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Here's a clip from an article by Martin Howard that appeared at Restorative Justice Online's blog. The Sycamore Tree Project connects victims of crime with offenders in prisons.

"I've never seen a program change people like this one." 

I've heard this from a prison psychologist and a prison manager, who are more familiar with the failures of the typical group therapy sessions. What they notice during STP is a change in the empathy level of the inmates. And they are stunned by the positive chemistry that is created within the group.

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Sticking with the theme of anecdotes, here's one from last week's eForum article by IIRP graduate student Tamam Moncur about her experience adapting restorative practices for use within the context of a weekly church soup kitchen.

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Pennsylvania Approves 4-Day Institutes for Social Worker Continuing EdTwo Four Day Institutes – Basic Restorative Practices and Responding to Grief, Trauma & Adversity – have been approved by the PA chapter of the National Association for Social Workers (NASW-PA) for continuing education credits.

Social workers in Pennsylvania should take note of upcoming Basic Restorative Practices Institutes in Philadelphia (June 25 to 28) and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (July 9 to 12), as well as Responding to Grief, Trauma & Adversity in Bethlehem (July 23 to 26).

NASW has been designated as a pre-approved provider of professional continuing education for the social worker (Section 47.36), marriage and family therapist (48.36), and professional counselor (49.36) by the PA State Board of Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapist and Professional Counselors.

Currently teachers and administrators may earn PA Act 45, PA Act 48 and NJ DOE Professional Development credits by taking IIRP courses and participating in professional development experiences.

 

 

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Riotsfrom dash24.comEveryone loves a good story, and I'm no exception – especially a good anecdote about an instance of restorative justice or some other more informal restorative interaction. These anecdotes, more than anything, can often cut through a person's doubt and questions about how RJ works.

So here's a story from the UK's 24dash.com by Julien Tremblin, dated November 17, 2011 but posted today on twitter by Theo Gavrielides:

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Bill sponsor, Roger GoodmanOn March 30, 2012 Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire signed into law legislation that makes restorative justice available to youth offenders. The bill, co-sponsored by state Reps. Roger Goodman and Ruth Kagi passed unanimously in both the house and the senate.

The law builds upon an existing mechanism in Washington state which allows a "diversion unit" – a probation counselor or community accountability board – to arrive at a diversion agreement with a young offender in lieu of a court hearing and sentence. Formerly this included, according to the law, things like paying restitution, performing community service and attending counseling. The new law now adds restorative justice to the menu of options the diversion unit may recommend.

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Restorative Justice and Sexually Harmful Behaviour - learning from practice across Europe

26th June 2012
The Monastery, Gorton Lane, Manchester M12 5WF
£95 RJC Members; £120 standard rate
Early bird booking discount for non-members if booked before 18th May.

Both AIM and the Restorative Justice Council are pleased to announce a single day conference to examine from a European perspective the potential for the application of restorative approaches to cases of sexually harmful behaviour (SHB).

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Here are some selections from an op-ed piece that ran in the San Francisco Examiner yesterday, written by Carlos Garcia, superintendent of San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

It is our responsibility to provide a safe place for learning. One key to safety is fostering and maintaining caring relationships.

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Mark Finnis, of Hull Centre for Restorative Practice, an IIRP affiliateAccording to the netnewsledger.com, on March 26, 2012, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada hosted:

...a conference on restorative practices [that] brought together community leaders from education, enforcement, health, justice and youth services. Participants learned about what it means to be restorative and how to build a positive culture in our schools and communities. The conference was presented by the Restorative Practices Working Group in partnership with the Drug Awareness Committee of Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay District Health Unit, Thunder Bay Crime Prevention Council and Lakehead Public Schools.

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"Nothing about me without me." —Children and families involved in the FGC/FGDM process.

This new book, published by the IIRP, was written by Beth Smull, Joshua Wachtel and Ted Wachtel

Waves of change have weakened the influence of family in modern societies, yet family remains the most critical element in our social fabric. A new approach for working with families--"family group conferencing" (FGC) or "family group decision making" (FGDM)--seeks to strengthen this fabric by enlisting the collective power of families and their communities of care to address their own issues and solve their own problems. This paradigm has implications for myriad professionals, including social workers, police, court personnel, therapists, youth workers, day-care staff and educators.

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Jo Berry, from Lisa Rea interview at Restorative Justice OnlineJean Schmitz, director of IIRP Latin America, sent me a link to this piece he found at RJOnline (originally posted last May). It's a lengthy interview by Lisa Rea of Jo Berry, the daughter of Sir Anthony Berry, a member of parliament in the Thatcher government, who was one of five people killed by IRA bomber Patrick Magee in 1984. In 2000 she finally had the opportunity to meet with Magee. Berry begins:

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