United States

Provides a listing of articles on restorative justice developments in Austria. Articles appear in the order in which they were added to the site with the most recent appearing first.

Goodenough-Gordon, Katya. RADIUS Program for Girls in Minnesota Offers a Gender-Specific Model.

RADIUS is an innovative effort that blends the philosophies of restorative justice with the best practices of gender- responsive programming for girls under 18. Restorative services are provided to girls while they are in residential placement, during their transition and furlough, and after release. The two key components of the program are restorative justice circles and grief and trauma counseling. (excerpt)

Sered, Danielle. Mature Justice: Developing Restorative Practices for Serious Young Offenders.

At the Vera Institute of Justice, I am currently designing a Restorative Justice project that aims to target 16-19-year-olds in the adult Criminal system who are facing a range of offenses, including serious and violent ones. If and only if their ‘victims’ welcome the process, they and the offenders will be diverted into a Victim-Offender Mediation and/or Conferencing program with intensive preparatory and follow-up components. I’ll talk about those components and what they’ll look like as we go on. The project will be conducted in partnership with the courts and will include an intensive research and evaluation component. This project, particularly the inclusion of serious and violent offenses, is a leap for New York. But our house is very much on fire. (excerpt)

Ryan, Gail and Hey, Christopher. Restorative Practices in the Souderton Area School District.

We in the Souderton Area School District (SASD), nestled in the Indian Valley, midway between Philadelphia and Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA, take pride in the strength of our community. It is this sense of connectedness that makes Souderton such a vital and special place. When people ask what makes the Indian Valley exceptional, our first response is, “We have a strong, supportive community.” While we know we have a good thing going, we also share a vision for brightening our future. The administration at SASD feels a compelling responsibility to build a lasting culture that esteems achievement and values community. (excerpt)

Krisberg, Barry. Rediscovering the Juvenile Justice Ideal in the United States.

This chapter traces the evolution of the American juvenile justice system from the 1960s through the early 2000s. In 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in In re Gault, which proclaimed that minors were entitled to due process and equal protection in court proceedings, changed the course of juvenile justice. The sentiment throughout the country during the 1970s was that juvenile offenders should be deinstitutionalized and emphasis should be placed on rehabilitation rather than punishment. In 1974, Congress enacted the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), which established the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to conduct research and training and make funding available to States and jurisdictions. While OJJDP made great strides for juvenile justice in its early years, both Presidents Reagan and Bush (the elder), curtailed funding for the OJJDP and appointed conservative people to head OJJDP who had limited or no qualifications. The moral panic created by a surge in juvenile violence during the early 1990s also prompted public sentiment to shift away from rehabilitation and back toward confinement. President Clinton’s appointment of Janet Reno as the U.S. Attorney General guided the OJJDP back on its course and provided it with a focus on delinquency prevention as the key component to combating youth crime. President George W. Bush, on the other hand, appointed a leader with little experience and then succeeded in decreasing OJJDP funding. The author contends that at the dawn of the 21st century, there are three major juvenile justice initiatives that have the potential to revolutionize the American juvenile justice system: (1) balanced and restorative justice; (2) the OJJDP Comprehensive Strategy; and (3) the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Following a brief description of these initiatives, which focus on restorative justice practices and the value of crime prevention, the author contends that major changes are needed to save the under-funded, under-staffed American juvenile justice system. (Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov).

Williams, Kara and Manteco, Armando and Cooke, Aletta and Dugdale, Heather and Reznik, Vivian and Herzog, Kari. Law and Order San Diego: Teen Court Metes Out Restorative Justice.

This article describes the San Diego Teen Court Program, which offers an alternative to the formal juvenile justice system for minor juvenile offenders. Since September 2001, the San Diego Teen Court has sentenced over 250 juvenile offenders and has trained more than 4,300 high school students in restorative justice practices. Based on a restorative justice model that focuses on repairing harms caused by the offenses, the teen court utilizes trained volunteers from local high schools to serve as jurors, bailiffs, attorneys, and clerks for juvenile sentencing hearings. The training teaches volunteers about the juvenile justice system and the principles of restorative justice. Once trained, volunteers serve in hearing sessions where they impose binding sentences on juvenile offenders. Sentencing options include letters of apology, workshops related to the offense, community service, curfews, and teen court jury duty. The court process is entirely youth-led with the exception of an adult judge who provides supervision. Following the sentencing, the offenders and their guardians meet with an adult caseworker who provides instructions and deadlines regarding the fulfillment of the sentence. Offenders who successfully complete their sentences within 90 days have their files closed by the San Diego Police Department. Offenders who fail to complete their sentences are referred back to the police department or juvenile court. Research has indicated that teen courts are more effective at reducing recidivism and increasing pro-social behaviors in comparison to the formal juvenile justice system. Additionally, the positive impact of teen courts extends beyond the juvenile offenders to the many youth volunteers who learn valuable lessons about restorative justice and community activism. The article contains a textbox that relays the teen court experience of a 16-year-old petty thief. (Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov).

Strahl, Barbara T.. Nevada Program Uses Mediation to Assist the Homecoming of Released Prisoners

Barbara Strahl manages to interweave both the personal stories and the sobering statistics related to offenders transitioning from prison to home life. The reader meets the pseudonymous Adam, who is having difficulty seeing the severity of his crime and subsequent incarceration from his family’s perspective. Strahl then addresses the problems often associated with community reentry of prisoners, such as public safety, societal reintegration, and possible lack of family support. It is in this context that Strahl explains the formation and structure of FOCUS, a family mediation program developed by the Neighborhood Justice Center in Las Vegas. FOCUS was formed with the belief that family mediation would be a tool for community reentry of prisoners and would also assist the family to reincorporate the inmate into the family structure. The reader is then introduced to Terri (not her real name), who is having trouble getting her family to address her offense and the changes it has brought about within the family unit as she begins her transition to home life. Strahl closes by describing how beneficial FOCUS mediation was to Terri and her family, and how the program will continue to assist soon-to-be released prisoners with their reentries.

Kelley, Ra'Shaun and Fernandez, Johnny and Unsell, Adrianne and Sullivan, Dennis. The Transformation of Self and Other: Restorative Justice in Richard Wright's Native Son

Anyone who has suffered a harm at the hands of another knows that healing from that harm involves personal transformation. Sometimes a friend, family member, or even someone from the 'helping professions' becomes the catalyst for that transformation. On special occasions a person who has suffered a harm at the hands of another heals and then reaches out to the person who was the source of the harm, thereby becoming a transformer of his or her life. Bud Welch of Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, whose daughter was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, immediately comes to mind. We can also see examples of this kind of transformation in literature. One of the finest examples can be found in Richard Wright's Native Son, when Jan Erlone forgives Bigger Thomas, the man who killed and dismembered his girlfriend. This article examines this kind of 'transformative justice' in 'real life' but especially in the text of Native Son. In the case of the latter we argue that understanding the scene depicting the reconciliation between Jan and Bigger is critical for understanding Wright's intent and hope for this American classic and America itself. It also connects us with the currently flourishing restorative/ transformative justice movement. (author's abstract)

Walker, Lorenn and Sakai, Ted. A Gift of Listening for Hawaii's INmates.

“Restorative Justice as a Solution-Focused Approach to Conflict and Wrongdoing” facilitator training is a 12-week program designed to help inmates learn self-control and getting along with others. The total 24 hours of training are scheduled as two-hour sessions for one evening each week, which covers topics such as listening skills development, using open-ended questions, resiliency development and protective factors, using communication for conflict resolution, restorative justice and forgiveness. The inmates are taught that effective facilitators are competent, self-aware people who listen carefully, and who exercise control when their emotions are triggered. They are also taught emotional intelligence skills. These skills include: “self-awareness; identifying, expressing and managing feelings; impulse control and delaying gratification; and handling stress and anxiety.” Emotional intelligence enables one to be aware of the feelings of others and to better manage relationships.(excerpt)

Hatch, John B. Beyond Apologia: racial reconciliation and apologies for slavery.

Reconciliation apologies such as Representative Tony Hall's proposed congressional apology for slavery and his own apology at a reconciliation conference in Benin, West Africa raise questions about the means and standards by which representative apologies for historic group offenses may prove satisfactory. This essay explores such questions in light of John Hatch's theory of reconciliation and an analysis of Hall's apology in the context of the Benin conference. In conversation with the work of Erik Doxtader, Mark McPhail, Aaron Gresson, and Nicholas Tavuchis, the essay clarifies ways in which a public reconciliation apology differs from traditional apologia and the unique challenges confronting public discourse for racial reconciliation in the US. (Author's Abstract)

Washington State Legislature.. Revised Code of Washington. Title 13. Jvenile Courts and Juvenile Offenders.

Section 13.40.070 refers to referral to mediation or reconciliation programs.

State of Texas.. Texas Statutes. Code of Criminal Procedure.

Article 42.12 refers to victim offender mediation; 56.02 refers to the right of crime victims to request mediation; 56.13 adresses victim offender mediation;

State of Tennessee.. Tennessee Code: Title 16 Courts: Chapter 20: The Victim-Offender Mediation Center.

(a) The general assembly finds and declares that: (1) The resolution of felony, misdemeanor and juvenile delinquent disputes can be costly and complex in a judicial setting where the parties involved are necessarily in an adversary posture and subject to formalized procedures; and (2) Victim-offender mediation centers can meet the needs of Tennessee's citizens by providing forums in which persons may voluntarily participate in the resolution of disputes in an informal and less adversarial atmosphere. (excerpt)

State of Montana.. Montana Code Annotated. Titel 2. Government Structute and Administration.

Sections 1-15-2013~2-15-2014 deal with the Office of restorative jsutice and the Restorative justice fund.

State of Missouri.. Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 217 Department of Corrections Section 217.777.

(1) The department shall provide a program of training to eligible volunteers and develop specific conditions of a probation program and conditions of probation for offenders referred to it by the court. Such conditions, as established by the community boards and the department, may include compensation and restitution to the community and the victim by fines, fees, day fines, victim-offender mediation, participation in victim impact panels, community service, or a combination of the aforementioned conditions; (excerpt)

State of Maine.. Title 34-A: Corrections. Chapter 1:General Provisions. §1214. Office of Victim Services.

F. Assist victims with obtaining victim compensation, restitution and other benefits of restorative justice; and [2001, c. 477, §2 (amd).] (excerpt)

State of Kansas.. Kansas Statutes. 36*1663. Chapter 38 Minors. Article 16-- Kansas Juvenile Justice Code

Allows for mediation between victim and offender in responding to juvenile crimes.

State of Florida.. The 2006 Florida Statutes. Chapter 985 Juvenile Justice; Interstate Compact on Juveniles

(2) NEIGHBORHOOD RESTORATIVE JUSTICE CENTER.-- (a) The state attorney may establish at least one Neighborhood Restorative Justice Center in designated geographical areas in the county for the purposes of operating a deferred prosecution program for first-time, nonviolent juvenile offenders. (b) The state attorney may refer any first-time, nonviolent juvenile offender accused of committing a delinquent act to a Neighborhood Restorative Justice Center. (excerpt)

State of Delaware.. Title 11. Crimes and Criminal Procedure. Special Programs. Chapter 95. Victim Offender Mediation.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that: (1) The resolution of felony, misdemeanor and juvenile delinquent disputes can be costly and complex in a judicial setting where the parties involved are necessarily in an adversary posture and subject to formalized procedures; and (2) Victim-offender mediation programs can meet the needs of Delaware's citizens by providing forums in which persons may voluntarily participate in the resolution of certain criminal offenses in an informal and less adversarial atmosphere. (excerpt)

State of Arizona.. Arizona Revised Statute12-299 Community Punishment Program.

Section 12-299.01 provides for victim offender reconciliation.

Marquette University Law School Restorative Justice Initiative. The healing circle: Victims of sexual abuse by clergy share their stories.

In November 2006, a small group of people gathered at the Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to participate in an extraordinary experience called--A Healing Circle. Everyone in the room had been deeply affected by the clergy sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. The group included victims, a priest offender, other members of the clergy, parish staff and lay people. Over the course of several hours, the participants shared their stories of pain and broken trust. (distributors description) (63 minute video)