Restorative Justice is not only a set of principles, values, and practices for application in response to harm caused. Restorative Justice, rooted in relationship-building, accountability, trust and communication, and healing agreements, can inspire a way of life that approaches everyday contexts and conflicts in a restorative way. 

In this session we addressed: 

• What does it mean to live restoratively? 
• How can Restorative Justice inform our lives outside of conflict resolution processes? 
• What can we learn from Restorative Justice about how to live meaningfully? 
  

Because Restorative Practices are also relational practices, they ask us as educators to manage our biases and assumptions and be accountable for modeling the kind of speech and behavior we're asking our students to practice. This simple fact has profound implications for equity outcomes in schools? which continue to show disparities in exclusionary discipline practices on students of color? and it places RJin the middle of current political divisions making their way into school boards. In small groups and all together, we will explore what Restorative Practices can really look like in modern schools, and we will ask each other questions about how to navigate the highly charged atmosphere of schools and school boards.

Presenter Darren Reiley is a long-time educator currently serving as the RJ in Schools Program Manager at the Center for Dialogue and Resolution in Eugene, Oregon. Within that role, he offers professional services to researchers, teachers, administrators, and school communities as they look for ways to holistically implement restorative practices and philosophies into educational cultures.

Just Outcomes consultancy has had the opportunity to engage in multiple systems-change processes focused on implementing restorative justice values and principles within a variety of institutional and community settings.  Join us in an exploration of our missteps, lessons learned, and the considerations that now frame our systems-change work.  Participants will have the opportunity to discuss how these considerations might apply to their contexts.

Panelists include:  (Presenter bios HERE)

Matthew Hartman, MA

Co-Founder & Principal, Just Outcomes

Cara Walsh, MA

Senior Consultant and Facilitator, Just Outcomes

(RJCO members will also be able to continue the conversation in a forum on the Members page, link to be provided after the session.)

To register, click HERE

The Insight Development Group (IDG)  is a community based restorative justice education program serving those incarcerated at the Oregon State Correctional Institution since 2009. Our presentation will be an overview and exploration into our 10 years of evolutionary work around restorative justice capacity building on the inside. Restorative justice encompasses a wide paradigm of community and justice practices. In Oregon, the incarcerated adults, and those who are justice involved still remain extremely underserved when it comes to restorative justice opportunities. We will share with you our greatest take-aways and challenges of restorative justice capacity building on the inside, and invite the RJ community into discussion on (adult) prison based RJ opportunities. 

Presenters include:

Gina Ronning, IDG Program Director/Facilitator

Carmaleta Aufderheide, IDG Assistant Program Director/Facilitator

Kevin Roper, Former Adult in Custody Lifer, IDG Inside Founder/Program Mentor

RJCO Member Link to Post-RJ Cafe Chat HERE

Please join us for a presentation on applying Restorative Justice to serious harms/crimes.

Topics addressed:

• Use of RJ as an alternative to criminal and juvenile system prosecution;
• Restoratively navigating serious person harms/crimes; 
• Working with legal system referring agencies and remaining survivor-oriented; 
• Practical challenges of getting new services up and running on short notice and with limited resources.

Presentation by Amore Alvarenga, Erica Washington, and Sandra Rodriguez from Impact Justice, a national innovation and research center advancing new ideas and solutions for justice reform.

House Bill 2204 directs the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) to establish a program to award $4 million in grants to public and private entities for restorative justice programs throughout Oregon.

Tristen Edwards, Public Defender and co-writer of HB 2204 presented along with other RJCO and CJC committee members. The discussion will include: an overview of the bill, process and timeline updates, small group and large group discussion, and time for Q&A.  

Presenter Sidney Morgan cotinues the conversation begun in December.  She has been working as a Restorative Justice Practitioner for 17 years.  She has worked with Multnomah County Juvenile Justice, Portland Public Schools, and is currently engaged in her own Red Sea Road Consulting agency to support organizations in Race, Equity, and Restorative Justice work.  Sidney believes that this work is a marathon, not a sprint, and it will take more personal and professional efforts to see change happen.  

What kinds of resistance to RJ have you encountered?  What are your own areas of resistance, hesitations, or concerns?  How can we address resistance to RJ?

Facilitators:

Carley Adams, Program Manager Beaverton Center for Mediation and Dialogue  

Lisa Fitzgerald, Program Coordinator Beaverton Center for Mediation and Dialogue

Join our panelists in a discussion of strategies for RJ implementation and success in schools during COVID.

Panelists include:

Raphaelle (Raphi) Miller, Director of RJ at Medford Resolve

Char Hutson, Community Outreach Coordinator at PPS

Darren Reiley, RJ in Schools Program Manager at Eugene CDR

Maria Scanelli, Co-Director of Restorative Justice at Portland Resolutions Northwest

Presenter Sidney Morgan has been working as a Restorative Justice Practitioner for 17 years.  She has worked with Multnomah County Juvenile Justice, Portland Public Schools, and is currently engaged in her own Red Sea Road Consulting agency to support organizations in Race, Equity, and Restorative Justice work. 

Sidney believes that this work is a marathon, not a sprint, and it will take more personal and professional efforts, to see change happen.