The Restorative Justice Program of Neighbor to Neighbor is designed to address some of the needs of the harmed party which are often unmet in the criminal justice process.
This process can include a meeting between you (the harmed party), the responsible party, and a facilitator, which will provide you with an opportunity to:
- Ask questions that may have risen out of the situation,
- Express feelings and opinions caused by the situation directly to the person(s) involved, and, if needed,
- Work out a written agreement for reparation or settlement.
Neighbor to Neighbor arranges for meetings between you – the Harmed Party (HP) and the Responsible Party (RP), assists in finding answers to problems caused by criminal offenses, and assists in developing reparation contracts. We monitor your case until reparation is fulfilled and will intervene if problems arise.
Neighbor-to-Neighbor does NOT do the following:
- Supervise offenders. Supervision remains the responsibility of the referring agency, i.e. the Juvenile Department, District Attorney’s office, etc.
- Enforce restitution agreements. If the agreement reached in mediation is not fulfilled, the case will be referred back to the referring agency.
- Guarantee agreements or fulfillment of agreements. We will do our best to assist, but the ultimate fulfillment of the agreement depends on the parties’ willingness to make it work.
In order to prepare for your restorative process, we ask that you:
- Think about the situation, and how it has affected you. This is a chance for you to receive answers to questions and for the responsible party to hear the feelings that only you can express.
- Contact the facilitator or our office if you have further questions or if any problems develop in the fulfillment of the restitution agreement.
We know that facing the person who caused you harm may not be an easy thing to do. For many who have experienced harm, this process has been helpful by creating a space to feel heard, to ask questions and get answers, and to move forward in a positive way.
The meeting is organized and led by a neutral, trained facilitator. This person is present to facilitate communication and agreement, not to make decisions or impose a settlement.
This is a voluntary process
Participation in this process is voluntary. A participant may choose to withdraw from the restorative justice process at any time.
This is a confidential process
Restorative justice meetings and all related communications shall be confidential; parties cannot subpoena program staff or volunteers to testify or produce records at any proceeding.
“Confidential” means that all communications during the intake, preparation, dialogue, and follow-up phases of the process, including documents developed during any of these phases, shall remain confidential, non-discoverable, and inadmissible for any purpose in any legal proceeding, subject to the following exceptions:
- Statements made regarding child or elder abuse, or regarding threats to commit serious injury to self or others that is likely to result in death.
- Information already known before the restorative justice process does not become confidential through disclosure during the process.
- The referral agency may request to see the Restorative Agreement if one is created, and will be notified at the close of the case, as to whether it is complete, or returned incomplete.
- For reporting, research, training, or educational purposes, Neighbor to Neighbor staff and volunteers can:
- state whether the process resulted in an Agreement and successful completion of Agreement items
- provide anonymized information for statistical purposes
- talk confidentially with program staff and volunteers about what happened for advice and learning purposes
- retain records of the case in accordance with program policies and procedures.
Communication about the case from Neighbor to Neighbor to the Court and to any attorneys involved in the case will be limited to: Still Open, Completed Successfully, or Returned Incomplete.
This is a non-legal process. Program staff and volunteers cannot give legal advice.