Work is limited to nonprofit organizations due to potential for fair market competition complaints, as well as the need nonprofit organizations always have for additional help. Ohio has significant regulatory requirements for this type of program, as well as other state and juvenile court operational guidelines and evaluation requirements. As a condition of probation, juvenile offenders are given a deadline to complete the necessary number of work hours. This money is used to pay the victims after the juvenile offender has worked the appropriate number of hours. Two percent of the money earned goes to the County Treasurer for overhead in operating the program.
Most youth let all of the earnings go to the victim so that they work off the restitution sooner.
The juvenile court then makes final disposition of the case. Length is dependent on the court-ordered restitution and the juvenile offender's ability to work the required hours. Some youth who live outside the city have difficulty working anytime except Saturdays, and coordinating the organizations' operating hours with the youths' schedule can determine the length of the program. The Program Officer reports that there is essentially no limit to the number of juvenile offenders the program could handle. Also, there are a finite number of organizations participating in the program, so there is a finite amount of work available to be done.