Topic: Peer Mediation

Question: Does your youth court have a peer mediation program?

Responses from Coordinators:

Don & Linda
Scappoose Youth Accountability Board
P.O. Box "P", 33568 E. Columbia
Scappoose, OR 97056
Phone: (503) 543-3114
Fax: (503) 543-2955
zimmerman@triax.com

As I indicated in my initial response we are a Diversion Program rather than a Peer Court of Juvenile Court. We operate under our Counties Juvenile Court, with the focus on addressing the action and motivation to prevent a recurrance.  When the juvenile and their parent agrees to have their case heard they agree to be an active member of the discussion. Part of the discussion of the crime, motivation and contractual agreement is mediation. Some victims are active participants and meet face to face with the offender either before the Youth Accountability Board or in private. Other victims prefer the Board to act as mediator to resolve the incident. The end result is to no only prevent future criminal acts by the juvenile, but to also enable them to reestablish trust with the victim and community. This is normally done through a formal agreement between the juvenile, parent and YAB after a process of idea and information exchange.

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Stephanie Olsen
Yarnhill County Peer Court
130 NE Baker Street
McMinnville, OR 97128
Phone: (503) 434-7436
Fax: (503) 472-5314
OLSENS@ci.mcminnville.or.us

Yamhill County Peer Court has a partnership agreement with the Yamhill County Mediators (a non-profit organization) and they provide mediation services for our program. Victim/Offender is not a sentencing option but the Peer Court staff makes referrals as appropriate. This is not in lieu of a sentence but a supplement. The YCM also offer parent/adolescent mediation (for parents and children who are having difficulties at home) and we make referrals to that as well.

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Karianne Aaron
J.E.T. Program
P.O. Box 458
Sisters, OR 97759
Phone: (541) 549-2302
Fax: (541) 549-1762
karia@deschutes.org

Yes, the J.E.T. Program incorporates mediation in sentencing youth offenders. I "partner" with the Deschutes County Juvenile Department in Bend. There, they have V.O.M.P. (Victim-Offender Mediation Program). I set up a meeting time/place here in Sisters and the mediator comes over to resolve issues between/among the youth offender and victim(s). I sit in on the meeting as an observer -- so I am able to relate better with the offender about what happened -- as well as with the victim(s). It works very well. It adds accountability for the youth offender. Parents/guardians are also involved.

questions/answers:

The Teen Jury may decide that the offender needs to apologize by letter or face-to-face. If I don't feel that those options are quite enough, then I step it up to V.O.M.P. - to make a more significant impact. It depends on the offense, etc. I have the final determination in sentencing - but the kids usually do a great job doing so. Volunteer judges (attorneys) sign the Case Disposition Agreement also. So, the sentencing starts with the teen jury, next to the judge and finally to me.

I talk to the victim(s) first before I go ahead with V.O.M.P. Maybe they want to face the youth -- maybe they don't. I haven't had a victim(s) refuse to participate yet. They know it gives them the opportunity to say what they want, etc. The offender does not have a choice -- if the victim(s) are willing to participate -- then the offender has to participate --- or I will send their case to the Juvenile Department. That hasn't happened either.

Agreements are made during mediation....it could be as easy as agreeing to get along without further harassment, paying X amount restitution if needed, etc.... Victims want to see accountability of the offender take place. Participating in mediation is just one of other requirements that are given -- but not made during mediation --- at court.

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Les Schultz
Brown County Teen Court
P.O. Box 248
New Ulm, MN 56073
Phone: (507) 233-6620
Fax: (507) 233-6649
les.schultz@co.brown.mn.us

Yes we have victim offender mediation as a possible sanction for the teens to choose. In most property offenses, this is ordered including most shoptlifting cases. They are then referred to our vicitm offender mediator who meets with both parties before agreeing that it is ok to proceed. We do not use mediation to determine sanctions, only to discuss the offense. We have allowed restitution on a few cases to be determined thru mediation.

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Elinor Robin
Broward County Teen Court
1600 West Hillsboro Blvd., Rm 130
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
Phone: (954) 831-1291
Fax: (954) 831-1296
erobin@17th.flcourts.org

Our TC is one of the programs within the Court's ADR (alternative dispute resolution) division and many of our staff members are trained and certified mediators. As such, we are very eager to meet with any victim and/or defendant - either individually or jointly - to discuss the possibility of VOM. However (even though we consistently make this offer) typically and sadly most TC participants are uninterested in taking advantage of this service.

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Kory Norris
Olathe Youth Court
1021 South Pitt
Olathe, KS 66063-2000
Phone: (913) 780-7046
Fax: 913-780-7045
norrisk.WDSC_PO.WDSC_GWP@mail.olathe.k12.ks.us

Peer mediation is partnership with schools. Jurors usually send Ds to a different school then their home school for more intense and greater leverage for mediators. Also, when possible, jurors send Ds to older schools (e.g., elementary attend junior high peer mediation, and junior high go to senior high)

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Deborah Barris
Sacramento Youth Peer Court
2239 "A" Chase Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
Phone: (916) 63-9402
Fax: (916) 363-9402
peercourt@earthlink.net

Yes, we do implement a mediation component to our sentencing options and we do use one of our partnering agencies...they do a terrific job with the mediation option and so far it is very successful!

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Lorrain Rutter
Community Accountability Program
120 Strawberry Street
Mercer, PA 16137
Phone: (724) 662-3800 Ext 2561
Fax: (724) 662-4105
lrutter@mcc.co.mercer.pa.us

Our Community Court Program does have the option of utilizing a victim/offender mediation program in their sentencing. This program was developed through the juvenile probation department and is now contracted out of our office and is called the Community Support Project. This program is a 4 component program incorporating Community Service, Accountability Through Employment, Mentoring and Victim/Offender Mediation Program. This program originated from a grant in 1996 and now is supported by the Mercer County and other agencies throughout the County.

The program has a professional mediator that meets with the juvenile and victim to first make sure the program is appropriate for the case, then starts joint sessions. This is an excellent sentencing option for community court due the cases being handled in a swifter fashion keeping the intensity of the incident closer to the victim and juvenile.

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Kirsten Frescoln
Capitol Area Teen Court
P.O. Box 724
Raleigh, NC 27602
Phone: (919) 856-5591
Fax: (919) 856-5673
kfrescoln@co.wake.nc.us

Capital Area Teen Court utilizes both mediation and victim/offender mediation. In both situations we refer the cases out to other programs and/or providers. We utilize mediation in two circumstances - when the parent is the victim and there are other issues mixed in (we also order family counseling in these cases) or when two youth have to see each other and are continuing to have problems with each other. We offer VOICE - Victim Offender Interpersonal Conferencing to most cases where there is a clear victim and offender. The VOICe staff (part of our agency staff) meet with the offender at the time of intake to explain the program and offer it as something the offender can do to make the situation "right" with the victim. If the offender expresses an interest, the victim is contacted to assertain his/her interest. VOICe can not be ordered by the court - it is wholly voluntary, but the conference is completed prior to court and presented as something already done by the offender in an attempt to make things right. It is generally looked on favorably by the jury.

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Bonnie Schaaf
Michigan City Teen Court Coordinator
Youth Service Bureau of LaPorte County
803 Franklin Street
Michigan City, IN 46360
ysbmc@adsnet.com

\Michigan City and LaPorte (Indiana) Teen Courts offer victim-offender mediation as a sentencing option. I am a court-certified mediator and was able to teach several youth volunteers to be mediators (about 10 volunteers in each of the Teen Courts). We send letters to victims requesting receipts for restitution or written victim-impact statements, and offering them the opportunity to testify or to agree to victim/offender mediation. However, we have never had any victims willing to agree to mediation. We do not offer mediation to businesses where shoplifting offenses occurred, but our Student Advisory Board is considering changing this policy to increase the chances of finding victims who will participate in mediation.

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Karen Green
Placer County Peer Court
671 Newcastle Rd, Ste 7
Newcastle, CA 95658
Phone: (916) 663-9227
Fax: (916) 663-2965

We do have mediation as an option for sentencing. We’re very committed to Restorative Justice so every juries consider mediation. We work with Placer Dispute Resolution. They come to each court and do a 10 minute information session for all the juries (see sheets attached); these are given to each jury members. PDRS also does a 25 hour training for interest teens who want to sit as part of a peer mediation team. It’s been terrific. We’re also using this with our truancy cases when appropriate – student to teacher –great results.

Placer Peer court and Placer Dispute Resolution (PDRS) have created an alliance which adds a new and promising facet to both programs. Peer Court juries now have the option to assign victim-offender mediation as part of a Peer Court sentence. If the victim is willing to meet with the offender, PDRS arranges for volunteer mediators to conduct a victim-offender mediation. They jury understands that if the victim and offender reach a mutually satisfactory restitution agreement, it will take the place of the balance of the sentence assigned by the jury. If the victim is unwilling to meet with the offender or if they cannot reach an agreement in mediation, the original jury sentence stays in effect.

PDRS will train peer mediators to participate in the victim-offender mediation process. The panel of three mediators will include at least one teen along with adult mediators. Since Peer Court juries and offenders are, by definition, teens, it is appropriate that teens should also participate in the victim-offender mediation aspect of this innovative juvenile justice program.

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Lynnette Beck
Boulder Municipal Court Teen Court Program
P.O. Box 8015
Boulder, Colorado 80303-8015
Phone: (303) 441-4904
Fax: (303) 441-4233
BeckL@ci.boulder.co.us

We use mediation and victim-offender mediation as sentencing options for the jury to choose. For "regular" mediation we would refer cases to the City's Community Mediation Program. For victim-offender stuff, we refer to the Boulder County Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP).

Thanks for doing these roundtable-type questions, Tracy. The information we get is very helpful. In addition, I will be at your "The Teen Court and Peer Mediation Connection" presentation in Florida on Saturday, May 6. I'm looking forward to it.

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Nancy Kaplan
Hernando County Teen Court
20 N. Main Street, Rm 251
Brooksville, FL 34601
Phone: (352) 754-4201 Ext 377
NancyK@co.hernando.fl.us

Neither of these are "peer mediation" in the strictest sense, although that is an enhancement that interests me. We do have:

• A jury panel or "grand jury" format that we have experimented with on occasion in which the jurors are presented with the case by the judge or a teen attorney, and the jurors then directly question the defendant. It has been successful with the volunteers, and allows more involvement by a greater number of volunteers/offenders.
• One of our mandatory sentence options is one-to-four "Peer Circles," peer counseling sessions led by a certified counselor. This is held in the Clerk of Court's conference room prior to court. It is provided to Teen Court at no charge under a grant by a local not-for-profit mental health agency.

We are open to new procedures to teach victim impact and empathy for victims to our Teens. In most cases, they must write an apology to their victims. We do not invite direct victim-offender contact due to security concerns.

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Russ Landry
S.C.A.L.E.S Project
301 S. Monroe St
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Phone: (850) 488-4265
Fax: (850) 488-4264
landryr@mail.leon.k12.fl.us

Leon County, Tallahassee, Fl. We require parents and defendants attend a Victim Awareness Panel. This is a 2 hour program dealing with victims of crime and the affect on the community. The victim that shares their story which starts the program is not a victim of the defendants present. From that we discuss in a group atmosphere victims of crime. Families of defendants share how they were victimized by their child's actions and the affects on the family relationship. Defendants then share how they are restoring justice back in their families and what responsible actions they are taking since their offense. Families and defendants all required to attend.

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Charles Snyder
Whatcom County Teen Court
311 Grand Avenue
Bellingham, WA 98226
Phone: (360) 738-2457
Fax: (360) 676-6793
CSnyder@co.whatcom.wa.us

We are using mediation through a local agency which is a creature of state statute, the Dispute Resolution Center. Currently they are providing victim-offender mediation and offender-parent mediation for Teen Court. This is a part of the sentence given by the jury and is assigned by the youth services agency that monitors the compliance. We have just applied for a grant for funding for the next three years and they will continue to do the same, and in addition train some of the Teen Court participants in conflict resolution skills (this will be in the latter years of the grant). At this time I can't give any statistics on the extent of mediation done in Teen Court cases, but I know they are doing a fair number in the standard offender context.

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