Session Descriptions:
Tuesday evening, March 14th:
General Session
Session Title: Screening of Documentary Unlikely Friends with survivor Stephen Watt
Description: Unlikely Friends, directed by Leslie Neale and produced by Chance Films, is a film depicting victims and survivors of “brutal crimes who, through forgiveness, unexpectedly become friends with their perpetrators.” “Finding a criminal justice system that has left them empty and unsupported, these victims of unspeakable crimes forgive out of a deep need to heal themselves, which in turn motivates the perpetrator to fully account for their actions and thereby begin the process of true rehabilitation.” And while forgiveness is not the focus of restorative justice, these encounters often provide that much needed safe environment for the healing process to begin.
Reviews:
“Compelling, controversial, enlightening…Unlikely Friends opens hearts, opens minds to what most of us believe impossible – to forgive the unforgivable – and skillfully makes the case that there is room for the bold choice of forgiveness in our criminal justice system.” Sister Helen Prejean, author Deadman Walking
“It is a tour de force. It shows how restorative justice empowers victims to change their stories from anger, pain, hatred and revenge to renewal, restoration, and sometimes, forgiveness. You have documented the power of restorative justice and shown how facing the pain they caused helps offenders more than prison bars ever can.” Rep. Pete Lee, Colorado State Representative
“A powerful film that fortunately does not conflate forgiveness and restorative justice.” Howard Zehr, author, The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Changing Lenses
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Wednesday, March 15th:
General Session, Keynote Speaker Judge Steven Teske
Session Title: Restorative Justice: Its Origins, Practices, and Outcomes
Description: Judge Teske will provide an overview of the origins and philosophy of restorative justice, its movement within the United States and abroad and the various modalities in which a restorative approach may be implemented, specifically with regard to its use in a juvenile judicial setting. Also covered will be the empirical data that supports the restorative justice movement.
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Breakout Session, Cheryl O'Shell and Laura Yaussi
Session Title: Peacekeeping Circles in Schools
Description: Using community building, conflict resolution and problem solving techniques we support our children to vice their heartfelt emotions in a respectful and safe environment. Peacekeeper circles allow equal opportunity for students to explore and resolve issues related to how their behavior affects the whole classroom community. This session will explore the structure of peacekeeping circles, key components of this circle process, and the positive benefits it can achieve.
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Breakout Session: Catherine Childs and Greg Brown
Session Title: Restorative Justice in Probation: Reducing Risk, Recidivism and Healing Harm
Description: This session focuses on connecting RJ practices and principles to evidence based and best practices in criminal justice. We will discuss the implications of shame and defiance theories, as well as the role of building empathy that supports the use of RJ practices in reducing risk, recidivism and healing harm. We will provide an overview of the practices employed by the 20th Judicial District Probation Department that focus on the use of RJ practices in high risk/needs client and/or where there has been significant harm caused by the criminal conduct. We will briefly discuss specific cases involving vehicular homicide, assaults and a school bomb threat and the role RJ played in the healing of the harm caused as well as successful reintegration of the offender.
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Breakout Session, Captain Corey Pass and Melissa Westover
Session Title: Building a Restorative Community Through Community Oriented Policing and Restorative Justice
Description: With conflict between police and the public grabbing headlines, it might be refreshing to know there are law enforcement agencies that actively partner with the communities they serve to provide safety and improve the quality of life for all. The Estes Park Police Department has pursed this philosophy through Community Oriented Policing for over a decade. The formation of Estes Valley Restorative Justice Partnership is a perfect reflection of how that philosophy is fleshed out daily in a very practical way. Participants will learn of this 14 year journey and also be given practical steps toward formulating an RJ program that is embedded within a police department. They will be inspired by seeing how good vision casting and strategic planning can open the possibility of building a restorative culture not only within a law enforcement agency, but in an entire community. Restorative services offered by EVRJP currently includes Community Group Conferencing and Community Circles (re-entry) for both juveniles and adults, along with Restorative Community Mediation, to name a few.
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Breakout Session, Catherine Childs and Greg Brown
Session Title: Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSAs), RJ and Peer Mentorship for High Risk / Needs Offenders
Description: This session will explore Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSAs), first introduced in Canada, now being implemented throughout the country to bring trained community members together with professionals to provide treatment and community reintegration support and accountability for sex offenders who are under parole and probation supervision. Restorative justice values, principles and practices bring in a focus on harm and harm repair to self, family, direct victims (when appropriate) and community. Peer mentorship provides the perspective, support and insight into the challenges faced in sex offenders and their re-entry needs. Circles allow us opportunities to learn about how to merge these three efficacies to develop a robust and effective means of engaging community members in supporting sustainable recidivism-free reintegration.
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Breakout Session, Judge Steven Teske
Session Title: How to Build a School-Justice Partnership
Description: In October 2014, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) was awarded funding by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to support the School-Justice Partnership Project. The purpose of this project is to enhance collaboration and coordination among schools, mental and behavioral health specialists, law enforcement and juvenile justice officials to help students succeed in school and prevent negative outcomes for youth and communities. Judge Teske will discuss the components and logistics of a school-justice partnership, drawing from his own experiences of implementing a school-justice partnership.
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Breakout Session: Cheryl O'Shell and Raquel Clark
Session Title: Building Bridges with Community Circles
Description: This session will explore the Community Circle Event model, based on RJ values and principles. This process provides families who are facing life struggles an opportunity to connect with community resource providers. After participants (including staff and community service providers) share a communal dinner, families are able to identify needs and connect with appropriate resources.
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Thursday, March 16th:
General Session, Keynote Speaker Judge Mark Ingram
Session Title: Application of Restorative Justice in Adult Criminal Justice Settings: Its Potentials and Challenges
Description: This keynote address will focus on the potential applications for restorative practices in the adult criminal justice system context drawing on its successes in the juvenile setting. The presentation will use examples of successful restorative conferences in adult criminal cases with a focus on the benefits for victims, behavioral improvements for offenders, and engagement of community in active efforts to both prevent future criminality and ameliorate the effects of past wrongdoing. The presentation will discuss the practical and cultural barriers that make the introduction of restorative practices in adult settings a difficult prospect but one which is worth the challenge. The breakout session would be more in the order of an introduction to the continuum of restorative practices.
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Breakout Session, Judge Mark Ingram
Session Title: The Continuum of Restorative Practices
Description: This session will provide an more in-depth examination of how and where restorative practices are applicable with adults in the criminal justice system to include the benefits and challenges.
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Breakout Session, Deb Witzel
Session Title: Restorative Justice in State Law: What Can RJ Laws Do For You?
Description: States legislatures across the U.S. are currently engaged in the consideration of bills promoting restorative justice in criminal, civil, and educational contexts. Colorado is positioned on the leading edge of this movement, and Colorado practitioners have a unique opportunity to benefit from and contribute to the development of legal supports for restorative practices. This session will provide an overview of Colorado state law related to restorative justice and invite discussion about the ways in which these legal supports are beneficial or incomplete for the advancement of restorative justice practices across the state. This session will also describe legislative support for restorative justice in other states, showcasing national leaders and innovative strategies. In addition, this session will review how Colorado is setting the standard for ethics and standards of practice in the RJ field.
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General Session, Randi Losalu, Rick Prince, Sherry Myrick, and Jolene Lux
Session Title: Victim Offender Dialogue in Wyoming: The Wyoming Board of Parole’s Program and Stories From Survivors Who Have Participated
Description: Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD) is a program that provides an opportunity for victims/survivors of severe violent crime to meet with an offender face-to-face in a safe and secure environment after thorough preparation with the assistance of a trained facilitator. VOD is victim-initiated, victim-sensitive, victim-driven and is a voluntary program for both victims and offenders, and those who choose to participate find it very beneficial. This presentation will provide a brief history and overview of the WY Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD) program. It will also include presentations from two victims who have participated in the program and who will share their experiences.
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General Session, Deb Witzel
Session Title: What, So What, Now What? Strategic Planning for our Community’s Restorative Justice Future
Description: In a collaborative, creative and engaging session, participants will identify what they have learned and observed throughout their time together and develop action plans that support the transition from the event to the ‘real world’.
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