Connecting restorative justice with gender-responsive programming

Abstract

This article reports on the development and use of restorative circles for delinquent girls. Our study focused on a program unique in its goal of blending restorative justice with gender-responsive philosophies and practices. The Amicus Girls Restorative Justice program involved two populations: serious or chronically offending girls at a residential treatment facility and girls on probation or in juvenile detention. Using participant observation and interviews, we demonstrate that restorative gender-responsive programming is still in its infancy, as major elements of restorative justice were absent from one of these sites. The program still serves as an instructive example of a recent innovation, demonstrating that when the vision of restorative gender-responsive programming is most fully actualized, it provides tremendous benefits to girls involved in the justice system.

Keywords:

• restorative justice
• gender-responsive programming
• girls
• delinquency

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Tonya Slager, our excellent research assistant on this project.

Notes

1. All names have been changed.

2. Kasey’s circle included five other girls at the institution, three program staff (including her grief and trauma counselor), her probation officer, her athletic coach from her high school, and the authors.

3. There is some debate in the literature regarding the importance of gender-responsive programming. Some argue that gender and patriarchy are central to our understanding girls’ risk factors for delinquency and resulting programmatic needs (see Belknap & Holsinger, 2006), while others (see Latessa, Cullen, & Gendreau, 2002) maintain that risk factors and ‘best practices’ are similar for males and females.

4. Minnesota’s juvenile justice system is largely county-based. Counties have the option of committing serious or chronically offending youth to the Commissioner of Corrections (i.e. ‘state-committed’).

5. Researchers sometimes overlook the collaborative effort between juvenile courts, correctional programs, probation agents, crime victims, and volunteer communities in pursuing the goals of RJ. The impact of RJ is often related to coordinated efforts within the existing system (Bazemore & Umbreit, 1995, 2001). We found the collaboration between the residential facility and Amicus to be a crucial element in the program’s success.

6. One girl ran from the program while completing its final stage of semi-independent living. She had received information that her mother was in trouble, and so returned home in an attempt to help. The girl kept in phone contact with her Radius counselor while on the run, a notable testament to the relationship-building that was a hallmark of the program.