People who want to see restorative justice take root in their communities and local justice systems have an unusual opportunity coming up in the next few months.  The US National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is currently recruiting people to serve on local Site Coordination Teams for satellite-based training on restorative justice that it will deliver during the week of 28 January 2002. 

The training is being adapted from highly effective in-person training that NIC has delivered repeatedly over the past few years.  The training introduces restorative justice theory, programs and practices, explores ways restorative justice changes traditional criminal justice practice, and helps corrections and criminal justice personnel as well as interested community members begin planning for implementation of those changes.

The five-day training will be highly participatory, and will draw on the experiences and expertise of all participants regardless of whether they have any familiarity with restorative justice.  It will blend presentations made by satellite transmission with small group discussions and exercises facilitated by the Site Coordination Teams.

These Teams will be made up of individuals with skills or expertise in one or more of the following areas:  group facilitation, project coordination, technical skills related to satellite downloads, and content expertise in restorative justice.  Each Team will be responsible for locating and preparing the local training site, for   advertising the training and coordinating registration, for duplicating the participant manual prepared by NIC, and for facilitating the training event itself.

While their work will be demanding, Site Coordination Teams will be given a number of resources by NIC.  First, NIC will conduct a two day training event on 7 & 8 November 2001 for Site Coordination Teams.  During this training, Team members will be thoroughly briefed on how to prepare for and conduct the January training event.  In addition, NIC will provide consultation as needed on finding local sites capable of receiving satellite transmissions and on marketing the training.  It will also provide a camera-ready version of the participant manual as well as a complete copy of the facilitator's manual.

 

August 2001