Restorative Practice Resources Tagged With: child

This initiative aims to transform Newcastle into a restorative city by building social cohesion and healthy communities. Newcastle has pockets of disadvantage in relation to unemployment, income, education, housing, child welfare, and criminal justice.

The School of Law and Justice is initiating change by working with a growing network of community partners to support the city’s proposed social and cultural transformation.

In the criminal justice system, it is anticipated that there will be less offending, decreased recidivism, increased rehabilitation of offenders, and greater victim and offender satisfaction with the process.

Additionally, members of the community will be provided with skills to effectively build relationships and resolve disputes, which aim to result in greater wellbeing, social coherence, and improved educational and social outcomes. Workplaces and organisations will have improved communication skills, improved productivity, and strengthened relationships.

As a result, Newcastle will become a happier and safer city, where residents can address harm and inappropriate behaviour.

'Restorative justice is an internationally recognised evidence-based response to criminal behaviour. It views a criminal offence as more than an act of breaking the law and examines: the impact on society the harm caused to the victim, family relationships and the community. The restorative justice process requires effort and participation from the child, which differs from traditional justice responses.'

'We ultimately pulled our son from the district. I am a career educator and strong believer in public education. But I am a mom first. The school’s handling of my son’s torment and subsequently proposed solutions were unacceptable and there was not a chance I would keep my son in a school where their only way of protecting him was to change his schedule and dismiss him early. The “restorative” circle he sat in, bravely facing his aggressors, only made him a target for more torment. Now, don’t get me wrong. I still believe that restorative justice is a much-needed practice, but I can’t support the way it is being used as a consequence. If and when it’s implemented well, I’m on board. The reality is that theory and practice are very different things. My research of the theory convinced me that I should introduce restorative justice in my school, but my research on the practice in similar schools and districts had changed my mind. '

'According to Lightoller, the school’s headteacher, Jon Fordham, described the session to them as “restorative justice”. He questioned “why we’d bothered to raise it and why we even had an issue with it in the first place”, Lightoller said. '

'The Newcastle as a Restorative City Initiative aims to transform Newcastle into a restorative city by building social cohesion and healthy communities. This has been fostered by an increased need for social, cultural and economic renewal in Newcastle to address the pockets of disadvantage in relation to unemployment, income, education, housing, child welfare, and criminal justice. Newcastle Law School is working towards initiating this change by working collaboratively with a growing network of community partners to support the proposed social and cultural transformation of Newcastle. The transformation of Newcastle into a restorative city is an innovative project that requires ongoing support from across the community for a change to a restorative culture to occur and to ensure that sustainable and useful strategies can be adopted across the community.'

'Restorative justice encompasses a wide range of practices and approaches that focus on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. These practices have expanded rapidly and now involve multiple models and approaches, including victim-offender conferences; group conferences, which can include family members, friends, and others in the community; and “peacemaking circles,” a process adapted from ancient tribal conflict-resolution rituals. “When properly defined and practiced, restorative justice programs can guide effective youth interventions, repair harm to victims, and enhance public safety,” said OJJDP Administrator Caren Harp. “However, the juvenile justice field generally operates without an agreed-upon definition of restorative justice or a plan for implementation.”'

In a joint blog and video, OJJDP Administrator Caren Harp and Children's Bureau Associate Commissioner Jerry Milner discuss how both agencies are partnering to promote the safety and well-being of children and families in recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month and throughout the year.