given structure, opportunity, and support, they rise to the challenge. Through Briarpatch’s Youth Restitution Program, accountability becomes transformation, and restitution becomes restoration.
