Restorative Dialogue (RD): Resotrative Dialogue is a form of Restorative Justice that gives victims of certain minor assaults or property damage a chance to talk with the harm-doer who committed the crime in a safe environment.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS?

• A case is referred to MCRC's RD program, usually by an adult/juvenile justice or victim services agency.
• A trained Restorative Dialogue Practitioner meets individually with the victim and the offender to explain the program, learn more about the offense, discuss the harm to the victim, and explore resolution for the victim and the offender.
• The victim and the offender voluntarily agree to a meeting, facilitated by the Restorative Dialogue Practitioner.  They can tell their stories to each other, ask each other questions, share their feelings, and discuss options for resolution.
• Once they have reached a resolution, an agreement is written and signed.

THE BENEFITS of RD

VICTIMS

• Offers direct involvement in the justice process
• Gives the chance to ask questions & explain impact
• Opens the door to creatively repair harm
• Offers possibility of receiving an apology
• Can be a positive step toward closure

OFFENDERS

• Help repair damage they caused
• Accept responsibility for their behavior
• Facilitate successful reintegration into the community
• Learn new skills of nonviolent conflict resolution
• Repair relationships with the community and persons
• Earn respect
• Possibly avoid trial and a criminal or delinquent record
• Possible repair in self regulation and damage (self hatred, guilt, denial)

COMMUNITY

• Models peaceful resolution of conflict
• Builds a safer and more caring environment
• Reduces fear and increases safety
• Restores responsibility to the community to resolve its own conflicts

JUSTICE SYSTEM

• Demonstratably higher public satisfaction than court outcomes
• Increases success of restitution
• Reduces costs by diverting cases from trial
• Reduces court cases backlog
• Reduces recidivism

RESTORATIVE REFLECTION (RR)

• Restorative Reflection is applied to cases referred by the Juvenile Justice System in which MCRC is asked to provide a restorative procedure for a single participant. Often, these are diversionary cases.
• Restorative Reflection offers the Juvenile Justice decision-makers an additional option for those cases in which other outcomes would be counter to the health of the juvenile and the community. Generally, the referring agency has either made a judgement that there would be no benefit to having both parties dialogue, or the absent party has a prior offense that precludes him or her from diversion eligibility.
• RR cases include the juveniles' parents, and have the goal of giving the juvenile some additional tools to handle future conflicts in a healthier way.