Tools for Practice Tuesday- Restorative Justice
This was a theory and resource I stumbled upon as a social worker in an adolescent day treatment program. We created a “community” in the treatment milieu. In looking at resources for increasing the sense of community and I found restorativejustice.org. It’s mission statement.. “Restorative justice emphasizes repairing the harm caused by crime. When victims, offenders and community members meet to decide how to do that, the results can be transformational“.
We often talk about incarceration versus rehabilitation with prisoners. This is typically is referring to making sure they are “productive members of society” or they have a job. Restorative Justice adds a therapeutic layer to this debate. I would encourage you look at their website. I think these principles can be applied to a lot of settings beyond prisons. I would argue that this theory can be applied to any “community” you work in.
