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An Outcome Evaluation of Minnesota Circles of Support and Accountability (MnCoSA)
from the study by the Minnesota Department of Corrections:
....The use of the COSA model with high-risk sex offenders began in a small Mennonite community in Canada in the early 1990s. Grounded in the tenets of the restorative justice philosophy, the COSA model attempts to help sex offenders successfully reenter http://www.doc.state.mn.us/publications/documents/9-12MnCOSAResearchinBrief.pdfthe community and, thus, increase public safety, by providing them with social support as they try to meet their employment, housing, treatment, and other social needs. Each COSA consists of anywhere between four and six community volunteers, one of whom is a primary volunteer, who meet with the offender on a regular basis. The results from several evaluations of the Canadian COSA model suggest it significantly reduces sex offender recidivism....
May 10, 2013 Case:Abuse, Offender, Reentry, Practice, Community, Region: North America and Caribbean, Case:Sexual, Policy, Circle, Country:USA
Developing restorative justice circle intuition
from the entry by Kris Miner in Restorative Justice and Circles:
The first step is to gain knowledge, the ‘how to’ of a Restorative Justice Circle. Then you develop experience, those experiences lend to your understanding and ability to predict what happens. Pour in some passion, some real care and authenticity to your work and you’ll develop an effective style of Circle Keeping. That blends to provide Circle intuition.
Restorative justice circles: The real deal can be done at all health levels
from the entry by Kris Miner in Restorative Justice and Circles:
I mention the “real deal” in my blog title.
Simply using a talking piece, is not a Restorative Justice Circle. Link here for Covey’s definition of a Talking Piece. Restorative Justice Circles, as brought from the Yukon, to the US, based in first nations/indigenous work include: Ceremony (Open/Close), Guidelines (Values), Talking Piece, Consensus, Storytelling, Keeper and the 4 stages of Circle.
"Just get a rock and talk"
from Robert C. Koehler's article on New. Clear. Vision:
Note: this is about a child custody proceeding.
The circle was held shortly after Christmas. Elizabeth and Peter were the keepers. The participants were Bill, Andrea, Alyssa and the young girl’s two grandfathers. It lasted about eight hours, far longer than most subsequent circles (the average length is two hours), but it ended with an agreement between Bill and Andrea. “I got more accomplished in eight hours than a year in court,” he said.
Oct 05, 2012 Circle, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA
Restorative justice at OWS
from the post by Stephan Geras on ZNet:
....However these “deeply personalized” new democratic processes will of necessity encounter obstacles and trip blocks which can bring to the surface individual and collective hurt or trauma; or in other words conflict which can obviously be strong enough to provoke violence. What’s referred to as the “cycle of violence” I interpret to mean that violence of any kind is internalized, whether it’s one on one or it’s a result of systemic mechanisms of oppression.
Jul 12, 2012 Process, Practice, Community, Region: North America and Caribbean, Circle, Country:USA
Effective, even alone: Co-keep a restorative justice circle
from the post by Kirs Miner in Restorative Justice and Circles:
....Even if you are the only one assigned to be ‘keeping’ the Circle, know that your Circle will be more effective, if you view every person in the Circle as your co-keeper. I say things like “everyone is both teacher and student”. We honor the equal worth of every person, by having that respect and showing it to each person. That plays out into Circles where each person feels and experiences personal growth.
There’s hope even for sex offenders
from Chris Dornin's article in Corrections.com:
....So we register sex offenders as surrogate terrorists and post their personal information as if it were bin Laden’s bio on the Internet for everyone to see. Failure to report to police on a quarterly basis earns a sex offender a new felony charge. We ban them from living near schools, daycare centers and school bus stops with draconian penalties for violations. We civilly commit them when they finish their prison terms.
We make sure those are long sentences by stacking charges in multiple consecutive bids. Each image of child on hard drive becomes a separate felony. We give sex offenders special license plates. The police notify the neighbors when a sex offender moves in nearby. The neighbors evict them, or force the landlords to do it for them, sometimes subtly, sometimes with raw violence.
Apr 25, 2012 Circle, Practice, Case:Violence, Case:Sexual
Circles for sex offenders first in the South
from the article by Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan in the Herald-Sun:
Durham is starting the first Circles of Safety and Accountability in the South for sex offenders getting out of prison. COSA will match recently released sex offenders in Durham with a circle of people who will meet with them weekly to hold them accountable and support them in re-entering the community.
Durham County is home to about 300 convicted sex offenders.
Apr 12, 2012 Case:Abuse, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Case:Sexual, Policy, Circle, Country:USA
Review: A community-based approach to the reduction of sexual re-offending: circles of support and accountability
Often sex offenders are isolated people who have difficulty making relationships, and when they come out of prison the double stigma of prison and the nature of their offence isolates them still more – an extra hardship for them, and an increased risk that they will revert to their previous behaviour. So the idea of forming a circle of support for them is both humane and a safeguard. It does not fall under the usual definition of restorative justice, because it does not include dialogue with the victim, which would in many cases be unwanted and/or inappropriate. It does however restore or even improve the situation of the offender, and it involves members of the community.
Feb 01, 2012 Case:Abuse, Country:England&Wales, Book Review, Practice, Correspondent:Martin Wright, Region: Europe, Case:Sexual, Policy, Circle
The fight room
from the article by Elaine Shpungin and Dominic Barter in Tikkun:
Today we continue to struggle with other epidemics, such as the widespread persistence of interpersonal violence, structural violence, and violence based in inter-racial and inter-ethnic tensions. Not only is the cost great in terms of lost lives and personal trauma, but considerable resources are also spent on attempts to subdue, redirect, and control the violence. Yet, as in nineteenth-century London, we may continue to make little progress in treating this disease until we are willing to honestly re-examine our deeply held beliefs about its origins.
Jan 19, 2012 School, Practice, Country:Brazil, Region: Latin America, Circle
