Facilitator Training Manual

Introduction

The Ministry of Justice' pilot of court-referred restorative justice conferences (facilitated meetings between victims, offenders and their support people) in three Courts regions (Auckland, Waitakere, Hamilton and Dunedin District Courts) has been underway since late in 2001. Restorative justice conferences in the pilot are managed by facilitators who have been trained and approved by the Ministry of Justice. These materials provide the basis of those facilitators' training in the processes, skills and information necessary to facilitate a constructive conference.

Copyright

These restorative justice facilitator training materials are the property of the Ministry of Justice. They have been developed for the court-referred restorative justice pilot managed by the Ministry of Justice. They are made available here for reference by restorative justice practitioners.

They may be reproduced for the sole purpose of training facilitators, provided the Ministry of Justice is acknowledged as owner of copyright in the materials

No persons may hold themselves out to be trainers 'approved' by the Department for Courts, or in any way suggest that any training, even if based on these materials, is in any way approved or sanctioned by the Ministry of Justice.

The fact that any persons have completed training based on these materials does not and will not in the future imply that they are 'approved' by the Ministry of Justice or that they have met any standard set by the Ministry of Justice relating to the practice of restorative justice.

The fact that any person has been approved to facilitate conferences for the Department for Courts' court-referred restorative justice pilot, or has been involved in any other way with the Ministry of Justice' pilot, does not imply that the person is approved or qualified to deliver training or provide any other services outside of the Department for Courts' pilot.

Introduction

Acknowledgements
Ministry of Justice Restorative Justice Project
Press Release
Training outcomes
How to use this resource

Module 1 - What is Restorative Justice?

Why restorative justice?
What is restorative justice?
Objectives
Principles
History of Restorative justice
Restorative Justice in New Zealand
Court-referred Restorative Justice Pilot
Taking Responsibility in Being Accountable by Judge McElrea
Reforming criminal justice: the potential of restorative justice by Dr Warren Young and Dr Allison Morris
The 10am District Court List
Exercises

Module 2 - Restorative Justice Conferencing in the Department for Courts Pilot

Key elements of restorative justice conferencing in the Court Pilot
What type of case ends up in the restorative justice process?
Offences included in the Pilot
Overview of the Facilitator Role
Overview of the steps in restorative justice process in the Pilot
Table 2.1 Court-referred Restorative Justice Process
Phase 1: Referral and Set-up
Phase 2: Conference
Phase 3: Post-conference
The People Involved in the restorative justice conference process
Exercises

Module 3 - Victim and Offender Issues

Victim and Offender Issues
Victims of Crime
Victims' Rights
The Trauma of Crime
Critical incident stress
Secondary victimisation
Resilience
When a Victim Feels Unable to Attend a conference
Children in the restorative justice process
Common Ways that Offenders Think and See the World
Engaging with offenders
Offenders who do not want to involve support people
Exercises

Module 4 - Working Across Cultures in restorative justice

Different forms of restorative processes
Overview from Malcolm Peri
Traditional Maori Principles involved in conflict resolution
Maori traditional conflict resolution protocols
Customary Practices of non-Maori Minority Cultures
How to Work Across Cultures
Some Ideas for Working Across Cultures
Exercises

Module 5 - Skills for Being a Restorative Justice Facilitator

Facilitator Competency
Basic Helping Skills
Establishing a Safe Environment
Dealing with Difficult Conference Situations
Dealing with Diversity in Terms of Class, Ethnicity and Gender
Managing Strong Emotion and Conflict
Facilitation of restorative justice conferences
Co-facilitation models
Exercises

Module 6 - Preparing for the Conference

Phases in the restorative justice conferencing process
Overview of the Facilitator Role
Assessment of Participants
The pre-conference steps
Key Concepts
Declining to Facilitate
Privacy and Confidentiality
Predictors of Victim/Offender Participation
Multiple Victims and Multiple Offenders

Module 7 - The Conference Process

Phases in the restorative justice conferencing process
Setting up for the Conference
The Conference Steps
Adjourning and Reconvening a Conference
Prompts for each stage of the conference
Quick Tips on Communicating with Victims and Offenders
Frequently Asked Questions by Facilitators

Module 8 - Post Conference Process

Post-conference steps
The Conference Report
Report Format
Writing the Conference Report
Restorative Justice and Sentencing
Possible Sentencing Outcomes
Pre-sentence and Reparation Reports