Restorative Justice Training and Practice: Findings and Lessons from a Facilitator Training and a California Prison Project

• In Event: RJ in Institutional Settings

Abstract

Restorative justice (RJ) is a framework for addressing all forms of harm with impact on the victim, offender, and community. Victim-offender dialogue/mediation (VOD/M) is one of these processes. In 2021 and 2024, the authors received a Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD) grant from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), to develop and deliver VOD facilitator training and facilitate assigned cases for VOD. The authors designed a 40-hour, 8-week training for community volunteers interested in facilitating VOD cases referred by the CDCR. The training covered topics including restorative justice frameworks, cultural identity, victim-offender dynamics, the impact of childhood trauma, accountability, and forgiveness. Additionally, the authors lead a weekly class about restorative justice with people incarcerated at California State Prison, Sacramento (CSP-Sac) called Restorative Justice Dialogues. Since June 2022, the authors have led 3 cohorts of approximately 25 people through the program. Results regarding the effectiveness of the training curriculum from the community facilitators will be shared in addition to results from the first cohort of the Restorative Justice Dialogues and VOD, to identify impacts, prospects and constraints of programming in carceral settings for behavioral change.

Authors

• Alexa Sardina, California State University Sacramento

• Ernest Uwazie, California State University Sacramento