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Creating Alternatives for Young Offenders in Toronto

An innovative diversion programme offers young offenders in the Greater Toronto area an opportunity to clear their records and contribute to the community. Called PACT (for participation, acknowledgement, commitment, and transformation), it partners with youth courts to provide a restorative justice and community service alternative in sentencing young offenders.

Lee County Victim Offender Conference Program

The Lee County Victim Offender Conference (VOC) Program is a relatively new outgrowth of the Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice Initiative. VOC provides victims with an opportunity to meet with first time young offenders as a diversion from court. In this article, Mary Huffman of Lee County Probation provides an overview of the development of Lee County VOC.

Law Commission of Canada. Minister’s Reference on Institutional Child Abuse: Discussion Paper.

Established in 1997 by Act of Parliament in Canada, the Law Commission of Canada is an independent federal law reform agency. The Commission provides advice to Parliament on reforming and modernizing Canada’s laws. In recent years the issue of child abuse has gained considerable public attention. This includes child abuse in institutions where children were placed for their education, welfare, rehabilitation, or even protection. In late 1997 the federal Minister of Justice asked the Law Commission of Canada to examine the matter of abuse in institutions. Specifically, the Commission examined processes for addressing the harms caused by abuse of children in government-run, government-funded, or government sponsored institutions. The Commission’s report identifies the needs of survivors of institutional child abuse, approaches to redress the harms, and ways to begin to provide redress for survivors.

Law Commission of Canada. Law Commission of Canada Annual Report 2003-2004.

Established in 1997 by Act of Parliament in Canada, the Law Commission of Canada is an independent federal law reform agency. As such, the Commission provides advice to Parliament on reforming and modernizing Canada’s laws. In its 2003-2004 annual report, the Commission highlights its efforts over the course of the year in the following areas: governance relationships; social relationships; economic relationships; and personal relationships. With respect to social relationships in particular, the Commission produced a report to Parliament titled Transforming Relationships through Participatory Justice. This report contains a number of proposals whereby governments, justice officials, community groups, and individuals working in conflict resolution can support innovative justice processes which have citizen participation at their core.

Law Commission of Canada. Law Commission of Canada Annual Report 2000-2001: Engaging Canadians.

Established in 1997 by Act of Parliament in Canada, the Law Commission of Canada is an independent federal law reform agency. The Commission provides advice to Parliament on reforming and modernizing Canada’s laws. Central to the Commission’s mission is to engage Canadian citizens in the process of understanding and renewing law. This is pursued through various ways and means, including research papers, discussion groups, conferences, meetings, and Internet interactivity (e.g., e-mail, comments boards, webcasts, and online discussions). This document consists of its annual report for 2000-2001. Of particular focus, beginning on page 8, is elaboration of the Commission’s efforts in exploring restorative justice as an alternative approach to the delivery of criminal justice. As part of this, the Commission is also investigating the extension of restorative justice principles into other areas of law, such as family law, labor law, and commercial law.

Furness, Amanda. Turning Toward Compassion: Restorative Justice works to develop youths' conscience

It isn't enough just to boss them around. Parents, teachers and court authorities have found this statement to be true in their dealings with many of today's youth - often losing their children to the system after forced discipline fails to work. A method recently introduced in New Orleans called the "restorative justice" movement is hoping to revolutionize the relationships between youth and their communities by exhibiting the most basic human emotion. Love. (extract)

Planning Committee for the Balanced and Restorative Justice Conference. Directory of Michigan Programs Incorporating Restorative Justice Principles

The Directory of Michigan Programs Incorporating Restorative Justice Principles is an initial attempt to catalogue Michigan juvenile programs that utilize one or more restorative justice principles. Restorative justice programs promote maximum participation of the victim, juvenile offender, and community in juvenile justice proceedings. Balanced attention is given to offender accountability, offender competency development, and community protection. The programs described in this directory utilize one or more of these principles: the programs are not based entirely on restorative justice principles. (excerpt)

Michigan Family Independence Agency. Crime Victim Survey Provider Survey: Assessing the Availability, Accessibility and Adequacy of Service for Victims of Juvenile Crime in Michigan

Currently, there is a lack of awareness within the juvenile justice system regarding available victim services, how to access them and how best to address the needs of victims of juvenile offenders. Resource directories exist for specific types of victim services such as domestic violence, sexual assault or drunk driving. More than one group or organization has compiled a directory of victim service providers however they are not comprehensive and are not well publicized. In addition, the majority of established, well known victim service providers deal primarily with victims of adult offenders. An accessible, well- publicized and regularly updated database of victim resources (including those available for victims of juvenile offenders) is needed for victims of crime as well as service providers and justice system professionals. The information gained through this preliminary research will be used to update, consolidate and expand existing victim resource directories into one comprehensive Michigan victim services and resources database. The goal is create a database that can be updated at frequent intervals and that is user friendly. In the future, the information will also be used as part of a strategic planning process aimed at developing and implementing practices within the Bureau of Juvenile Justice that address the rights and needs of victims of juvenile crime. (excerpt)

Enns, Elaine. California Victim Offender Program Directory

A list of victim offender programs in California, with contact information and other identifying information such as: type of agency, types of referrals, referral point in the juvenile justice system, number of cases received/mediated in 2003, and other programs offered.

Schellenberg, Jill S. Public Opinion on Implementing Restorative Justice Principles in Fresno, California

The research in this project indicates where the public stands on how to meet the goals of a fair and just criminal justice system. People of different ethnic groups, ages, gender, and personal experience with crime in Fresno, California were polled to see how they felt about alternatives to the criminal justice system. Polling Hispanics and African-Americans was especially important because these groups are more often victims of crime than other ethnic groups in Fresno. The research showed that, when given the choice, people favored restorative methods of dealing with crime, rather than retributive methods. (excerpt)

Deschutes County Board of Supervisors. Community Justice Resolution: Resolution No. 96-122 (Deschutes County, Oregon)

Resolution of the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners adopting community justice as "the central mission and purpose of the county's community corrections efforts."

Deschutes County Juvenile Community Justice. Deschutes County Juvenile Community Justice Report: A Report Card to Our Stakeholders; 2002 Family Survey Results

This 2001 annual report card from Deschutes county, Oregon provides a brief overview of programmes and outcomes.

Deschutes County Juvenile Community Justice. 2003 Deschutes County Juvenile Community Justice Report Card

We are pleased to present this 2003 Juvenile Community Justice Report Card to our stakeholders, and hope that it leads to a better understanding of the issues facing the youth and families of our community. This publication is our third year of reporting to the community on a set of performance measures designed to inform citizens about our ability to restore justice for victims, build safer communities and hold youth accountable. (excerpt)

Umbreit, Mark S and Umbreit, Jenni and Fercello, Claudia and Umbreit, Jenni and Greenwood, Jean and Fercello, Claudia. Directory of Victim Offender Mediation & Conferencing Programs in the United States

This directory lists victim offender mediation programs found throughout the United States. Programs are alphabetized first by the state, then the city, and finally by the program name. For those states which do not have a page listing, it means that we do not have any records of a victim offender mediation program in that state. It does not mean necessarrily that there are no programes in that state, only that we have no records of such a program. (excerpt).

Lightfoot, Elizabeth and Umbreit, Mark S. Analysis of State Statutory Provisions for Victim-Offender Mediation

Restorative justice practices are taking root around the country, however there is little empirical data related to restorative justice policies and programs. One such practice is VOM; the current article documents the existing statutory authority among States relating to the restorative justice practice of VOM in criminal cases. State code provisions are important for providing a framework for the implementation of VOM statewide. A LexisNexus search of all State codes using VOM language and types of activities produced 29 States that have VOM-related statutory authority. The comprehensiveness of the statutes ranged widely, with some including details related to training requirements, costs, evaluation, confidentiality, and liability, while others simply mentioned VOM as an alternative sentencing option. The specific provisions are discussed in turn. Statutory authority over VOM is important to establishing a standard through which practitioners can work; as the practice of VOM continues to grow, more States will begin to enact legislation governing its use as a criminal justice practice. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Hannem, Stacey and Petrunik, Michael G. Canada's Circles of Support and Accountability: A Community Justice Initiative for High-risk Sex Offenders

In 1986, legislation that was designed to keep high-risk offenders away from the public actually created a loophole that allowed certain high risk offenders to be released at the conclusion of their sentence without any community supervision requirement. Canadian authorities realized that releasing high risk offenders, especially those convicted of sex crimes against children, into a fearful and hostile community would not serve the public interest. As such, the COSA initiative came about with the understanding that community protection can be enhanced by a restorative approach that combines offender reintegration with a concern for public safety. The development of this approach in Canada came about as a result of public outcry following a high-profile case in which a released sex offender killed a child. COSA works by uniting four to seven trained team members in a covenant with a high-risk sex offender in order to provide the offender with assistance obtaining work, housing and recreation, social assistance, and community resources. The criteria for successful COSA’s include open communication between COSA team members and the criminal justice system. The COSA model requires a careful balance between reintegration and risk management concerns, but the effort provides enhanced community safety and valuable community reintegration services that help keep offenders from recidivating. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

San Joaquin County Human Services Agency. Family Conferencing Process: Practice and Procedure Guide

The Human Services Agency of San Joaquin County in California employs a family conferencing model to improve the care and protection of children. This approach functions by building partnerships between the family, community, and government. The San Joaquin family conferencing model roots in the belief that the best care and protection for children can be achieved by joining the strengths of families with community and agency support systems. This document provides a guide for family conferencing practice and procedure. The guide contains a history of this approach in San Joaquin County; a definition of what is meant by xe2x80x9cfamilyxe2x80x9d and who constitutes a childxe2x80x99s family; the importance of the family; principles of family conferencing; the referral process; the family conferencing process; and the roles of participants.

Sandau-Beckler, Pat. El Paso County. Familias Primero: Family Group Conferencing. 2003 Project Evaluation.

The Familias Primero Family Group Conferencing Project is a model court initiative of the 65th Judicial District Children’s Court in El Paso, Texas. Family group conferencing (FGC) is a process whereby child welfare services collaborate with the family, and the extended family and its support network, in the decision-making and development of plans for the care and protection of the children. An evaluation of the El Paso FGC program was conducted in the spring of 2003, with the period being evaluated covering January 2002 through March 2003. The report on the evaluation includes an in-depth analysis of the experiences of this entire FGC program. Some of the specific areas evaluated, especially with respect to outcomes, were the following: family communication; family strengths development; family resource development; goal setting and case management; compliance; and family permanency.

Mandell, Deena and Sullivan, Nancy and Meredith, Grahame and Sullivan, Nancy. Family Group Conferencing: Final Evaluation Report

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.

Northwest Institute for Children and Families. Connected and Cared For: Using Family Group Conferencing for Children in Group Care. Phase I: Retrospective Study, Evaluation Findings

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.