This thread is intended to help parents and juveniles alike seek out resources and alternatives to the juvenile system. Each state is different with what they have. Please put the state your subject is on at the begining of each post to make it easier for our visitors to seek what they need. Our trials and errors regardless of the state will help others understand or relate and could give them a leg up on a call they might make or a service they might concider. As we get more information, I will make each state more easily accessable.

The sad part is that many states are not using restorative Justice and just locking our children up rather than finding out the bottom line problems that they face. I am a firm believer in Restorative Justice and what better way to start this than at the bottom of the ladder, with our youth. They are our future and they need to be the ones to continue with this... Please take a few minutes to read about restorative justice and please tell me what you think

Introduction to Restorative Justice

Writing an introduction to restorative justice is a daunting task, one which in no way can be conquered in a few pages. We also recognize that those new to restorative justice and first time visitors to our website may want a place to explore this fresh and fascinating idea. This section provides a basic understanding of the values and principles that guide restorative justice processes (with a little help from some of our favourite restorative justice practitioners, scholars and thinkers), and introduces some of the most contentious issues associated with the recent proliferation of restorative justice.


What is restorative justice?

Restorative justice is a philosophy that views harm and crime as violations of people and relationships. It is a holistic process that addresses the repercussions and obligations created by harm, with a view to putting things as right as possible. Restorative justice is best practiced when guided by restorative values and principles and when those most affected are both the focus and the directors.

When compared with our current models of punishment, whether it is in the justice system or discipline in schools, restorative justice requires a paradigm shift in thinking about reactions to harm. This becomes most apparent when we compare the values and principles of restorative justice to those of the current justice system, which emphasizes punishment and retribution. As Susan Sharpe states,

“Restorative justice is fundamentally different from retributive justice. It is justice that puts energy into the future, not into what is past. It focuses on what needs to be healed, what needs to be repaid, what needs to be learned in the wake of crime. It looks at what needs to be strengthened if such things are not to happen again.”
- Restorative Justice: A Vision for Healing and Change, 1998


Whose conflict is this?

Restorative justice works according to the premise that crime and conflict inflict harm and that individuals must accept responsibility for repairing that harm. Conflict is viewed as an opportunity for a community to learn and grow and for those involved to have their needs addressed. For this reason, the needs of all those affected by the harm are central in any restorative process. Howard Zehr and Mark Umbreit emphasize the importance of placing key stakeholders at the forefront of the process and shaping of the resolution,

“Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offence and to collectively identify and address harms, needs, and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as possible.”
- Howard Zehr, The Little Book of Restorative Justice, 2003

“Restorative justice emphasizes the importance of elevating the role of victims and community members through more active involvement in the justice process, holding offenders directly accountable to the people they have violated and providing a range of opportunities for dialogue, negotiation and problem solving, which can lead to a greater sense of community safety, social harmony and peace for all involved.”
- Mark Umbreit, 1996


What does community empowerment look like?

The increased use of restorative justice processes by community groups, the justice system, and schools has sparked ongoing debate within practitioner and academic communities about the boundaries and potential of restorative justice. As Carol LaPrairie articulates, communities adopting restorative justice face significant challenges,

“The “new” justice, or what is increasingly called restorative justice, involves a shifting of attention away from state systems and control to the community, however defined. The purpose of this shift is the return of ownership of crime problems and their solutions to those individuals and groups who are most affected by the behaviours at hand, and who have the most at stake in finding a satisfactory solution.”
- Carol LaPrairie, “The ‘new’ justice: Some implications for aboriginal communities”, 1998


What’s all the fuss about?

Restorative justice is contentious because it involves rethinking our current criminal justice system, and the social fabric that informs our responses to harm and conflict. There are a number of issues often raised in association with the implementation of restorative justice programs in prisons and schools. Prison officials and the public often raise questions surrounding the impact of restorative justice programs on recidivism rates and overall economic efficiency. Encouraging communities to be involved in the resolution of harm and conflict also raises issues around empowerment and power imbalances.


How do we define restorative justice?

The hope is that the challenges currently facing communities will generate dialogue and relationships between those who have a common interest in the potential of restorative justice. Mark Wedge aptly characterizes the need to strive for new and innovative processes which leave open the possibilities,

“Some of the things that are happening that I am struggling with is that it seems like we are trying to define [restorative justice] and the difficulty we have is when we are trying to define something it is like putting a lid on a box, and yet what we are trying to do is get out of the box.”
-Mark Wedge, 6th International Conference on Restorative Justice: “Best Practices”, 2003


Thank you


Peter

Thank you for post. Me, my son, the JJ and this city have had the rounds starting in 2003'. All I can say is city adopted my son and I. He is out there now 18 and I had to let go and he has his own journey. That may sound mean, it is not. We are not alone. We all have each other and he was givin every chance, seed planted, opportunity. We were gaven tools side by side. ~hugs to all hurting, cause I fell the pain myself.

BARJ is great on paper

but the caseworkers here in PA are told to lie to make it sound like the kid is an angel when in fact he has been nothing but trouble to the staff school and other kids he is locked up with--why are they told to lie on the papers

because its all about money-if the county that is paying for the kid to be locked up doesn't want to pay any more the kid is made to sound like an angel on paper and they let him go home to sell more drugs assault people get girls pregnant etc etc etc


program is a waste of time and money