Re-entry Initiatives

Offenders returning to the community after a prison term face many challenges to successful reintegration including the issues that first sent them to prison. Restorative practices are increasingly being used to help inmates make this transition back to their families and communities.

Anderson, Samantha and Karp, David R. Vermont’s Restorative Reentry Program: A Pilot in Burlington’s Old North End: The Vermont Department of Corrections (VDOC) has been one of the pioneers of restorative justice in the United States. VDOC continues this role with the application of restorative principles to their reentry program. A basic component of this effort is to modify Vermont’s reparative board model to organize community volunteers more effectively for participation in restorative justice panels. A restorative justice panel consists of community volunteers who meet with offenders reentering society. Community members provide advice and support for offenders on reentry. Samantha Anderson and David Karp review a pilot program for a restorative justice panel in the Old North End of Burlington, Vermont, a district with high crime rates and a significant number of released offenders.
Cesaroni, Carla. Releasing Sex Offenders Into the Community Through "Circles of Support" -- A Means of Reintegrating the "Worst of the Worst": Using the philosophy of restorative justice, the Mennonite Central Committee, Ontario, created a program entitled Circles of Support and Accountability. The program attempts to return sex offenders to the community in a productive, supportive fashion while still holding the ex-offender accountable. Volunteers, primarily from the faith community, assist with practical life-skills, emotional needs and in mediation with the wider community. Most ex-offenders appear to join a Circle as a means of self-protection. All seem aware of the reality that often surrounds the release of a high-profile sex offender. A number of former Circle members have indicated that they would have returned to a lifestyle conducive to re-offending had it not been for the Circles. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.
Correctional Service of Canada. Circles of Support and Accountability: A Guide To Training Potential Volunteers. Training manual 2002: Circles of Support & Accountability represent an innovative response to a controversial social issue in our society. The purpose of this manual is to assist in the training of volunteers who are willing to become a part of a Circle of Support and Accountability for warrant expiry sex offenders. This document is also an initial attempt at a distillation of the work and wisdom of many individuals across Canada who have worked with this still relatively new initiative. Its creation was occasioned by a recognition of the increasing need to develop greater consistency in the process and standards of orienting and training potential volunteers and professionals.
Deutschmann, Linda and Petrunik, Michael. "The Exclusion–Inclusion Spectrum in State and Community Response to Sex Offenders in Anglo-American and European Jurisdictions": Continental European and Anglo-American jurisdictions differ with regard to criminal justice and community responses to sex offenders on an exclusion–inclusion spectrum ranging from community protection measures on one end to therapeutic programs in the middle and restorative justice measures on the other end. In the United States, populist pressure has resulted in a community protection approach exemplified by sex offender registration, community notification, and civil commitment of violent sexual predators. Although the United Kingdom and Canada have followed, albeit more cautiously, the American trend to adopt exclusionist community protection measures, these countries have significant community-based restorative justice initiatives, such as Circles of Support and Accountability. Although sex offender crises have recently occurred in continental Europe, a long-standing tradition of the medicalization of deviance, along with the existence of social structural buffers against the influence of victim-driven populist penal movements, has thus far limited the spread of formal community protection responses.
Evans, Donald G. Faith Community Celebrates 10 Years of Circles of Support: Public concern over the release of sex offenders into the community with no supervision requirements led a small church to form a CoSA group to assist the offender and to assure the public safety. While most CoSA groups in Canada are faith-based groups, there is no requirement that the groups be faith-based. The CoSA program works by accepting high-risk sex offenders newly released from prison into the group at the core member. The CoSA groups, including offenders, meet regularly for 2 to 3 hours; there are also daily check-in responsibilities that allow the offender immediate access to two or three group members when the offender needs support. Informal support is offered through telephone calls and activities such as shopping trips. CoSA members are volunteers who are trained and have usually committed themselves to the program for at least 1 year. Decisions within the CoSA group are made by consensus and, upon release from prison the offender agrees to abide by all the conditions set out by the CoSA group. Evidence and testimonials are offered that illustrate the effectiveness of CoSA groups in Canada. CoSA groups are reshaping how corrections is viewed in Canada and the practical support offered to high-risk sex offenders is viewed as necessary for both the public safety and the successful transition of the offender back into the community. Over the next 10 years it will be important to build a base of evidence showing how CoSA groups contribute to the overall well-being of the community and newly released offenders. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.
Georgia Department of Corrections. Reentry Skills Building Handbook.: The skills needed to prevail against the challenges reentry may pose are explained. Chapters following an introduction about getting organized are: identification; housing; employment; careers; work ethics; transportation; money management; education; incarcerated veterans program; health and life skills; family and friend relationships; child support; restorative justice and victim awareness; living under supervision; and community resources contact information. (abstract from the National Institute of Corrections, http://nicic.org/Library/022867)
Gordon, Katya Goodenough. From Corrections to Connections: A Report on the AMICUS Girls Restorative Program.: Corrections professionals are looking for new models that can effectively address the needs of women and girls in the corrections system and take on the unique challenges they pose. For the past four years, the Minnesota Department of Corrections has partnered with AMICUS (a non-profit agency) and a juvenile residential placement facility to provide a gender-responsive program for serious and chronic female juvenile offenders. “The Girls Restorative Program” is an innovative effort that blends the philosophies of restorative justice with the best practices of gender-responsive programming for girls. Restorative services are provided to girls while they are in residential placement, during their transition and furlough, and after release. (excerpt)
Goulet, Jean-Jacques. Circles of Support and Accountability For Released Sex Offenders.: The Circles of support & accountability (CoSA) is a program that was developed 12 years ago in response to the fear communities experienced at the prospect of a released sex offender being released into their communities. The following are some of the major points that underline its functioning.(excerpt)
Grier, A. F. "Restorative Parole": This paper describes a project in Canada called "Restorative Parole." It is designed to address the restoring of faith and trust of victims of crime toward offenders who have committed crimes serious enough to warrant their placement in a secure custodial setting, to serve a sentence effectively removed from mainstream society. The project is meant to develop a process for safely returning offenders to society, focusing on victim impact, community involvement, and offender accountability. The Aboriginal community is in agreement with the project, and endorses the healing and growth approach to reintegrating offenders into their home, or a new community setting.
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.
Hannem, Stacey and Petrunik, Michael G. Circles of Support and Accountability: A Community Justice Initiative for the Reintegration of High Risk Sex Offenders.: This article is an examination of the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) initiative in Canada as a community response to the release of high-risk, warrant-expired sex offenders. In this paper, we examine the socio-political context in which the COSA initiative emerged and provide a theoretical analysis of the underlying philosophy of the programme. Conceptual links are drawn between the practice of COSA and Braithwaite and Mugford's 14 conditions of successful reintegration ceremonies and, drawing on our experiences as volunteers with a COSA initiative in a Canadian city, we suggest three best practice conditions for the creation of successful circles. We also show how COSA balances its twin, sometimes competing objectives : 'No one is disposable' and 'No more victims.' (author's abstract)
Herron, Bobbie J. . Citizens Circles: A Road Map to Successful Community Involvement Promoting Responsible Citizenship: Citizen Circles create partnerships that promote positive social interaction and accountability for offenders upon release. Circle members address risks that contribute to criminal activity by taking ownership over the solution. It is an opportunity for citizens to communicate expectations for successful reentry and help offenders recognize the harm their behavior has caused others. Offenders are able to make amends and demonstrate their value and potential to the community. (excerpt) This manual provides an overview of the Citizen Circles.
Huikahi Restorative Circles: A public health approach for reentry planning: from the article by Lorenn Walker and Rebecca Greening in Federal Probation: ....The Huikahi Restorative Circle is a group process for reentry planning that involves the incarcerated individual, his or her family and friends, and at least one prison representative. The process was developed in 2005 in collaboration with two community-based organizations—the Hawai’i Friends of Civic &Law Related Education and the Community Alliance on Prisons—and the Waiawa Correctional Facility located on the island of O’ahu.
Hurley, Martha Henderson. Restorative practices in institutional settings and at release: victim wrap around programs.: While earlier efforts to increase victim involvement emphasized changes within early stages of the criminal justice system, recent efforts have emphasized the need for greater involvement of victims within institutional settings and during the reentry process. The most recent avenue of exploration for policy changes within institutional environments that include victims’ perspectives has been the desire to implement restorative justice practices within institutional settings for adult offenders (see information available from The Pennsylvania Prison Society at http://www. prisonsociety.org/progs/rj.shtml). In addition to the push for implementation of restorative practices behind prison walls, several state correctional systems have incorporated victim wrap around services within the parole process. The next section discusses the literature and reviews some of the programs that have been developed as part of restorative justice practices behind prison walls and victim wrap around services incorporated into the reentry process for inmates. (excerpt)
John Howard Society of Manitoba. Backgrounder: The Restorative Parole Project: The Restorative Parole Project is a pilot project of the John Howard Society (JHS) of Manitoba, a community justice organization. A voluntary, non-profit organization, JHS strives to achieve restorative justice by working with victims, offenders and communities to repair the harm caused by crime. (excerpt)
McWhinnie, Andrew. Courageous Communities: Circles of Support and Accountability with Individuals Who Have Committed Sexual Offenses.: This article discusses the use of Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) in Canada to aid convicted sex offenders not to re-offend as they re-enter the community. The article uses vignettes of the first case that led to CoSA and volunteer experiences to describe the impact of the programme.
Petrunik, Michael. American and Canadian Approaches to Sex Offenders: A Study of the Politics of Dangerousness.: In this Article, we describe and attempt to account for differences between American and Canadian approaches to managing the dangerousness of sex offenders, whether through community protection legislative initiatives; treatment, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy, such as the use of antiandrogens; or restorative justice alternatives, such as Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA). Over the past two decades, in both the United States and Canada, clinical models of dangerousness emphasizing diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology have been supplanted by approaches emphasizing actuarial risk assessment and risk management. In addition, concerns with fundamental justice issues, such as due process, proportionality, and privacy rights, have given way to community protection concerns. However, in the United States, community protection concerns promoted by politically influential victims’ advocates within and outside of government have arguably been more influential than in Canada. Additionally, a variety of factors, including a generally more cautious approach to legislative reform, sensitivity to the limits posed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enacted in 1982, and a less politically influential victims’ movement, have limited the speed and extent of the development of the community protection approach in Canada. (excerpt)
Prinzo, Michelle and Wilson, Robin J. Circles of Support: A Restorative Justice Initiative: Conditional release in Canada has had a long history; however, recent shifts in policy reflect the community’s increasing intolerance for criminal behavior, particularly in regard to sexual offenders. Although maintaining offenders in prison for longer periods of time may satisfy some of the public’s desire for punishment and removal from society, the practice of limiting community supervision is a “double-edged sword.‿ Over the last 10 years, restorative justice has been widely recognized in Canada. Restorative justice is seen as a means to promote accountability of offenders. Restorative justice is defended as a more effective means of crime prevention than punitive approaches. This paper reviews the Canadian penal system and its handling of sex offenders, examines the increasing difficulties faced in community-based management of sexual offenders in Canada, and provides a brief overview of the restorative justice initiative, Circles of Support. The Circles of Support initiative managed by the Mennonite Central Committee of Ontario focuses on the need to engage the community in the offender’s reintegration process. Community volunteers are used to aid in the management of sex offender risk. This paper studied 30, federally sentenced, high-risk sexual offenders released at sentence completion and provided with community support in the form of Circles of Support and Accountability. Results of comparisons between projected and actual recidivism show that the group of offenders included in this analysis were recidivating at a rate less than 40 percent of that expected. This study used actuarial assessment, primarily of static variables, to predict a recidivism rate which was then compared to an actual recidivism rate. I Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org
Strahl, Barbara T.. Implementation of the Forum Program in Southern Nevada Prisons: This action research study examined the implementation of an innovative mediation program – probably the first of its kind – to be available in prisons. Upon release from prison, inmates and their families face a myriad of uncertainties. This study sought to addresses theses issues by providing inmates, who where soon to be released from southern Nevada prisons, the opportunity to participate in mediation with family and their community if they so chose. This study is theoretically grounded in the literature of restorative justice, mediation, and feminisms. It tells the history of developing and implementing the FORUM (Family and Offenders Reconciliation Using Mediation) program. Secondary questions stem from implementation and can be grouped into three primary categories: ● the program (How the program was conceptualized and developed. How the program was received.) ● the inmate (What were inmate perspective? How did they decide to use the processes and what issues were raised? Who did they chose to mediate with? Did they consider the process helpful in planning for release?) ● and the families ( Were families willing to participate, why and why not? What issues did they raise? Did hey consider the process helpful in planning release?) Data for the study came from investigator observations and field notes and questionnaires completed by the inmates and other parties in the mediation. The voices of the inmates, rarely heard, are privileged. There are shared as they became partners in the process of analysis. Through FORUM it was hoped inmates would improve the quality of their live through community-building, healing, and promoting bonds between and among people. The process itself modeled successful conflict resolution. Study findings are significant to the justice community in transitioning offenders to the community. The United Nations working definition of restorative justice includes examining and dealing with the impact on the family and reintegration of the offender into the community. Yet, there are no programs in the U.S that speak directly to this issue. Mediation has proved successful with offenders and victims and could contribute to improving transition from prison to community.
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.

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Navigation Lecture Hall Introduction to Restorative Justice Restorative Justice around the World Africa Asia Europe Latin America Middle East North America and the Caribbean Indigenous Community Government Prison Re-entry Initiatives Child Welfare Juvenile Justice Legislation Court Cases Evaluation Articles from RJ Online All Documents Pacific Educational Opportunities Restorative Justice Theory Making Amends Restorative Justice Course Syllabi Book Reviews Video Reviews Real People, Real Stories Practice Manuals Evaluation Research Evaluation Tools Role Plays Using Restorative Practices	Info Re-entry Initiatives Offenders returning to the community after a prison term face many challenges to successful reintegration including the issues that first sent them to prison. Restorative practices are increasingly being used to help inmates make this transition back to their families and communities. Anderson, Samantha and Karp, David R. Vermont’s Restorative Reentry Program: A Pilot in Burlington’s Old North End The Vermont Department of Corrections (VDOC) has been one of the pioneers of restorative justice in the United States. VDOC continues this role with the application of restorative principles to their reentry program. A basic component of this effort is to modify Vermont’s reparative board model to organize community volunteers more effectively for participation in restorative justice panels. A restorative justice panel consists of community volunteers who meet with offenders reentering society. Community members provide advice and support for offenders on reentry. Samantha Anderson and David Karp review a pilot program for a restorative justice panel in the Old North End of Burlington, Vermont, a district with high crime rates and a significant number of released offenders. Cesaroni, Carla. Releasing Sex Offenders Into the Community Through "Circles of Support" -- A Means of Reintegrating the "Worst of the Worst" Using the philosophy of restorative justice, the Mennonite Central Committee, Ontario, created a program entitled Circles of Support and Accountability. The program attempts to return sex offenders to the community in a productive, supportive fashion while still holding the ex-offender accountable. Volunteers, primarily from the faith community, assist with practical life-skills, emotional needs and in mediation with the wider community. Most ex-offenders appear to join a Circle as a means of self-protection. All seem aware of the reality that often surrounds the release of a high-profile sex offender. A number of former Circle members have indicated that they would have returned to a lifestyle conducive to re-offending had it not been for the Circles. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org. Correctional Service of Canada. Circles of Support and Accountability: A Guide To Training Potential Volunteers. Training manual 2002 Circles of Support & Accountability represent an innovative response to a controversial social issue in our society. The purpose of this manual is to assist in the training of volunteers who are willing to become a part of a Circle of Support and Accountability for warrant expiry sex offenders. This document is also an initial attempt at a distillation of the work and wisdom of many individuals across Canada who have worked with this still relatively new initiative. Its creation was occasioned by a recognition of the increasing need to develop greater consistency in the process and standards of orienting and training potential volunteers and professionals. Deutschmann, Linda and Petrunik, Michael. "The Exclusion–Inclusion Spectrum in State and Community Response to Sex Offenders in Anglo-American and European Jurisdictions" Continental European and Anglo-American jurisdictions differ with regard to criminal justice and community responses to sex offenders on an exclusion–inclusion spectrum ranging from community protection measures on one end to therapeutic programs in the middle and restorative justice measures on the other end. In the United States, populist pressure has resulted in a community protection approach exemplified by sex offender registration, community notification, and civil commitment of violent sexual predators. Although the United Kingdom and Canada have followed, albeit more cautiously, the American trend to adopt exclusionist community protection measures, these countries have significant community-based restorative justice initiatives, such as Circles of Support and Accountability. Although sex offender crises have recently occurred in continental Europe, a long-standing tradition of the medicalization of deviance, along with the existence of social structural buffers against the influence of victim-driven populist penal movements, has thus far limited the spread of formal community protection responses. Evans, Donald G. Faith Community Celebrates 10 Years of Circles of Support Public concern over the release of sex offenders into the community with no supervision requirements led a small church to form a CoSA group to assist the offender and to assure the public safety. While most CoSA groups in Canada are faith-based groups, there is no requirement that the groups be faith-based. The CoSA program works by accepting high-risk sex offenders newly released from prison into the group at the core member. The CoSA groups, including offenders, meet regularly for 2 to 3 hours; there are also daily check-in responsibilities that allow the offender immediate access to two or three group members when the offender needs support. Informal support is offered through telephone calls and activities such as shopping trips. CoSA members are volunteers who are trained and have usually committed themselves to the program for at least 1 year. Decisions within the CoSA group are made by consensus and, upon release from prison the offender agrees to abide by all the conditions set out by the CoSA group. Evidence and testimonials are offered that illustrate the effectiveness of CoSA groups in Canada. CoSA groups are reshaping how corrections is viewed in Canada and the practical support offered to high-risk sex offenders is viewed as necessary for both the public safety and the successful transition of the offender back into the community. Over the next 10 years it will be important to build a base of evidence showing how CoSA groups contribute to the overall well-being of the community and newly released offenders. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org. Georgia Department of Corrections. Reentry Skills Building Handbook. The skills needed to prevail against the challenges reentry may pose are explained. Chapters following an introduction about getting organized are: identification; housing; employment; careers; work ethics; transportation; money management; education; incarcerated veterans program; health and life skills; family and friend relationships; child support; restorative justice and victim awareness; living under supervision; and community resources contact information. (abstract from the National Institute of Corrections, http://nicic.org/Library/022867) Gordon, Katya Goodenough. From Corrections to Connections: A Report on the AMICUS Girls Restorative Program. Corrections professionals are looking for new models that can effectively address the needs of women and girls in the corrections system and take on the unique challenges they pose. For the past four years, the Minnesota Department of Corrections has partnered with AMICUS (a non-profit agency) and a juvenile residential placement facility to provide a gender-responsive program for serious and chronic female juvenile offenders. “The Girls Restorative Program” is an innovative effort that blends the philosophies of restorative justice with the best practices of gender-responsive programming for girls. Restorative services are provided to girls while they are in residential placement, during their transition and furlough, and after release. (excerpt) Goulet, Jean-Jacques. Circles of Support and Accountability For Released Sex Offenders. The Circles of support & accountability (CoSA) is a program that was developed 12 years ago in response to the fear communities experienced at the prospect of a released sex offender being released into their communities. The following are some of the major points that underline its functioning.(excerpt) Grier, A. F. "Restorative Parole" This paper describes a project in Canada called "Restorative Parole." It is designed to address the restoring of faith and trust of victims of crime toward offenders who have committed crimes serious enough to warrant their placement in a secure custodial setting, to serve a sentence effectively removed from mainstream society. The project is meant to develop a process for safely returning offenders to society, focusing on victim impact, community involvement, and offender accountability. The Aboriginal community is in agreement with the project, and endorses the healing and growth approach to reintegrating offenders into their home, or a new community setting. 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. Hannem, Stacey and Petrunik, Michael G. Circles of Support and Accountability: A Community Justice Initiative for the Reintegration of High Risk Sex Offenders. This article is an examination of the Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) initiative in Canada as a community response to the release of high-risk, warrant-expired sex offenders. In this paper, we examine the socio-political context in which the COSA initiative emerged and provide a theoretical analysis of the underlying philosophy of the programme. Conceptual links are drawn between the practice of COSA and Braithwaite and Mugford's 14 conditions of successful reintegration ceremonies and, drawing on our experiences as volunteers with a COSA initiative in a Canadian city, we suggest three best practice conditions for the creation of successful circles. We also show how COSA balances its twin, sometimes competing objectives : 'No one is disposable' and 'No more victims.' (author's abstract) Herron, Bobbie J. . Citizens Circles: A Road Map to Successful Community Involvement Promoting Responsible Citizenship Citizen Circles create partnerships that promote positive social interaction and accountability for offenders upon release. Circle members address risks that contribute to criminal activity by taking ownership over the solution. It is an opportunity for citizens to communicate expectations for successful reentry and help offenders recognize the harm their behavior has caused others. Offenders are able to make amends and demonstrate their value and potential to the community. (excerpt) This manual provides an overview of the Citizen Circles. Huikahi Restorative Circles: A public health approach for reentry planning from the article by Lorenn Walker and Rebecca Greening in Federal Probation: ....The Huikahi Restorative Circle is a group process for reentry planning that involves the incarcerated individual, his or her family and friends, and at least one prison representative. The process was developed in 2005 in collaboration with two community-based organizations—the Hawai’i Friends of Civic &Law Related Education and the Community Alliance on Prisons—and the Waiawa Correctional Facility located on the island of O’ahu. Hurley, Martha Henderson. Restorative practices in institutional settings and at release: victim wrap around programs. While earlier efforts to increase victim involvement emphasized changes within early stages of the criminal justice system, recent efforts have emphasized the need for greater involvement of victims within institutional settings and during the reentry process. The most recent avenue of exploration for policy changes within institutional environments that include victims’ perspectives has been the desire to implement restorative justice practices within institutional settings for adult offenders (see information available from The Pennsylvania Prison Society at http://www. prisonsociety.org/progs/rj.shtml). In addition to the push for implementation of restorative practices behind prison walls, several state correctional systems have incorporated victim wrap around services within the parole process. The next section discusses the literature and reviews some of the programs that have been developed as part of restorative justice practices behind prison walls and victim wrap around services incorporated into the reentry process for inmates. (excerpt) John Howard Society of Manitoba. Backgrounder: The Restorative Parole Project The Restorative Parole Project is a pilot project of the John Howard Society (JHS) of Manitoba, a community justice organization. A voluntary, non-profit organization, JHS strives to achieve restorative justice by working with victims, offenders and communities to repair the harm caused by crime. (excerpt) McWhinnie, Andrew. Courageous Communities: Circles of Support and Accountability with Individuals Who Have Committed Sexual Offenses. This article discusses the use of Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) in Canada to aid convicted sex offenders not to re-offend as they re-enter the community. The article uses vignettes of the first case that led to CoSA and volunteer experiences to describe the impact of the programme. Petrunik, Michael. American and Canadian Approaches to Sex Offenders: A Study of the Politics of Dangerousness. In this Article, we describe and attempt to account for differences between American and Canadian approaches to managing the dangerousness of sex offenders, whether through community protection legislative initiatives; treatment, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy, such as the use of antiandrogens; or restorative justice alternatives, such as Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA). Over the past two decades, in both the United States and Canada, clinical models of dangerousness emphasizing diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology have been supplanted by approaches emphasizing actuarial risk assessment and risk management. In addition, concerns with fundamental justice issues, such as due process, proportionality, and privacy rights, have given way to community protection concerns. However, in the United States, community protection concerns promoted by politically influential victims’ advocates within and outside of government have arguably been more influential than in Canada. Additionally, a variety of factors, including a generally more cautious approach to legislative reform, sensitivity to the limits posed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enacted in 1982, and a less politically influential victims’ movement, have limited the speed and extent of the development of the community protection approach in Canada. (excerpt) Prinzo, Michelle and Wilson, Robin J. Circles of Support: A Restorative Justice Initiative Conditional release in Canada has had a long history; however, recent shifts in policy reflect the community’s increasing intolerance for criminal behavior, particularly in regard to sexual offenders. Although maintaining offenders in prison for longer periods of time may satisfy some of the public’s desire for punishment and removal from society, the practice of limiting community supervision is a “double-edged sword.‿ Over the last 10 years, restorative justice has been widely recognized in Canada. Restorative justice is seen as a means to promote accountability of offenders. Restorative justice is defended as a more effective means of crime prevention than punitive approaches. This paper reviews the Canadian penal system and its handling of sex offenders, examines the increasing difficulties faced in community-based management of sexual offenders in Canada, and provides a brief overview of the restorative justice initiative, Circles of Support. The Circles of Support initiative managed by the Mennonite Central Committee of Ontario focuses on the need to engage the community in the offender’s reintegration process. Community volunteers are used to aid in the management of sex offender risk. This paper studied 30, federally sentenced, high-risk sexual offenders released at sentence completion and provided with community support in the form of Circles of Support and Accountability. Results of comparisons between projected and actual recidivism show that the group of offenders included in this analysis were recidivating at a rate less than 40 percent of that expected. This study used actuarial assessment, primarily of static variables, to predict a recidivism rate which was then compared to an actual recidivism rate. I Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org Strahl, Barbara T.. Implementation of the Forum Program in Southern Nevada Prisons This action research study examined the implementation of an innovative mediation program – probably the first of its kind – to be available in prisons. Upon release from prison, inmates and their families face a myriad of uncertainties. This study sought to addresses theses issues by providing inmates, who where soon to be released from southern Nevada prisons, the opportunity to participate in mediation with family and their community if they so chose. This study is theoretically grounded in the literature of restorative justice, mediation, and feminisms. It tells the history of developing and implementing the FORUM (Family and Offenders Reconciliation Using Mediation) program. Secondary questions stem from implementation and can be grouped into three primary categories: ● the program (How the program was conceptualized and developed. How the program was received.) ● the inmate (What were inmate perspective? How did they decide to use the processes and what issues were raised? Who did they chose to mediate with? Did they consider the process helpful in planning for release?) ● and the families ( Were families willing to participate, why and why not? What issues did they raise? Did hey consider the process helpful in planning release?) Data for the study came from investigator observations and field notes and questionnaires completed by the inmates and other parties in the mediation. The voices of the inmates, rarely heard, are privileged. There are shared as they became partners in the process of analysis. Through FORUM it was hoped inmates would improve the quality of their live through community-building, healing, and promoting bonds between and among people. The process itself modeled successful conflict resolution. Study findings are significant to the justice community in transitioning offenders to the community. The United Nations working definition of restorative justice includes examining and dealing with the impact on the family and reintegration of the offender into the community. Yet, there are no programs in the U.S that speak directly to this issue. Mediation has proved successful with offenders and victims and could contribute to improving transition from prison to community. 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. Next 7 items » [1] 2 Document Actions Send this Print this	Africa Asia Europe Latin America Middle East North America and Caribbean Pacific Search 9932 publications on restorative justice Recent RJOB Comments Oakland as a RJ city? Jul 29, 2010 Trauma Jul 29, 2010 Psych Reports to BPT board Jul 29, 2010 More… Slide Show: What is Restorative Justice Click to view a slideshow discussing the definition of restorative justice. Jul 21, 2010 Promoting Restorative Justice in Panama Jul 28, 2010 Raising Community Awareness in Swaziland Jul 28, 2010 Exploring alternatives in Finland Jul 28, 2010 PF Rwanda Receives Grant for Reconciliation Work Jun 27, 2010 Restorative Justice in the Community.