Group Conferencing
Goals of Group Conferencing * Provide an opportunity for those who are impacted to be directly involved in the discussion of the harm caused and in the decision regarding how the referred individual can take accountability for the the harm done. * Increase the offender's awareness of the human and community impact of his or her behavior and provide an opportunity to take accountability for his/her actions. * Allow both offender and victim to reconnect back into the community. Group Conferencing can be used in many different situations where harm or conflict has occurred. Referred individual, family members, justice personal, school staff, administrators, resource providers, community support, and all other interested parties attend the meeting to support the referred individual in reaching identified goals. When used in a criminal or delinquency case and a clear victim and a clear offender has been identified the victim family and supports, offender family and supports, all meet to come together and reach an agreement by consensus about how the offender might make right the wrongdoing. |
Conferencing Process The conference facilitator contacts the identified individuals to explain the process and invite them to the conference. The facilitator also asks the identified parties to identify key members of their support systems, who also will be invited to participate. * Begins with referred individual sharing his/he perspective about the incident. * Victim describes the impact is has had on their well being and how they were affected. * The other participants then describe the impact of the incident on their lives. * The offender is given opportunity to speak about what he/she heard. * Victim(s) and victim(s) supporters share their ideas about how the harm can be repaired to the extent possible. * Consensus is reached by the victim(s) and offender(s) and an agreement is signed. Through the dialogue, the referred individual is faced with the impact of his/her behavior on the direct victim, victims family and friends, on the offender's own family and friends, and on the community. After a thorough discussion of the impact, the affected party is asked to identify their desired needs for the outcome of the conference. This gives those affected the opportunity to shape the obligations that will be placed on the offender. All participants contribute to the problem-solving process of determining how the referred individual might best repair the harm he/she has caused. The session ends with the participants signing an agreement that outlines their expectations and commitments. |