http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org Articles discussing restorative conferencing models. daily 1 2009-02-23T23:01:44Z http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/restorative-practices-in-hungary-an-ex-prisoner-is-reintegrated-into-the-community from the article by Vidia Negrea: As the representative of Community Service Foundation of Hungary, the Hungarian affiliate of the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP), I participated in a group session of the Hungarian Crime Prevention and Prison Mission Foundation in summer 2009 (Sycamore Tree Project — www.pfi.org/cjr/stp/introduction — or Zacchaeus Program in Hungary). There I met the governor of Balassagyarmat prison, where inmates were working in groups on issues related to their crimes and exploring ways to repair relationships they had damaged. Some inmates began accepting responsibility for what they had done and were motivated to make things right and earn forgiveness of victims and their families. Prisoners made symbolic reparation in the form of community service within the prison, but there was still a lot to do to create opportunities for offenders to make contact with victims and shed the stigma of their offense by means of direct reparation. Also, prison management believed it important to support processes, acceptable to victimized families and communities, to help prisoners regain control of their lives and prevent reoffending. No publisher dvanness Conference Country:Hungary Victim Offender Practice Community Other Region: Europe Prison Circle 2011-11-21T01:47:53Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/the-salvation-army-and-restorative-justice from the article in The Dignity Project: “I will never forget my first brush with injustice” says Matt Delaney. “I was so hurt. I wanted pay back. I wanted to retaliate, to return the favour that I didn’t ask for. I did fight back. Strange though, after I unleashed my vengeance, all I felt was empty and alone. What was wrong with me? Where was the justice I was looking for? Why didn’t I feel justified? No publisher dvanness Conference School Practice Story Case:Violence Region: North America and Caribbean Country:Canada 2011-03-31T22:14:13Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/noscript by Lynette Parker I recently started reading The spirit and art of conflict transformation: Creating a culture of justpeace by Thomas Porter. Early in the book he says, “The work of conflict transformation is best described as the art of improvisation. Human interaction cannot be programmed, and there is no script for this journey.” Mentally, I said, “You’ve got that right.” No publisher lparker Conference Limitations Support Practice Correspondent:Lynette Parker Volunteer 2011-02-02T20:46:08Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/we-can-write-the-stories-of-peace-with-our-lives from the Fambul Tok website: Fambul Tok (Krio for “Family Talk”) emerged in Sierra Leone as a face-to-face community-owned program bringing together perpetrators and victims of the violence in Sierra Leone’s eleven-year civil war through ceremonies rooted in the local traditions of war-torn villages. It provides Sierra Leonean citizens with an opportunity to come to terms with what happened during the war, to talk, to heal, and to chart a new path forward, together. Fambul Tok is built upon Sierra Leone’s “family talk” tradition of discussing and resolving issues within the security of a family circle. The program works at the village level to help communities organize ceremonies that include truth-telling bonfires and traditional cleansing ceremonies—practices that many communities have not employed since before the war. Through drawing on age-old traditions of confession, apology and forgiveness, Fambul Tok has revived Sierra Leoneans’ rightful pride in their culture. No publisher dvanness Conference Region: Africa Practice Country:Sierra Leone National Reconciliation 2011-01-11T22:02:06Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/restorative-justice-dialogue-an-essential-guide-for-research-and-practice Restorative Justice Dialogue: An essential guide for research and practice. Mark Umbreit and Marilyn Peterson Armour (2010). New York: Springer Publishing Co. 339 pages. No publisher dvanness Conference Practice Book Review Mediation Circle 2010-10-06T18:46:55Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/facilitatorcomments 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. No publisher lparker Conference Practice Correspondent:Lynette Parker 2010-01-23T02:18:57Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/reflectionsonscript 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. No publisher lparker Conference Practice 2009-10-19T15:53:07Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/lookingfor “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. No publisher lparker Conference Practice Correspondent:Lynette Parker 2009-10-08T10:35:52Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/listening-to-stories-1 “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. No publisher lparker Conference Story Practice Region: North America and Caribbean Correspondent:Lynette Parker Country:USA 2009-06-15T13:47:02Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/special-issue-mediation-and-conferencing-in-child-protection-disputes 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. No publisher dvanness Conference Mediation Practice Region: North America and Caribbean Child Welfare 2009-05-22T04:46:01Z News Item http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org This document reports the final evaluation of a three-year pilot project of family group conferencing in Etobicoke. A collaborative effort of four child welfare organizations in Etobicoke and the Toronto area, the family group conferencing pilot lasted from October 1998 to April 2001. The aim was to establish a model of family group conferencing that would function successfully by providing good and effective child welfare services in the Toronto area. This report covers the following topics: background to the pilot project; the origins of family group conferencing; specifics of the structure of the Etobicoke Family Group Conferencing Project; the evaluation’s findings with respect to outcomes, benefits, challenges, and costs of the conferences; the development of a referral system; and projection of next steps for the project. Mandell, Deena and Meredith, Grahame and Sullivan, Nancy Child Welfare Conference Country:Canada Evaluation Practice Region: North America and Caribbean Report 2007-03-04T23:41:09Z RJ Article http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org In the child welfare system, children in residential treatment and group care facilities are the neediest. Cases for children in group care are among the most difficult to resolve. For these children – whether they will eventually live with their family again, or they will never live with their family again – family remains of great significance. Yet, for various reasons, their family is rarely included in case planning or intervention processes. Many, therefore, reach independence at age 18 with no family support network. In this context, the Northwest Institute for Children and Families studied and evaluated the effectiveness of family group conferencing (FGC) on behalf of high needs youth in residential care settings in Washington State. This document presents the Institute’s 'Phase One Evaluation' findings. These are results based on a retrospective study of a number of conferences for youth in group care placements between 1998 and 2001. Northwest Institute for Children and Families Article Child Welfare Conference Country:USA Evaluation Practice Region: North America and Caribbean Report 2007-03-04T23:41:09Z RJ Article http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org The authors of this paper write that kinship practice is increasingly being seen as a best practice model in child protective services (CPS) settings. Kinship practice can be used in a number of ways as a diversion strategy: support for families while children remain in their biological parents’ home; temporary out-of-home placements; and permanent out-of-home placements. In this framework, the authors examine the following: the traditional relationship between kinship resources and CPS; principles to guide the adoption of kinship orientation in CPS; strategies use by a particular state child protection agency to build such an orientation; and family group decision-making as a means of increasing kin resources in child protection planning and service delivery. Horwitz, Mark and Prostak, Nancy and Lovelace-Graham, Valerie and Roche, Olga Article Conference Practice 2007-03-04T23:41:09Z RJ Article http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org The Santa Clara family conference model (FCM) originated in 1996 as a response to the need for families to contribute to the improvement of safety and protection of children in their care. The Santa Clara FCM is a form of family group decision-making (FGDM); this FCM is an adaptation of prototypes from New Zealand and Oregon (USA). This document provides an overview of the principles and processes of FCM, as well as a summary of key findings from a four-year evaluation of Santa Clara’s FCM program. The findings cover perceptions about the Santa Clara FCM from staff members and family participants, and outcomes from FCM processes in the Santa Clara program. County of Santa Clara Family Conference Institute Article Child Welfare Conference Country:USA Evaluation Practice Region: North America and Caribbean 2007-03-04T23:41:09Z RJ Article http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org Used in child welfare contexts, family group decision making (FGDM) is a model and strategy for focusing on family strengths and capacity for change rather than on family problems and deficits. FGDM involves bringing together extended family members to develop a plan of safety and placement for children in families referred to child protective services. This document reports the results of a third-year evaluation of the Family Group Decision Making Program of the Arizona Department of Economic Security. The evaluation report includes a number of components: a description of the current legislative requirements in Arizona; a review of relevant literature; program implementation information based on surveys, site visits, and staff interviews; descriptive data; outcomes for participating families; and conclusions and recommendations based on the evaluation. Additionally, the report contains many appendices with program information, statistical data, and assessment tools underlying the evaluation. LeCroy and Milligan Associates, Inc. Article Child Welfare Conference Country:USA Evaluation Practice Region: North America and Caribbean 2007-03-04T23:41:09Z RJ Article