1 Facilitating Restorative Group Conferences Lesson 5: Further Development of Conferencing Skills Minnesota Department of Corrections with the National Institute of Corrections

2 Lesson Objectives (1) n Facilitate preparation meetings and conference meetings in a variety of situations n Create a safe place for all the participants n Work with difficult people and situations n Identify and utilize re-integrative opportunities

3 n Understand the characteristics of effective conference agreements n When called for, write a conference agreement n Bring a conference session to closure n Understand the importance of monitoring progress toward steps in the agreement (2)

4 Seating in Semi-Circle or Circle S/C O F V V F

5 Conference Site n The room –Size –Lighting, heat, circulation –Chairs, refreshments table –No noise or disruption n Written directions, if helpful n Refreshments, tissues, name tags n Atmosphere

6 Also Think Through Ahead of Time n Scheduling arrival times n Possible separate waiting rooms n Sharing facilitator roles with your co-facilitator n Order of speaking at the conference

7 Conference Preparation Checklist n Handy reference for the many details n Go through each item well ahead of time

8 Conference Script/Outline n Intended as an aid n Use as written during this training n After training, adapt for your own use, but always: Start with a standard preamble End with a standard closing In the middle, explore harm, effect, remorse, reintegration and healing with more flexibility

9 Steps in a Conference Preamble: facilitator intro and role, intro of participants, purpose, agenda, ground rules, (set tone) Participants stories: victim or offender (victims choice), the other, supporters of each, and again until done Repairing the harm: agreement discussion and consensus decision Closing the conference

10 Practice Conferences n Six people per team n Take turns facilitating so everyone gets experience n Observers (people without a role to play) use the Communication Checklist to give feedback

11 Processing Questions n How did it feel in each of your roles? n What did you see that you liked? n Was a reasonable agreement reached? n What made it difficult to reach consensus? n What helped to move the group along? n How could the facilitator have improved their performance?

12 Practice Conferences Without Pre-Meetings n Six people per team n Take turns facilitating so everyone gets experience n Observers (people without a role to play) use the Communication Checklist to give feedback

13 Processing Questions n What problems did you experience that could have been avoided with pre- meetings? n Facilitators: How did you feel about facilitating the conference without knowing more about the participants? n Now that you have experienced this conference, how would you prepare for future conferences?

14 Evaluation of Today In groups of approximately 5 people, discuss and note: n What worked well for you today? n What you would like to see done differently or added tomorrow? * A reporter from each group will stay after to report the groups feedback

15 Agreements n Repair the harm to the victim n Repair the harm to the community n Assist the offender to make better future choices

16 SAM n S pecific n A ttainable n M easurable

17 Review: Options for the Agreement n Financial payment n Work for victim n Work for the charity of victims choice n Restorative community service n Apology n Participation in education, assessment, or program n Anything else that feels fair to all participants n Combination of the above

18 Restorative Community Service Characteristics: n Worthwhile work n Youth as resources and a focus on outcomes n Attention to transferable competencies n Sense of accomplishment, closure and community recognition n Focus on helping the disadvantaged

19 Community Service Ideally: 1)Provides opportunity to make amends 2)Adds value to the community through contribution of offender 3)Changes community's perception of offender 4)Increases investment of offender in the community 5)Develops job skills for offender 6)Provides positive role models for offender 7)Creates relationships that strengthen community

20 Know Local Resources Information about free and low-cost local services: n Hotlines, information networks n Chemical dependency treatment/evaluation n First Call for Help n Translators/language services

21 n Child care, crisis nurseries n Victims services n Counseling n GED programs n Education in –anger management –fire safety –cognitive skills restructuring –conflict resolution –conferencing n Opportunities for community service (2)

22 Practice Conferences: Pre-Meetings n Six people per team n Take turns facilitating n Do pre-meetings consecutively n Observers (people without a role to play) use the Communication Checklist to give feedback

23 Processing Questions: Pre-Meetings n How did it feel in each of your roles? n What did you see that you liked? n How could the facilitator have improved their performance? n Facilitators: how well do you think you understand each persons feelings?

24 Practice Conferences Using Agreement Form n Do conference n Use agreement form if agreement is reached n Specific, Attainable, and Measurable

25 Processing Questions n How did it feel in each of your roles? n What did you see that you liked? n Was a reasonable agreement reached? n What made it difficult to reach consensus? n What helped to move the group along? n How could the facilitator have improved their performance?

26 The Grand Conference n ______ people per team n Facilitators are responsible for name tags, tissues, seating order, etc. n Do pre-meetings and conference n Use agreement form if agreement is reached n Observers use the Communication Checklist to give feedback

27 Processing Questions n How did it feel in each of your roles? n What did you see that you liked? n Was a reasonable, SAM, agreement reached? n What made it difficult to reach consensus? n What helped to move the group along? n How could the facilitator have improved their performance?