Conferencing

Articles discussing restorative conferencing models.

Going Off Script: What is appropriate for a facilitator to say?: The conversation did cause me to re-examine my role and ask what is appropriate for a facilitator to say in a pre-conference setting.
Reflections on the restorative conference facilitator’s script: In mathematics and science, the term elegant is used to describe a formula or explanation that is both simple and comprehensive. Elegant ideas use evidence to braid together many of the messy strings dangling from a problem. They reveal core mechanisms and are easily related between individuals. Though it inhabits a world seemingly separate from the rigid logic of science and math, restorative conferencing is extremely elegant. The organization of conferencing approaches emotionally chaotic situations and provides structured opportunities to create solutions.
What are we looking for?: “Did you see remorse?” “What are we looking for?” “Why didn’t you ask about previous offending?” For the last four years, I’ve volunteered as a restorative conferencing facilitator with a local community organisation. As a part of that work, I now ‘mentor’ new facilitators. Inevitably, I get questions like the ones listed above. It’s always interesting to see the focus of new volunteers as they go through pre-conferences.
Lynette Parker: Listening to stories: “You don’t know what it means to have a member of the community listen to my story before making his decision.” One young man summed up his experience in a restorative conference with a community representative. Convicted of armed robbery, he had already served two years in prison and returned to his family when the conference took place. His statement reminded me of how powerful a restorative process can be.
Mediation and conferencing in child protection disputes: special issue of Family Court Review: In 1997, Family Court Review published the first special volume focused on child welfare mediation. At the time it was a relatively new field gaining ground in a number of states and provinces. Since then mediation and other alternatives to traditional and adversarial child welfare proceedings have been emerging and evolving across the United States, Canada, and the world. In this follow-up to the first special volume, the articles trace the history of the development of mediation and family group decision-making programs in the child welfare arena.
Bolitho, Jane. Creating space for young people, dialogue and decision making : youth justice conferencing in New South Wales Australia.: This study examines the process of Youth Justice Conferencing in New South Wales within the context of the theory and aims of the restorative justice movement. Analysis of relevant literature and theory suggests that restorative justice is a broad and encompassing movement that entails a decision making process where victims, communities and offenders come together in a joint response to an offence. Although this breadth has allowed and encouraged a proliferation of programs that respond to particular needs and particular demands of culture and social context, the consequence is that both understandings and practices of restorative justices are variable. When theoretical understandings are so varied there will necessarily be a lack of commonality in the way principles are articulated. If practice is not linked directly to principled theory it is inevitable that processes will be vulnerable at all levels to the interaction between context, situations and participant characteristics that may easily deflect the focus from the true purpose of restorative justice. This thesis attempts to clarify the restorative principles relevant to the NSW program with reference to Braithwaite and Pettit’s republican theory (1990) and their notion of dominion. In turn these principles are used to identify five practical elements to be used as a framework to guide youth conferences. Such a framework highlights potential areas for improvement in conference preparation and practice. A case study approach was used to collect data and involved the observation of eighty five Youth Justice Conferences in three New South Wales conferencing regions. As well, one hundred and fifty two currently practising Youth Justice Conferencing practitioners (Police, Conveners, Managers) in New South Wales completed a mail out questionnaire. Findings from the study suggest that conference processes are influenced by the presence or absence of five particular elements: the attendance of victims, the attendance of communities, the attendance of offender support, reparation to victims, communities and offenders and the experience of non-domination during the conference space. However, findings also suggest that ‘situational’ factors may mediate these key elements to enhance or compromise the overall process. This thesis suggests that many of the issues arising in NSW conferences result from the failure to articulate the links between restorative justice theory and practice. While in NSW such links may intentionally have been unarticulated in order to encourage a freedom within the process, in reality the lack of clarification has led to a freedom in discretion that sometimes diminishes the chance of success. Therefore it proposes the need for a more articulated translation of theory into principles that will in turn frame practice. In this way the thesis uses the normative theory proposed by Braithwaite and Pettit (1990) to provide an explanatory and ideal framework for best practice in NSW Youth Justice Conferencing. (author's abstract)
Hayes, Sharon and Hayes, Hennessey. Developing Ethical Identities in Young Offenders through Restorative Justice Practice in Australia.: Restorative justice is firmly established in Australian juvenile justice. While the official language used to describe restorative initiatives varies across states and territories, the most common form is a meeting or conference between young offenders and their victims (most commonly known as a family group or youth justice conference). During the past decade, an impressive amount of empirical research has examined how the restorative justice process affects offenders, victims and other participants (such as supporters for young offenders and victims). Results from this line of research are remarkably consistent and show that participants generally regard restorative conferences as procedurally fair and that they are satisfied with the outcomes (eg what young offenders agree to do to make up for their offending behaviour, such as offer a sincere apology or perform work for the victim or the community). What is less common, however, is the perception among participants that restorative conferences achieve the key aim of restoration. By ‘restoration’ we refer to encounters where ‘offenders apologise, their apologies are accepted, victims offer forgiveness, and conferences conclude with a feeling of mutual good will’. This research asks why this is so, and proposes that restoration and the development of ethical identities in young offenders is more difficult to achieve in a conference process that relies on traditional governing practices. (excerpt)
Mayer, Bernie. Reflections on the State of Consensus-Based Decision Making in Child Welfare.: Consensus approaches to child protection decision making such as mediation and family group conferencing have become increasingly widespread since first initiated about 25 years ago. They address but are also constrained by paradoxes in the child protection system about commitments to protecting children and to family autonomy. In a series of surveys, interviews, and dialogues, mediation and conferencing researchers and practitioners discussed the key issues that face their work: clarity about purpose, system support, family empowerment, professional qualifications, and coordination among different types of consensus-building efforts. Consensusbased decision making in child protection will continue to expand and grow but will also continue to confront these challenges. (author's abstract)
Rodogno, Raffaele . Shame and Guilt in Restorative Justice.: In this article, I examine the relevance and desirability of shame and guilt to restorative justice conferences. I argue that a careful study of the psychology of shame and guilt reveals that both emotions possess traits that can be desirable and traits that can be undesirable for restoration. More in particular, having presented the aims of restorative justice, the importance of face-to-face conferences in reaching these aims, the emotional dynamics that take place within such conferences, and the relevant parts of the empirical psychology of shame and guilt, I argue that restorative justice practitioners have to take account of a rather more complex picture than it had hitherto been thought. Restorative conferences are not simply about "shame management," though practitioners must certainly avoid shaming and humiliation. Given the nature of shame, guilt, and restorative conferences, it is not possible to provide a single concrete precept applicable to all restorative conferences. The successful holding of conferences depends in large part on the cultural and situational specificities at hand. The latter include among others knowledge of the perceived relations standing between victim and offender as well as the affective specificities of the individuals involved. (excerpt)
Rossner, Meredith. "Long Term Effects of Restorative Justice Conferencing: Do Emotional Dynamics Influence Offending?": The following analysis examines how within-conference variation affects long-term outcomes, specifically reoffending. In particular, I focus on the emotional, micro-dynamics of interaction, as outlined in Collins’ (2004) Microsociological theory of Interaction Ritual Chains. Using multivariate analysis from a large dataset of observed restorative justice conference as well as in depth discourse analysis of specific interactions, I argue that rhythmic entrainment and conversational balance lead to high-solidarity conference, which may influence offending rates post conference. The results speak both to the burgeoning field of the criminology of emotions, as well as theory and research in restorative justice. (Author's abstract)
Kenney, J. Scott and Clairmont, Don. Using the Victim Role as both Sword and Shield : The Interactional Dynamics of Restorative Justice Sessions.: Recently, criminal justice professionals have advocated restorative justice as an alternative to traditional punitive practices. Extant research has not examined the strategic interpersonal dynamics between victims, offenders, supporters, and facilitators during restorative justice sessions. Our ethnographic study addresses this gap. Building on studies of emotion in reintegrative shaming, we explore how shaming emotions are dramaturgically mediated by the rhetorical use of victim roles. We suggest that this micropolitical shame management facilitates apparently meaningful outcomes, undermines them, or results in agreements based more on realpolitik than reintegration. Our data are derived from detailed field notes at 28 youth restorative justice sessions in a mid-sized Canadian city. Our findings reveal a different picture than the frequently idealized images of restorative justice, thus underscoring the need for further analysis in this important area of criminal justice. (author's abstract)
Harris, Nathan. Mapping the adoption of Family Group Conferencing in Australian States and Territories.: Family Group Conferences were first legislated for in New Zealand in 1989 and since that time have captured the imagination of professionals and academics throughout the world with their capacity to involve families and communities in a collaborative approach to addressing child welfare concerns. Child protection systems in Australia, as in many other countries, have subsequently introduced conferencing programs. The first trial in Australia was initiated in Victoria in 1992 by a non-government agency (Ban, 1996), and trials in other states soon followed. Fifteen years later, a question worth asking is to what extent conferencing has become part of child protection practice in Australia’s states and territories. Child protection policy is under state jurisdiction in Australia, which means that adoption of an innovation like conferencing is likely to vary widely. This diversity is explored in this report through the available literature on conferencing programs, but also draws on interviews with practitioners in each state and territory. (excerpt)
Holland, Sally and Rivett, Mark. ‘Everyone Started Shouting’: Making Connections between the Process of Family Group Conferences and Family Therapy Practice.: This article presents findings from a qualitative study of family group conferences (FGCs) in Wales, UK. The study examined the process of seventeen FGCs involving twenty-five young people, using semi-structured interviews, analysis of documents and collection of data on welfare outcomes. Young people were re-interviewed after six months. The article focuses on the data concerning reported communications between family members during the family meetings. These data are discussed in relation to similarities and differences between FGCs and family therapy sessions. The authors conclude that each method of intervention presents potential lessons and challenges to the other. FGC co-ordinators might wish to reflect on how to manage and prepare family members for the potential for expressions of emotion and disclosures of confidential information that might arise in a family meeting. Family therapy has a long history of successfully working with such processes. Additionally, family therapists may wish to reflect on the successful management of intra-familiar conflict and disclosure by many families acting without a therapist or other professional present in a FGC. (author's abstract)
Smith, Sara. Restorative Justice: A Study of A Dispute Resolution Program.: The following presentation reflects the results of a qualitative study of a Dispute Resolution Program, Prince William County’s Restorative Justice Program, conducted by Sarah M. Smith through The George Washington University. The program is administered in conjunction with the 31st Judicial District Circuit Court and handles first-time juvenile offenders aged 9 to 17 charged with felonies or misdemeanours. Participants in the program are selected by judges, probation officers, or law enforcement officers as either a diversion from court or in addition to court adjudication: approximately 90% are diverted and 10% are selected by a judge. The purpose of the program is to repair the harm caused by crime through the participation of involved parties in an open, safe environment where the crime and its effects can be discussed. The program curriculum consists of an Orientation, Victim Impact Program sessions, and an Accountability Conference, if the victim agrees to participate. This study does not examine recidivism or satisfaction ratings but, rather, attempts to understand the process of restorative justice in the context of its supporting theory, linking theory to practice. The study examines how program staff encourage open and honest communication, empathic and sympathetic orientations in victims and offenders, and non-criminal, prosocial attitudes and behaviours by offenders, the purported benefits of restorative justice. In addition, empirical evidence generated by this study is used to analyze the utility of post-modern theoretical perspectives, principally ideas advanced by Foucault and Lyotard, to inform a model of restorative justice.
Crow, Gill and Marsh, Peter. Family Group Conferences in Youth Justice. Case Studies in Two Projects: As Crow and Marsh remark, the family group conference (FGC) model is a way of empowering the extended family network to plan to meet the needs of members who are identified as having difficulties. In youth justice, this model enables the young offender and his or her family to work with the police, other services, and the victim to make reparation for the offense committed and to prevent further offending. The FGC model has been of considerable interest in youth justice work. Yet at the time of publication of this paper, there had been few attempts to introduce them in practice in England and Wales. This document presents findings, then, on two pilot FGC projects in Sheffield and in Kirklees in England. The findings deal with issues of implementation, process, and outcome over the first year (1997-1998) of both projects.
Marsh, Peter and Crow, Gill. Family Partners: In this paper, Peter Marsh and Gill Crow report on a study that provided a detailed examination of eighty family group conferences (FGC) in England and Wales. These FGCs were carried out in four social services departments in 1995 and 1996. This document covers the FGC model for decision-making in child welfare cases, the conference process, outcomes of the eighty conferences studied, and participants’ views on the use of the FGC model. Marsh and Crow also point toward next steps to be taken to expand and improve the practice of FGCs in child welfare cases and other areas of welfare work.
Warters, Bill and Sebok, Tom and Goldblum, Andrea and Sebok, Tom. Making Things Right: Restorative Justice Comes to Campuses.: As Warters, Sebok, and Goldblum note, conflict on university and college campuses comes in many forms, from the interpersonal all the way to the criminal. Often such conflict requires a response from university officials or others empowered to uphold community norms and rules. However, write the authors, practitioners of conflict resolution on campuses sometimes find the traditional systems of justice (e.g., grievance, disciplinary, criminal) cumbersome, ineffective, and even re-traumatizing for those involved. In this context, Warters, Sebok, and Goldblum explore the use of community group conferencing, based on restorative justice principles, as a more creative and more satisfying response to conflict on campuses. To illustrate, the authors describe the development and implementation of a formal restorative justice program at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Mirsky, Laura. Community Conferencing: An Interview with Gena Gerard: This online article consists of an interview conducted by Laura Mirsky with Gina Gerard. The interview took place in 2002 at the International Institute for Restorative Practices’s Third International Conference on Conferencing, Circles and other Restorative Practices. Gina Gerard is program manager for the restorative justice program of Central City Neighborhoods Partnership (CCNP), located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. CCNP’s conferencing program has been in operation for more than five years. It addresses livability issues and crimes that affect the quality of life in this urban Minneapolis community. The interview covers such topics as the origin of the CCNP community conferencing program, how community conferencing works, the role of the community in the project, and outcomes from the program.
Spak, Simone. Pilot Project for F.G.C. for Child Protection in Israel: In April 2001 the Service for Children and Youth in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Israel together with Ashalim, (The Association for Planning & Development of Services for Children and Youth at Risk & their Families) decided to launch an extensive pilot project of F.G.C. for child protection. Two previous attempts at implementing F.G.C. for child protection met with difficulties and failed. The current project invested in creating interest and trust in the F.G.C. approach as a suitable alternative method of dealing with child abuse and neglect. Eighteen municipalities all over the country were chosen to participate: cities and rural settlements in the center and the south of the country, small Arab towns in the north, and Bedouin settlements in the Negev desert. The unique aspect of this presentation lies in the application of F.G.C. in such a diversity of cultures and communities. This presentation focuses on the value of F.G.C. as a universal approach applicable in a wide range of family and cultural contexts.
Sieppert, Jacki D and Hudson, Joe and Unrau, Yvonne and Hudson, Joe. Family Group Conferencing in Child Welfare: Lessons from a Demonstration Project: A child-welfare family group conferencing (FGC) project that served families who were referred for child abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment issues is reported. The stages and mechanisms used to implement the family group conferences are described, and the conferencing processes and outcomes are presented. Findings indicate that FGC is inherently a resource-intensive process, but one that successfully achieves broad participation in child-welfare decisions. The resource demands of FGC, however, also raise questions regarding the use of highly educated professionals to coordinate many aspects of a family group conference. A service-team approach to FGC is offered as one way of making it a viable model for child-welfare service delivery on a larger scale.

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Navigation RJ Office Kinds of Programmes Mediation Conferencing Circles Practice Manuals Practice Issues Programme Administration and Funding Programme Policy Manuals Building Support For Restorative Justice Training Evaluation Real People, Real Stories Programme Examples Kinds of Crimes Accreditation Staying Restorative	Info Conferencing Articles discussing restorative conferencing models. Going Off Script: What is appropriate for a facilitator to say? The conversation did cause me to re-examine my role and ask what is appropriate for a facilitator to say in a pre-conference setting. Reflections on the restorative conference facilitator’s script In mathematics and science, the term elegant is used to describe a formula or explanation that is both simple and comprehensive. Elegant ideas use evidence to braid together many of the messy strings dangling from a problem. They reveal core mechanisms and are easily related between individuals. Though it inhabits a world seemingly separate from the rigid logic of science and math, restorative conferencing is extremely elegant. The organization of conferencing approaches emotionally chaotic situations and provides structured opportunities to create solutions. What are we looking for? “Did you see remorse?” “What are we looking for?” “Why didn’t you ask about previous offending?” For the last four years, I’ve volunteered as a restorative conferencing facilitator with a local community organisation. As a part of that work, I now ‘mentor’ new facilitators. Inevitably, I get questions like the ones listed above. It’s always interesting to see the focus of new volunteers as they go through pre-conferences. Lynette Parker: Listening to stories “You don’t know what it means to have a member of the community listen to my story before making his decision.” One young man summed up his experience in a restorative conference with a community representative. Convicted of armed robbery, he had already served two years in prison and returned to his family when the conference took place. His statement reminded me of how powerful a restorative process can be. Mediation and conferencing in child protection disputes: special issue of Family Court Review In 1997, Family Court Review published the first special volume focused on child welfare mediation. At the time it was a relatively new field gaining ground in a number of states and provinces. Since then mediation and other alternatives to traditional and adversarial child welfare proceedings have been emerging and evolving across the United States, Canada, and the world. In this follow-up to the first special volume, the articles trace the history of the development of mediation and family group decision-making programs in the child welfare arena. Bolitho, Jane. Creating space for young people, dialogue and decision making : youth justice conferencing in New South Wales Australia. This study examines the process of Youth Justice Conferencing in New South Wales within the context of the theory and aims of the restorative justice movement. Analysis of relevant literature and theory suggests that restorative justice is a broad and encompassing movement that entails a decision making process where victims, communities and offenders come together in a joint response to an offence. Although this breadth has allowed and encouraged a proliferation of programs that respond to particular needs and particular demands of culture and social context, the consequence is that both understandings and practices of restorative justices are variable. When theoretical understandings are so varied there will necessarily be a lack of commonality in the way principles are articulated. If practice is not linked directly to principled theory it is inevitable that processes will be vulnerable at all levels to the interaction between context, situations and participant characteristics that may easily deflect the focus from the true purpose of restorative justice. This thesis attempts to clarify the restorative principles relevant to the NSW program with reference to Braithwaite and Pettit’s republican theory (1990) and their notion of dominion. In turn these principles are used to identify five practical elements to be used as a framework to guide youth conferences. Such a framework highlights potential areas for improvement in conference preparation and practice. A case study approach was used to collect data and involved the observation of eighty five Youth Justice Conferences in three New South Wales conferencing regions. As well, one hundred and fifty two currently practising Youth Justice Conferencing practitioners (Police, Conveners, Managers) in New South Wales completed a mail out questionnaire. Findings from the study suggest that conference processes are influenced by the presence or absence of five particular elements: the attendance of victims, the attendance of communities, the attendance of offender support, reparation to victims, communities and offenders and the experience of non-domination during the conference space. However, findings also suggest that ‘situational’ factors may mediate these key elements to enhance or compromise the overall process. This thesis suggests that many of the issues arising in NSW conferences result from the failure to articulate the links between restorative justice theory and practice. While in NSW such links may intentionally have been unarticulated in order to encourage a freedom within the process, in reality the lack of clarification has led to a freedom in discretion that sometimes diminishes the chance of success. Therefore it proposes the need for a more articulated translation of theory into principles that will in turn frame practice. In this way the thesis uses the normative theory proposed by Braithwaite and Pettit (1990) to provide an explanatory and ideal framework for best practice in NSW Youth Justice Conferencing. (author's abstract) Hayes, Sharon and Hayes, Hennessey. Developing Ethical Identities in Young Offenders through Restorative Justice Practice in Australia. Restorative justice is firmly established in Australian juvenile justice. While the official language used to describe restorative initiatives varies across states and territories, the most common form is a meeting or conference between young offenders and their victims (most commonly known as a family group or youth justice conference). During the past decade, an impressive amount of empirical research has examined how the restorative justice process affects offenders, victims and other participants (such as supporters for young offenders and victims). Results from this line of research are remarkably consistent and show that participants generally regard restorative conferences as procedurally fair and that they are satisfied with the outcomes (eg what young offenders agree to do to make up for their offending behaviour, such as offer a sincere apology or perform work for the victim or the community). What is less common, however, is the perception among participants that restorative conferences achieve the key aim of restoration. By ‘restoration’ we refer to encounters where ‘offenders apologise, their apologies are accepted, victims offer forgiveness, and conferences conclude with a feeling of mutual good will’. This research asks why this is so, and proposes that restoration and the development of ethical identities in young offenders is more difficult to achieve in a conference process that relies on traditional governing practices. (excerpt) Mayer, Bernie. Reflections on the State of Consensus-Based Decision Making in Child Welfare. Consensus approaches to child protection decision making such as mediation and family group conferencing have become increasingly widespread since first initiated about 25 years ago. They address but are also constrained by paradoxes in the child protection system about commitments to protecting children and to family autonomy. In a series of surveys, interviews, and dialogues, mediation and conferencing researchers and practitioners discussed the key issues that face their work: clarity about purpose, system support, family empowerment, professional qualifications, and coordination among different types of consensus-building efforts. Consensusbased decision making in child protection will continue to expand and grow but will also continue to confront these challenges. (author's abstract) Rodogno, Raffaele . Shame and Guilt in Restorative Justice. In this article, I examine the relevance and desirability of shame and guilt to restorative justice conferences. I argue that a careful study of the psychology of shame and guilt reveals that both emotions possess traits that can be desirable and traits that can be undesirable for restoration. More in particular, having presented the aims of restorative justice, the importance of face-to-face conferences in reaching these aims, the emotional dynamics that take place within such conferences, and the relevant parts of the empirical psychology of shame and guilt, I argue that restorative justice practitioners have to take account of a rather more complex picture than it had hitherto been thought. Restorative conferences are not simply about "shame management," though practitioners must certainly avoid shaming and humiliation. Given the nature of shame, guilt, and restorative conferences, it is not possible to provide a single concrete precept applicable to all restorative conferences. The successful holding of conferences depends in large part on the cultural and situational specificities at hand. The latter include among others knowledge of the perceived relations standing between victim and offender as well as the affective specificities of the individuals involved. (excerpt) Rossner, Meredith. "Long Term Effects of Restorative Justice Conferencing: Do Emotional Dynamics Influence Offending?" The following analysis examines how within-conference variation affects long-term outcomes, specifically reoffending. In particular, I focus on the emotional, micro-dynamics of interaction, as outlined in Collins’ (2004) Microsociological theory of Interaction Ritual Chains. Using multivariate analysis from a large dataset of observed restorative justice conference as well as in depth discourse analysis of specific interactions, I argue that rhythmic entrainment and conversational balance lead to high-solidarity conference, which may influence offending rates post conference. The results speak both to the burgeoning field of the criminology of emotions, as well as theory and research in restorative justice. (Author's abstract) Kenney, J. Scott and Clairmont, Don. Using the Victim Role as both Sword and Shield : The Interactional Dynamics of Restorative Justice Sessions. Recently, criminal justice professionals have advocated restorative justice as an alternative to traditional punitive practices. Extant research has not examined the strategic interpersonal dynamics between victims, offenders, supporters, and facilitators during restorative justice sessions. Our ethnographic study addresses this gap. Building on studies of emotion in reintegrative shaming, we explore how shaming emotions are dramaturgically mediated by the rhetorical use of victim roles. We suggest that this micropolitical shame management facilitates apparently meaningful outcomes, undermines them, or results in agreements based more on realpolitik than reintegration. Our data are derived from detailed field notes at 28 youth restorative justice sessions in a mid-sized Canadian city. Our findings reveal a different picture than the frequently idealized images of restorative justice, thus underscoring the need for further analysis in this important area of criminal justice. (author's abstract) Harris, Nathan. Mapping the adoption of Family Group Conferencing in Australian States and Territories. Family Group Conferences were first legislated for in New Zealand in 1989 and since that time have captured the imagination of professionals and academics throughout the world with their capacity to involve families and communities in a collaborative approach to addressing child welfare concerns. Child protection systems in Australia, as in many other countries, have subsequently introduced conferencing programs. The first trial in Australia was initiated in Victoria in 1992 by a non-government agency (Ban, 1996), and trials in other states soon followed. Fifteen years later, a question worth asking is to what extent conferencing has become part of child protection practice in Australia’s states and territories. Child protection policy is under state jurisdiction in Australia, which means that adoption of an innovation like conferencing is likely to vary widely. This diversity is explored in this report through the available literature on conferencing programs, but also draws on interviews with practitioners in each state and territory. (excerpt) Holland, Sally and Rivett, Mark. ‘Everyone Started Shouting’: Making Connections between the Process of Family Group Conferences and Family Therapy Practice. This article presents findings from a qualitative study of family group conferences (FGCs) in Wales, UK. The study examined the process of seventeen FGCs involving twenty-five young people, using semi-structured interviews, analysis of documents and collection of data on welfare outcomes. Young people were re-interviewed after six months. The article focuses on the data concerning reported communications between family members during the family meetings. These data are discussed in relation to similarities and differences between FGCs and family therapy sessions. The authors conclude that each method of intervention presents potential lessons and challenges to the other. FGC co-ordinators might wish to reflect on how to manage and prepare family members for the potential for expressions of emotion and disclosures of confidential information that might arise in a family meeting. Family therapy has a long history of successfully working with such processes. Additionally, family therapists may wish to reflect on the successful management of intra-familiar conflict and disclosure by many families acting without a therapist or other professional present in a FGC. (author's abstract) Smith, Sara. Restorative Justice: A Study of A Dispute Resolution Program. The following presentation reflects the results of a qualitative study of a Dispute Resolution Program, Prince William County’s Restorative Justice Program, conducted by Sarah M. Smith through The George Washington University. The program is administered in conjunction with the 31st Judicial District Circuit Court and handles first-time juvenile offenders aged 9 to 17 charged with felonies or misdemeanours. Participants in the program are selected by judges, probation officers, or law enforcement officers as either a diversion from court or in addition to court adjudication: approximately 90% are diverted and 10% are selected by a judge. The purpose of the program is to repair the harm caused by crime through the participation of involved parties in an open, safe environment where the crime and its effects can be discussed. The program curriculum consists of an Orientation, Victim Impact Program sessions, and an Accountability Conference, if the victim agrees to participate. This study does not examine recidivism or satisfaction ratings but, rather, attempts to understand the process of restorative justice in the context of its supporting theory, linking theory to practice. The study examines how program staff encourage open and honest communication, empathic and sympathetic orientations in victims and offenders, and non-criminal, prosocial attitudes and behaviours by offenders, the purported benefits of restorative justice. In addition, empirical evidence generated by this study is used to analyze the utility of post-modern theoretical perspectives, principally ideas advanced by Foucault and Lyotard, to inform a model of restorative justice. Crow, Gill and Marsh, Peter. Family Group Conferences in Youth Justice. Case Studies in Two Projects As Crow and Marsh remark, the family group conference (FGC) model is a way of empowering the extended family network to plan to meet the needs of members who are identified as having difficulties. In youth justice, this model enables the young offender and his or her family to work with the police, other services, and the victim to make reparation for the offense committed and to prevent further offending. The FGC model has been of considerable interest in youth justice work. Yet at the time of publication of this paper, there had been few attempts to introduce them in practice in England and Wales. This document presents findings, then, on two pilot FGC projects in Sheffield and in Kirklees in England. The findings deal with issues of implementation, process, and outcome over the first year (1997-1998) of both projects. Marsh, Peter and Crow, Gill. Family Partners In this paper, Peter Marsh and Gill Crow report on a study that provided a detailed examination of eighty family group conferences (FGC) in England and Wales. These FGCs were carried out in four social services departments in 1995 and 1996. This document covers the FGC model for decision-making in child welfare cases, the conference process, outcomes of the eighty conferences studied, and participants’ views on the use of the FGC model. Marsh and Crow also point toward next steps to be taken to expand and improve the practice of FGCs in child welfare cases and other areas of welfare work. Warters, Bill and Sebok, Tom and Goldblum, Andrea and Sebok, Tom. Making Things Right: Restorative Justice Comes to Campuses. As Warters, Sebok, and Goldblum note, conflict on university and college campuses comes in many forms, from the interpersonal all the way to the criminal. Often such conflict requires a response from university officials or others empowered to uphold community norms and rules. However, write the authors, practitioners of conflict resolution on campuses sometimes find the traditional systems of justice (e.g., grievance, disciplinary, criminal) cumbersome, ineffective, and even re-traumatizing for those involved. In this context, Warters, Sebok, and Goldblum explore the use of community group conferencing, based on restorative justice principles, as a more creative and more satisfying response to conflict on campuses. To illustrate, the authors describe the development and implementation of a formal restorative justice program at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Mirsky, Laura. Community Conferencing: An Interview with Gena Gerard This online article consists of an interview conducted by Laura Mirsky with Gina Gerard. The interview took place in 2002 at the International Institute for Restorative Practices’s Third International Conference on Conferencing, Circles and other Restorative Practices. Gina Gerard is program manager for the restorative justice program of Central City Neighborhoods Partnership (CCNP), located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. CCNP’s conferencing program has been in operation for more than five years. It addresses livability issues and crimes that affect the quality of life in this urban Minneapolis community. The interview covers such topics as the origin of the CCNP community conferencing program, how community conferencing works, the role of the community in the project, and outcomes from the program. Spak, Simone. Pilot Project for F.G.C. for Child Protection in Israel In April 2001 the Service for Children and Youth in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Israel together with Ashalim, (The Association for Planning & Development of Services for Children and Youth at Risk & their Families) decided to launch an extensive pilot project of F.G.C. for child protection. Two previous attempts at implementing F.G.C. for child protection met with difficulties and failed. The current project invested in creating interest and trust in the F.G.C. approach as a suitable alternative method of dealing with child abuse and neglect. Eighteen municipalities all over the country were chosen to participate: cities and rural settlements in the center and the south of the country, small Arab towns in the north, and Bedouin settlements in the Negev desert. The unique aspect of this presentation lies in the application of F.G.C. in such a diversity of cultures and communities. This presentation focuses on the value of F.G.C. as a universal approach applicable in a wide range of family and cultural contexts. Sieppert, Jacki D and Hudson, Joe and Unrau, Yvonne and Hudson, Joe. Family Group Conferencing in Child Welfare: Lessons from a Demonstration Project A child-welfare family group conferencing (FGC) project that served families who were referred for child abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment issues is reported. The stages and mechanisms used to implement the family group conferences are described, and the conferencing processes and outcomes are presented. Findings indicate that FGC is inherently a resource-intensive process, but one that successfully achieves broad participation in child-welfare decisions. The resource demands of FGC, however, also raise questions regarding the use of highly educated professionals to coordinate many aspects of a family group conference. A service-team approach to FGC is offered as one way of making it a viable model for child-welfare service delivery on a larger scale. Next 20 items » [1] 2 3 4 ... 6 Document Actions RSS feed Send this Print this	Africa Asia Europe Latin America Middle East North America and Caribbean Pacific Search 9932 publications on restorative justice Recent RJOB Comments Oakland as a RJ city? Jul 29, 2010 Trauma Jul 29, 2010 Psych Reports to BPT board Jul 29, 2010 More… Slide Show: What is Restorative Justice Click to view a slideshow discussing the definition of restorative justice. Jul 21, 2010 Promoting Restorative Justice in Panama Jul 28, 2010 Raising Community Awareness in Swaziland Jul 28, 2010 Exploring alternatives in Finland Jul 28, 2010 PF Rwanda Receives Grant for Reconciliation Work Jun 27, 2010 Restorative Justice in the Community.