Our Restorative Justice circles focus on a specific incident or crime.

Individuals harmed by crime have choices about their participation:

• Direct participation in the circle.
• Personal representative (nominate a friend or loved one to represent you).
• Be interviewed by a program volunteer who will represent you in the circle.
• Write a statement about your experience to be read aloud in the circle including asking questions you may have.
• No participation.
  • People harmed by crime who choose not to participate can still receive support services from our staff such as listening and coaching.
• If you choose none of the options above, our program will provide a Victim Surrogate to stand in during the circle.

Our large group restorative process is used to address multiple cases of the same type of crime. The Restore program addresses the harms of shoplifting across our community and was developed here in Fort Collins. 

In Restore, young people who shoplifted and their support people come together to learn how shoplifting affects different aspects of our community.

There are three parts: 

• Community impact panel: speakers share about impact
• Circles: Young people and their support share their own stories in a small group setting with others.
  • Contract development: In the small group, young people make contract choices on how to repair the harm of shoplifting.
• 1-2 months later: Young people and their supports return for a completion circle.

Our Restorative Justice volunteers are community members who care deeply about justice and people in our community. Restorative Justice facilitators are City of Fort Collins volunteers who have completed a criminal background check and work in teams of two. Every volunteer facilitator is required to complete a 20-hour Facilitation certificate, and an added 20 hours in mentorship and training with our program. Many volunteers bring experience in education, mental health, and the private sector. Their volunteering is unpaid and voluntary. Their dedication makes our programs possible.

• Fort Collins Municipal Court (ages 10-22)
• 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office (ages 10-17)
• Law Enforcement (most commonly School Resource Officers)
• Probation Department
• Schools/Community

Our Restorative Justice program has long standing relationships with each of our referral partners (over 20 years). We provide ongoing training and support to ensure that there is clear information and understanding of our services in the community. 

Restorative Justices Circles take place in one of our office meeting rooms – chairs are set up in a large circle and each person has a designated seat. Volunteer facilitators guide the group in taking turns listening and sharing with one another. The people in the circle are:

• Two volunteer facilitators
• Person(s) harmed and affected by the crime, and their support people or representative
• Youth / young adult(s) responsible for the harm, and their parent/guardian
• Law enforcement representative (most often a trained School Resource Officer)
• Adult community volunteer
• Peer community volunteer

There are ground rules for every Restorative Justice Circle and the volunteer facilitators are responsible for upholding them.

Our restorative approach balances concern for the needs of people harmed and affected by crime, their support people, youth and young adults taking responsibility, their families, and the community members.

We ask all participants in a Restorative Justice Circle to respect each others’ privacy by not sharing personally identifiable information or what happens in the circle except with the participants in the circle and close family who need to know in order to support the outcome. All participants are required to sign a consent form agreeing to this. We guarantee the confidentiality of our staff and volunteers. They will not share information publicly or cannot be called to testify at court on what was said at a Restorative Justice Circle.

The agreement resulting from the Restorative Justice Circle is not confidential and will be shared with referring agencies as well as others participating in the circle. The responsible party’s participation and attendance in program activities is also shared with the referring agency.

Exceptions to confidentiality are made for any statements regarding harm to a minor (under 18 years of age), the intent to commit a felony crime, or the intent to inflict bodily harm on oneself or another. 

We believe that repairing harm, using a person’s strengths, re-builds self-respect and supports sustainable behavior change in people. Restorative Justice Circles increase community safety by seeing people holistically; every person is more than their worst choice. Youth and young adults in our program complete a strengths survey during the intake meeting and that information is shared during the circle and used to build the accountability contract.

Talking about people’s individual skills and strengths does not mean that they are any less responsible for the harm that they caused. Research now shows that using a person’s strength in repairing harm creates better outcomes; our program uses evidence based best practices. 

The second part of the Restorative Justice Circle is when the group works together to create an accountability contract for every responsible youth/young adult present. This document is a detailed plan about how the harms will be repaired and typically takes between 20-30 hours to complete. Each accountability contract includes giving back/restoration to:

• Harmed and affected people: Any specific requests made by the person harmed are included and ideas that come up in the circle can be added. Restitution needs are heard during the initial meetings and considered on an individual basis.
• Our community: Giving back to community can be completed at any non-profit organization (must have a 501C3 status) or neighborhood service (no family relations) like activities that supports elders or people living with disabilities. Our staff can provide a list of community resources.
• Family and self: Youth and young adults repair harm with their families in creative ways that rebuild communication and help mend trust. Every young person coming into our program goes through a mental health screening and counseling can be a program requirement (an intake and three sessions).

Every accountability contract has a specific completion date, typically six to eight weeks out, and all participants sign the final contract. A completion circle is scheduled near the contract deadline and everyone involved is invited back to review the completed accountability contract items. The focus of that circle is sharing learning reflections and reintegration, so that everyone can move forward from the incident. 

Colorado leads the nation in passing legislation that supports the use of restorative justice in many areas of the justice system. Legislation dates back to 2007, when the first statewide Restorative Justice Coordinating Council was formed. With restorative justice champions in the State House and the Senate, restorative justice in Colorado has made leaps forward in the past 10 years. In 2013, legislation was passed creating a fund to support restorative justice in Colorado and also implemented juvenile restorative justice pilot programs. With more data on restorative justice available every year, Colorado is gathering evidence to show the effectiveness of restorative justice. (www.rjcolorado.org)

Victim Requested Restorative Justice (VRRJ) is an opportunity for victims to request restorative justice services in response to a crime.  It is victim-initiated and victim centered. The process can be requested at any time during the legal process  Participation  is voluntary. 
  
What does the process look like? 

Victim requested restorative services can take many forms:   

• Victim can meet with Restorative Justice facilitators to review the impact of the incident on their lives and receive restorative support and acknowledgement.
• Victim could write a statement to be read to the offender.
• Victim could ask questions of the offender.  The facilitator can relay the questions to the offender.  The facilitator can relay the answers back to the victim.
• If the victim wants a face-to-face meeting with the offender and if it is appropriate to bring the parties together, this option can be explored. The offender must be willing to participate and must be appropriate.
• This meeting would be facilitated by Restorative Justice facilitators who have special training.
• This process often takes a great deal of time, with a number of preparation meetings for both the victim and the offender.
• During the meeting, the victim has an opportunity to ask questions and to speak to the offender about the effects the crime had on their lives. Offenders have an opportunity to learn the impact of their actions and to do what they can to meet the needs of the victim 

Possible benefits for the victim: 

• Victims can explore their feelings about the incident and how it has impacted their lives.
• Victims may be able to get answers to questions only the offender can answer.
• For many victims, the process allows them to come to closure about the crime and reduces fear about the offender and possible re-victimization. 

People harmed by crime have a variety of options for participation or nonparticipation in a Restorative Justice circle.

Participation is completely optional for a harmed person. If the harmed person does not want to participate, for whatever reason, it will not remove Restorative Justice as an option for the youth who caused harm.

If a harmed person wants to participate, they can choose the level of participation.

Our program is proud to offer a variety of options:

• Direct participation in the circle
• No participation: includes various notification options, if requested
• Surrogate representation in the circle (nominate a loved one or use one of our program volunteers)
• Write a statement about your experience to be read aloud in the circle
  If continued negative interaction with the responsible person is the reason for not participating, please share this with the referring agency or the Restorative Justice provider so they can take appropriate action.

A harmed person can decide not to participate at any point in the Restorative Justice process. Please speak with your Restorative Justice coordinator or facilitator. It is helpful for the program to know the reasons for the withdrawal in order to determine the best path forward.

Our program’s achievements...

Completion:
Across the life of the programs, the completion rate of the responsible young people participating in the programs has been about 90-92%.

Recidivism:
Overtime, the rate of re-offending within one year of program completion has been between 7 – 10 %. The last official measurement was done in 2017 right before legislation passed to seal juvenile records upon program completion, thus making it impossible to do recidivism checks. The recidivism rate for 2013-2017 was 8% for any crime and less than 2% for a same or similar crime.

Protective factors:
In the same study, pre and post surveys showed that youth who participated in restorative justice programs had statistically significant changes in important protective factors for youth (factors that when present help keep them safe). Those factors include:

• Accountability
• Connection to adults in the family and the community
• Connection to their community
• Decision-making
• Locus of control
• Self-esteem
• Stress

The Fort Collins programs participated in this study and reflect the same/similar results as the statewide study.

Happiness:
Participants completing the Restorative Justice process are asked upon completion if they were happy with their experience. All participants are surveyed including youth who offended, people harmed or affected by the crime, parents, family members, community members, school associates, police officers, anyone who participated.

Across the life of the program, 96-100% of participants said they were happy with their experience.

Examples

• Participant stories and testimonials
• Videos / Quotes 

Restitution is requested through the referring agency, typically the courts. It is then a requirement of the courts that the responsible person complete the Restorative Justice program AND pay restitution.

There is a $50 program fee with a sliding scale for those that qualify.  It can be paid in cash, money order or by credit card. Call (970) 224-6022 for more information.

If your parent cannot participate, please discuss this with the Restorative Justice coordinator or your facilitator. With parent permission, another adult family member can take their place. There are a range of options, please bring this up as early as possible with your Restorative Justice contact.

Typically, Restorative Justice is a one-time opportunity.

For a same or similar crime, Restorative Justice is not an option a second time. Sometimes, if the crime is different from the initial crime and some years have passed, our staff may consider a second opportunity. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Most of the time, the answer is “no.”

However, the answer to this question depends on many factors, including who referred your case, the status of the referral (diversion, court-referred, officer referred). Because the answer is dependent on many factors, please discuss this with the Restorative Justice coordinator to get an accurate answer.

Responsible young people are kept from entering or going further into the justice system and they learn from their mistakes in a community-based setting.

People harmed by crime get a voice in the process of justice and are able to ask to have their questions answered and their needs met.

Community members, including friends and family, are able to participate in the process, learn about what happened and how others were impacted. They can support the process, the people and the outcome for a better, more connected community.

Completion:
Across the life of the programs, the completion rate of the responsible young people participating in the programs has been about 90-92%.

Recidivism:
Overtime, the rate of re-offending within one year of program completion has been between 7 – 10 %. The last official measurement was done in 2017 right before legislation passed to seal juvenile records upon program completion, thus making it impossible to do recidivism checks. The recidivism rate for 2013-2017 was 8% for any crime and less than 2% for a same or similar crime.

Protective factors:
In the same study, pre and post surveys showed that youth who participated in Restorative Justice programs had statistically significant changes in important protective factors for youth (factors that when present help keep them safe). Those factors include:

• Accountability
• Connection to adults in the family and the community
• Connection to their community
• Decision-making
• Locus of control
• Self-esteem
• Stress

The Fort Collins programs participated in this study and reflect the same/similar results as the statewide study.

Happiness:
Participants completing the Restorative Justice process are asked upon completion if they were happy with their experience. All participants are surveyed including youth who offended, people harmed or affected by the crime, parents, family members, community members, school associates, police officers, anyone who participated.
Across the life of the program, 96-100% of participants said they were happy with their experience.

Examples

• Participant stories and testimonials
• Videos / Quotes 

For People Harmed

• Gives them a voice in the justice process.
• Encourages them to express their feelings about the incident and how it has impacted their lives.
• Helps determine what can be done to repair the harm done by the incident.
• May allow them to come to closure about the crime.
• Often reduces fear about the offender and possible re-victimization.

For People Taking Responsibility

• Provides opportunity to accept responsibility for bad decisions and take action to repair harm caused by the crime.
• Shows clearly the crime's impact on the victims, community and families.
• Encourages using offender’s positive qualities in repairing harm.
• Connects offender and family to community resources as needed.
• Repairs harm done by the incident in a meaningful way.
• Allows offenders to make choices about consequences for their actions.

For Our Community

• Allows affected community members to express how the incident affected them and participate in determining reparations.
• Includes the community in the exploration of harm caused by crime.
• Gives the Community a voice in the process of justice.
• Recognizes that crime happens in the context of community and community is important in repairing the harm of crime.
• Gives community members the opportunity to support the victim's healing and the offender’s accountability and reintegration into the community.