Michigan Department of Education Segment 8: Restorative Conferencing

1. Introduce some basics about the Restorative Conferencing process. 2. Show an example of how a restorative conference was used to resolve a situation in the Lansing schools. 3. Engage in a circle discussion on conferencing.

Informal Formal Affective Statements Affective Questions Small Impromptu Conference Restorative Circle Restorative Conference Sentencing Circle Victim-Offender Mediation Based on the IIRP’s Restorative Practices Handbook Page 12 Community-building Circles Restorative Philosophy Re-entry Circle

 On the RJ Practices Continuum, the formal practices include Restorative Circles and Conferences. These two interventions have many similarities including:  Both engage at least 1 person who has been harmed and one who has caused harm and can also include community members as supporters and/or persons who have been harmed.  Both are conducted with participants sitting in circle.  Both are facilitated discussions in which those directly affected develop consensus on how best to address the incident.  Both work through the three main points or RJ:  Come to a common understanding of what happened.  Identify whose been affected and how.  Develop consensus on how to make things right. And they have some significant differences...

 Flexible format within circle setting  Shared control  Builds consensus  Useful for more than just resolving conflict Restorative CirclesRestorative Conferences  Highly structured and scripted within circle setting  Helps facilitator maintain tight control of process  Allows for deep exploration of issues  Used to resolve conflict with clear victim(s) and offender(s) Restorative Circles and Conferences differ in some significant ways as outlined below. Each intervention can provide a useful approach to different situations where RJ can help resolve conflict or address misconduct.

 There’s much more to a restorative conference than reading a script and sitting in circle! This practice is a powerful tool schools, prisons, and other organizations use to address their most challenging situations of misconduct.  Many school districts designate one or more restorative justice practitioners to become certified in restorative conferencing.  A number of restorative justice organizations and trainers offer this 2-day certification. Contact your area mediation center to see if they have trainings coming up! The centers are listed at this link to the Michigan Supreme Court Office of the State Court Administrator site: /odr/pages/find-a-mediation-center.aspx /odr/pages/find-a-mediation-center.aspx Or contact the International Institute for Restorative Practices at to see if they have any trainings scheduled near you.

 While a circle can help students resolve almost any conflict or incident of misconduct, the conference script requires a clear victim and clear offender.  It is also a more powerful tool than the circle for maintaining control and keeping participants emotionally and physically safe during the process.  Whether you use the circle process or restorative conference, remember to check the situation against the following preconditions before deciding to attempt a restorative resolution.

You must answer YES to the following questions to successfully use the formal RJ interventions.  Are at least some of those harmed willing to talk with other affected parties to resolve the issue? (Willing participation is ESSENTIAL!)  Have any of those who caused harm taken responsibility for their actions, and are they interested in making things right?  Is there a benefit to resolving the issue restoratively? Is there value, even if an offending party is not identified or willing to participate?  Can you keep everyone physically and emotionally safe throughout the process and can you be neutral so you can treat all parties with equal respect ? Preparation is KEY!

 IF CRIMINAL CHARGES ARE PENDING OR LIKELY, wait until the case has been resolved in the criminal/juvenile justice system before attempting a restorative resolution to the situation. Because all participants must take responsibility for their actions, you could be violating a participant’s constitutional right against self-incrimination if you engage him/her in restorative justice before the case is legally resolved.  Many schools use conferencing when they are engaging parents with students in an intervention. The scripted nature of the conference helps limit interruptions and curb the temptation adults sometimes have to take over the process.  Conferences are most often used for serious incidents of misconduct or volatile situations that demand the facilitator’s tight control over the intervention.  As you prepare and learn about the nature of the incident, be sure you feel comfortable addressing this situation restoratively.

 If you cannot feel confident that you can hold all participants safely in circle, consider co-facilitating with someone who has experience in this area or finding another facilitator who can.  Some people, for example, have experience counseling survivors of sexual violence and would feel comfortable facilitating a conference on this issue, but many do not.  Other situations that can be considered risky include domestic violence, severe bullying, mental health problems and/or low cognitive function of one or more participants. Within your group, talk about other situations you would NOT feel comfortable facilitating and identify challenging situations that others do feel they can handle restoratively and safely for all involved.

This is an example of a case study of a restorative conference from the Lansing School District.case study of a restorative conference from the Lansing School District. Note how various viewpoints are represented and how the restorative process worked for Ryan and his family and school community.

 If you are taking this training alone, skip to the questions at the bottom of this slide and think about their answers. If you are in a group, arrange your chairs in a circle with everyone facing into the center.  Taking turns so that only one person speaks at a time, go around the circle so that each person answers the first question listed in bold below.  Once everyone has answered the first question, follow the same process to answer the remaining two questions. Keep track of the time you have—if necessary apply time limits to each answer so everyone has the same amount of time to speak. ◦ Yes or no: Should your organization have at least one conference facilitator so you can use this restorative justice tool? ◦ What benefit or challenge do you think this would bring to your school? ◦ If the majority say it’s worth getting someone certified: Who in your group should become a certified restorative conference facilitator?