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Principles and Initiatives:Turning Point Partners (TPP) is a non-profit organization established under the principles of strength-based and restorative models. TPP uses Restorative Justice and Resilience Education practices that reflect these principles and foster healthy decision making skills. The TPP approach focuses on the talents and gifts of young people and their families to overcome the high-risk conditions under which they live; it emphasizes the restoration of relationships when harm is done in a community; it supports the healing process of victims and allow them to be directly involved in the judicial process; and it draws upon the inherent power of communities to take responsibility for its members. Turning Point Partners' programs in the institutions of justice (the courts and correctional facilities), education settings, and communities model this approach to systemic change. The Courts - Juvenile Court InitiativeA primary example of such a model is the Juvenile Court Initiative. Turning Point Partners has developed a strong relationship with Orleans Parish Juvenile Court Judge Mark Doherty, especially in the area of pre-sentencing hearings to develop alternatives to incarceration for adjudicated youth. The initiative is strengthened by collaboration with New Orleans District Attorney, Eddie Jordan, to develop a pilot, pre-petition diversion program in which youth are referred to our program prior to entering the court system. The Restorative Justice model, which requires youth to accept responsibility for their actions and be accountable for the harm they have caused, provides effective alternatives to incarceration as well as diverts youth from court proceedings and stigma. These outcomes are critical since juveniles are more likely to re-offend once they have been incarcerated. Research has shown that Restorative Justice practices reduce recidivism by 32%. The process is victim and community centered. It offers victims a voice. They have a say in deciding restitution and provide input into the way in which youth will be accountable for their actions. In addition, victims have an opportunity to question the person who has harmed them, a process that is an important piece of the victim's healing. Community members also are deeply impacted by the actions of the youth. Individuals in the community affected by the crime are invited to participate. In addition, the community as a whole must take responsibility for its members, including the youth and the victim, to support them in overcoming the harm caused by event. Judge Doherty's Court is one of two settings in the initiative. TPP staff make contact with the youth on the day he or she has been called to court for pre-trial or initial hearings. The process with the District Attorney's office differs in that potential participants are contacted before they have been subpoenaed to appear in court, but after it is determined that charges will be filed in the case. In both situations, TPP staff interview youths and their families to determine which juveniles are ready to accept responsibility for the harm they have caused. The folders and police records of these youth are reviewed with special attention to identifying victims. Within the next two weeks, the staff speaks with family and community members and organizes Family Group Conference. Where victims are involved, arrangements are made to speak with them and explain how Restorative Justice practices provide them an opportunity to have a voice in the judicial proceedings. Victims may then participate in the Family Group Conference or a Victim Offender Conference. The Family Group Conference develops a consensus agreement that identifies specific actions and restitution necessary for the youth to restore his or her place in the community. Judge Doherty has final approval of agreements in his court cases. However, he rarely alters them because he believes the agreements to be "unique and innovative" in their design, fostering accountability on the part of the youth and making fair restitution to the victim.
Conferencing allows the community of people most impacted by the delinquent behavior the victim and the offender as well as the family, friends, and key supporters of both, and members of the community -- to resolve the issues. The process places responsibility for public welfare in the hands of the community. Correctional Facilities - Victim Impact ProgramTurning Point Partners is entering its second year of its Victim Impact Program at Bridge City Correctional Center for Youth. The primary objectives of the initiative are to develop skills in reflection, communication, and empathy. Community Building Circles, the foundation of the work, are experiential workshops that build authentic community a safe place for risk taking and shared leadership. The training, in which communication and expressive skills are developed, establishes respect and discipline within the group. Once a community of trust has been developed, Turning Point staff can address the issues of responsibility and empathy through a variety of victim awareness programs and group conferencing. Victim Impact Panels provide a forum for crime victims to share with incarcerated youth how crime has impacted their lives and the lives of their families, friends, and neighbors. Victim Empathy Classes promote understanding of the harm that the youth has experienced as well as the harm they have done to others. Recognizing that they have been victimized is essential. The purpose is not to condone their delinquent behaviors, but to begin a process by which they can know that they have caused similar pain in others. These explorations facilitate development of empathy an emotion often dormant in these young men. Reentry Conferences bring together the youth, their family, supporting members of the community, and victims when possible. The purpose is to determine the juvenile's needs and to design a plan that will facilitate successful reintegration. Members of the community are involved in the Reentry Conferences because they, too, have a responsibility in the reintegration of both the youth and the person harmed. The community is often ignored under the current system. The result is an environment in which youth returned to their neighborhoods are feared and isolated. In a restorative model, community members become monitors of the agreement developed in the conference and facilitate obtaining services and support necessary for youth and victim to resume their place in the community as productive and meaningful members of society. The impact of community participation is that neighbors once again can feel safe because they know that community members are being nurtured, supported, and supervised where necessary. Educational Settings - Resilience Education InitiativesThe Restorative Discipline and Resilience Education Initiatives are Turning Point Partners' proactive response to meet the needs of youth who have yet to be entangled in the judicial web. Once enmeshed in the justice system, the obstacles confronting youth as they attempt to become productive citizens are exacerbated. Restorative Discipline in schools is a natural outgrowth of Turning Point's activity in Restorative Justice. It provides educational institutions with a process by which they can foster care and respect while providing opportunities to allow for differences to be worked through constructively. Restorative Discipline as presented to the New Orleans Charter Middle School is addressing bullying and other forms of violence in a growing number of schools across the country. Students in a restorative environment learn that taking responsibility and being accountable for their behaviors lead to resolutions that are nonviolent and long lasting. Restorative Discipline enhanced by Resilience Education is a pilot proposal presented to the Alexander P. Tureaud, Sr. Elementary School. The strategy explores the way in which resilience can be fostered by school personnel to build upon the gifts of the youth, even those masked behind disruptive behaviors, to reframe those strengths develop social competencies and ensure a successful future. Systemic change demands that educational institutions shift from traditional disciplinary methods of suspension and expulsion to affirmation of student strengths and restoration of harmed relationships. Communities - Community Justice CirclesA core principle that guides Turning Point is that the community holds the power to determine its future. Community Justice Circles are being developed by TPP to support reclamation of a portion that power. A potential obstacle to community self-determination is the deficit model used by outside agencies to define the community. Families and communities, on the other hand, will define themselves in positive terms given the opportunity to focus on their strengths, gifts, and resources. The Community Justice Circle uses the resources of the community to overcome the deep concerns of many New Orleans' neighborhoods over the health and welfare of their families and the safety of their streets. It consists of representatives of the community who have been entrusted to respond to conflicts in the neighborhood and trained to use Restorative Justice and resilience practices. Because conflicts are addressed within the community, public resources such as the police and courts are not dissipated. The outcomes are a secure community achieved through cost effective measures. Turning Point is in the process of identifying communities to establish pilot programs. Staff members are making the opportunity known to community leaders through presentations, such as at Ashe Cultural Arts Center in Central City, contacting faith groups, and meeting with community activists. These Restorative Justice and Resilience Education Initiatives are the vehicles by which Turning Point Partners hopes to participate in the transformation of our judicial and educational systems. The practices transform a retributive, punitive system that emphasizes the negative perspective to a restorative, healing response that affirms the strengths and wisdom of individuals, families and communities. TPP envisions that these practices will provide a means to significantly reduce the inequalities in our culture and ensure the safety of our neighborhoods. Over time, the youth in the initiatives would become productive, contributing members of their communities rather than an economic drain. They will be the leaders who reinvigorate the economic and social structure of their communities. The process in New Orleans will take time. However, the concepts of Restorative Justice and Resilience Education lay a foundation for the eventual development of healthy, safe, and secure communities. |
