One of the conflict resolution services provided by CDR is its successful Restorative Peer Court (RPC) program headed by Restorative Justice Programs Manager, Tim McCabe.
The goal of CDR’s Restorative Peer Court is:
“to help juvenile offenders restore their relationships with the community through alternative methods of adjudicating juvenile offenses, including programs that teach responsibility and positive decision making while restoring a sense of safety in the community.”
The Peer Court, also known as Teen Court or Youth Court, is a voluntary diversion process in which youth conduct hearings to recommend consequences, known as ‘sanctions’, for qualifying juvenile offenders. The program is authorized by the Lane County Department of Youth Services (DYS), with non-monetary support provided by the Eugene Police Department and its active volunteers. The cases that are eligible for RPC are first time offense (In some individual cases, at the discretion of the program coordinator, and the recommendation of DYS, second time offender are given the chance to go through the process again, if the offenses are not the same in nature) for non-violent misdemeanors (Referred Crimes: Theft II and III, Criminal Mischief II and III, Criminal Trespass, Disorderly Conduct, Harassment, Other non-violent misdemeanors), violations (Minor in possession of Alcohol, Possession of Less than 1 Ounce of Marijuana Curfew Violation Minor in Possession of Tobacco, Other minor violations). One of the major aspects of the program is that the youth has to take responsibility for their action, which is not the same as conviction, as a gesture of goodwill and an agreement of their good faith in the process. Also, one of the ‘carrots’ of the program is the ability to expunge the offender’s arrest record six months after successful completion of the program. Parents are valued as partners in the process and are provided the same level of information and respect as the offenders themselves as they help the youth to “make the right choice” about participation, and future decisions. The ‘sanctions’ handed down by the RPC are not one size fits all, but are catered towards individuals after hearing their stories and is different in each case.
There are specific steps to this process, beginning from when a case is referred to by the Eugene Police Department and ending in the successful completion of the RPC process. Over the past week I have been training on managing the case loads in the online tracker and setting up case files. I also have been sitting in on the 'intake process' where the offending juvenile, along with their guardians, are invited into the office to discuss the offense and gauging if they would want to go through with the process or not. I have yet to conduct an 'intake' by myself, but I am hoping to sit through a few more and observe before I can conduct one by myself.
The goal of CDR’s Restorative Peer Court is:
“to help juvenile offenders restore their relationships with the community through alternative methods of adjudicating juvenile offenses, including programs that teach responsibility and positive decision making while restoring a sense of safety in the community.”
The Peer Court, also known as Teen Court or Youth Court, is a voluntary diversion process in which youth conduct hearings to recommend consequences, known as ‘sanctions’, for qualifying juvenile offenders. The program is authorized by the Lane County Department of Youth Services (DYS), with non-monetary support provided by the Eugene Police Department and its active volunteers. The cases that are eligible for RPC are first time offense (In some individual cases, at the discretion of the program coordinator, and the recommendation of DYS, second time offender are given the chance to go through the process again, if the offenses are not the same in nature) for non-violent misdemeanors (Referred Crimes: Theft II and III, Criminal Mischief II and III, Criminal Trespass, Disorderly Conduct, Harassment, Other non-violent misdemeanors), violations (Minor in possession of Alcohol, Possession of Less than 1 Ounce of Marijuana Curfew Violation Minor in Possession of Tobacco, Other minor violations). One of the major aspects of the program is that the youth has to take responsibility for their action, which is not the same as conviction, as a gesture of goodwill and an agreement of their good faith in the process. Also, one of the ‘carrots’ of the program is the ability to expunge the offender’s arrest record six months after successful completion of the program. Parents are valued as partners in the process and are provided the same level of information and respect as the offenders themselves as they help the youth to “make the right choice” about participation, and future decisions. The ‘sanctions’ handed down by the RPC are not one size fits all, but are catered towards individuals after hearing their stories and is different in each case.
There are specific steps to this process, beginning from when a case is referred to by the Eugene Police Department and ending in the successful completion of the RPC process. Over the past week I have been training on managing the case loads in the online tracker and setting up case files. I also have been sitting in on the 'intake process' where the offending juvenile, along with their guardians, are invited into the office to discuss the offense and gauging if they would want to go through with the process or not. I have yet to conduct an 'intake' by myself, but I am hoping to sit through a few more and observe before I can conduct one by myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment