RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND TEEN COURT

Transcription

1 RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND TEEN COURT

2 Colorado Springs Teen Court, Inc. Program Description

3 Originated in Odessa, Texas in 1972 Outreach to First Time Offenders accused of misdemeanor crimes In 1993 program implemented through a cooperative effort of the El Paso County Bar Auxiliary, Colorado Springs Police Department, School District 11, the Colorado Springs Municipal Court, the District Attorney s s office, District Court Judges and the Juvenile Magistrates Program was active at Mitchell High School Wasson High School currently has active Teen Court

4 What is Teen Court? Teen Court is a Justice program for first time misdemeanor offenders between the ages of 11 and 18 An adult judge presides over a real hearing in a real courtroom with teens serving as attorneys and a teen jury determines the sentence Sentences may be mandatory community service, restitution, classes in alcohol/drug education or other behavioral education Teen Court is an alternative to punitive consequences for Level I and II infractions

5 Program fosters respect for the judicial process, responsibility for one s s actions towards community and peers and a healthy attitude towards authority Judgment of a teen by his peers may be more effective than that of an adult Teen court participation is documented on the incident referral and charges against the defendant are dismissed Teen Court requires trained administrators and training for students

6 Balanced and Restorative Justice Program Description

7 What is Balanced and Restorative Justice? A philosophy that emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal behavior rather than retribution and rehabilitation Intended to reduce community fear of juvenile offenders returning to the community by assisting youth in their transition back into the community Three goals: Accountability Community safety Competency development

8 In District 11, discipline officials have the option of referring Level I and II infractions to a panel of teachers, counselors, administrators and selected students to derive a harm repairing contract Restorative Justice referrals can only be made in situations where suspension is not mandatory The D11 Office of Student Discipline is currently associated with the Restorative Justice process as D11 representatives to the El Paso County Community Review Board and SB 94

9 Considerations Schools are currently implementing PBS protocols as part of the District-wide adoption of the RtI/PBS frameworks for instruction, instructional intervention and behavior management and behavioral intervention District 11 Multi-Tiered Model of Instruction and Intervention Intensive Level Interventions are provided to students with intensive/chronic academic and/or behavior needs based on ongoing progress monitoring and/or diagnostic assessment. Strategic Level Interventions are provided to students identified as atrisk of academic and/or social challenges and/or students identified as underachieving who require specific supports to make sufficient progress in general education. Universal Level ALL students receive research-based, high quality, general education that incorporates ongoing universal screening, progress monitoring, and prescriptive assessment to design instruction. Expectations are taught, reinforced, and monitored in all settings.

10 D11 elementary schools use Restorative Justice practices in discipline protocols emphasizing awareness of harm to victims D11 middle schools incorporate Restorative Justice principles through programs such as Boys Town High school RtI/PBS models incorporate Restorative Justice and teen Court principles

11 D11 is focused on closing the achievement gap at every school, in every classroom D11 currently provides program training in RTI/PBS implementation, CQI, CPI, EASy, Adaptive Schools D11 encourages staff training in all reading programs, math programs, writing programs, instructional strategies (McRel( McRel) ) and PLC implementation

12 Next Steps Determine the effectiveness of programs already in place Determine which schools are interested in adopting new discipline programs Determine a district and school training priority protocol to accommodate a new discipline program training Allocate fiscal and personnel resources develop a training/implementation plan for Teen Court and/or Restorative Justice programs Initiate an RFP for program providers