San Francisco district attorney’s office Make It Right Presentation Juvenile Probation Commission March 13, 2019 San Francisco district attorney’s office

What questions do we ask about wrongdoing? What law was broken? Who broke it? How should they be punished?

Restorative justice asks: Who has been harmed? What are their needs? Whose obligation is it to meet those needs?

Origins of restorative community conferencing New Zealand’s Family Group Conferencing (FGC) Howard Zehr and Allan MacRae’s Little Book of Family Group Conferences: New Zealand Style Grew from Maori desire to decrease DMC Pilot went nationwide via NZ’s Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act of 1989 Juvenile incarceration nearly obsolete through diversion and FGC Adapted in Alameda County after extensive collaborative planning process; currently being replicated in 10 jurisdictions nationwide

Restorative community conferencing Case is referred to RCC in lieu of traditional prosecution Prosecutor identifies eligible cases at point of charging Specified eligibility criteria Participation by young person and victim is voluntary “Reverse Miranda” Victim can choose to participate in variety of ways Model includes three key components: Facilitated face-to-face session including victim, young person, their supporters Session results in a consensus-based agreement to repair the harm Discrete goals & timeline 4 dimensions for restoration: victim, self, family, community Young person fulfills agreement with support of an “Agreement Monitor” If the young person completes the process, the case is not charged

Make it Right: Developing San Francisco’s RCC Zellerbach funded sujatha baliga to help us implement Focus groups and 1-on-1 interviews in 2012-2013 Nonprofit partners selected via competitive process Community Works & Huckleberry’s unique partnership Developed eligibility criteria based on data analysis: Legal eligibility (burglary, theft, robbery, threats) Individual eligibility (age, residency, history) Co-defendants Developed evaluation design DA, Probation and Public Defender developed referral protocol & confidentiality agreements DA’s Office began reviewing cases for referral in late 2013 Impact Justice and California Policy Lab are evaluating program as part of a multi-site evaluation

Make It Right: Preliminary Results Data from inception through March 2018 shows a difference in recidivism among treatment and control: The Goldman School of Public Policy found in 2017 that Make it Right has an 88% likelihood of having a positive effect on the youth it serves – regardless of whether they complete the program. At capacity, MIR costs $5,000 per youth. Category Total Number % Recidivated Comparison Youth 35 37% All Treatment Youth 73 29% Program Graduates 32 16%

NEXT STEPS FOR MAKE IT RIGHT Complete evaluation; end randomization of cases Expand to additional offense categories Overcome residency limitations Begin piloting young adult cases

Chief of Programs & Initiatives For more information Katy Weinstein Miller Chief of Programs & Initiatives (415) 553-1110 Katherine.Miller@sfgov.org