RJ DURHAM USES A FOUR-STEP FACILITATION PROCESS

1. Pre-Conferencing ​​– Pre-Conferences are informal conversations designed to prepare for a Conference Circle. RJ Facilitators meet with affected people separately, including the person(s) harmed, the person(s) who caused harm, and their chosen supporters (e.g. family, friend, clergy, neighbor). Facilitators explain restorative justice and the Conference process, and discuss the core questions that guide every Conference Circle. Each person then decides if they want to continue.

2. Conference Circle - The Conference Circle is a facilitated conversation among the people involved in and affected by the incident of harm. RJ Facilitators guide the Conference Circle while all involved answer the core questions and develop an agreement on what the person who caused harm can do to make things as right as possible. This is called a Repair Agreement.

​​3. Repair Agreement ​– During this phase the person who caused harm fulfills all obligations of the Repair Agreement. The amount of time for this phase varies.

4. Closing Circle – At the end of the process a Closing Circle is held to determine if the obligations of the Repair Agreement have been fulfilled. This includes a chance for all participants to reflect on whether justice has been achieved.

RJ CORE QUESTIONS

- What happened?
- What were you thinking and feeling at the time?
- What have you thought about and felt since?
- Who has been affected and how? 
- What needs to be done to make things as right as possible?

RJ DURHAM'S REFERRAL SOURCES

RJ Durham strives for open-handed creativity in the ways our facilitation work meets our aspirations for a restorative Durham. This infuses both our collaboration with other restorative/transformative justice advocates in Durham and our approach to facilitation referrals. While many of our facilitations originate as referrals from misdemeanor and felony diversion programs managed by the Durham County Criminal Justice Resource Center, others are referred by defense lawyers or district attorneys and employ the restorative process (in various stages of the legal process) as an alternative to formal prosecution. Still more are directed to us by community members seeking restorative response to harm in their schools, congregations, or neighborhoods. ​

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