Pre-Conference Events

All prices in US dollars.

Pre-conference Dinner
Tuesday, October 20 • $50 (cash bar)
Come join us for an informal dinner, and meet fellow conference participants on the eve of the conference.

An Intensive Immersion in a Restorative Alternative School Environment
Monday-Tuesday, October 19-20 • $280
For those who would like to explore the full potential of restorative practices, this powerful two-day experience will immerse you in the restorative culture of CSF Buxmont schools for delinquent and at-risk youth. In two empirical research studies, the CSF Buxmont programs were shown to halve re-offending rates and improve social values and self-esteem. When restorative justice pioneer Terry O’Connell first visited one of the schools, he remarked that the staff seemed to be running a restorative conference all day long. After an initial briefing about the schools’ restorative strategies and empirical research results, registrants will travel by van in small groups, each group to one of the CSF Buxmont schools, where they will observe interactions among staff and youth, participate in circles, attend an end-of-day staff meeting, and process what they have seen and heard with knowledgeable facilitators. Lunch and van transportation on both days are included in the fee.

Introduction to Restorative Practices Training
Monday, October 19 • $140
Thoroughly understand restorative concepts and learn effective strategies for managing behavior and teaching youth to take responsibility for their actions.
More information here.

Using Circles Effectively Training
Tuesday, October 20 • $140
Learn the value and process of circles — practical and effective tools for creating positive climates in classroom and other settings, which you will be able to use immediately.
More information here.

Facilitating Restorative Conferences Training
Monday-Tuesday, October 19-20 • $330
Learn how to facilitate restorative conferences — structured meetings that bring together everyone affected by an incident of wrongdoing or conflict to discuss how they have been affected and decide how to repair the harm.
More information here.

Conferencing for Serious Offenses: An Exploration
Monday-Tuesday, October 19-20 • $375

A two-day thought-provoking, interactive experience to provide participants with an opportunity to explore the use of restorative conferencing in response to serious offenses. The use of the circle process provides a truly restorative experience that encourages active participation from everyone attending the seminar. This is a valuable seminar for people working in victim services, courts, corrections, probation, parole, counseling, therapy, faith institutions, and for any other interested groups, including students in a wide variety of disciplines.

Please note: This seminar is not intended to train participants to facilitate restorative conferences, but to enhance their understanding of the potential and the implications of conferencing for serious offenses.

Participants will receive their own copy of the "Conferencing for Serious Offenses: An Exploration" seminar resources kit (normal cost $375 US — click here for more information), so that they may facilitate this experience in their own settings. This “do-it-yourself” resource package provides DVD videos and a CD-ROM with printable documents, including the Facilitator Guide, containing detailed directions for using the videos and running circles.

Day One of the seminar employs Facing the Demons — winner of Australian TV’s 2000 Logie Award for "Most Outstanding Documentary" — to explore conferencing as a response to murder. This riveting film concerns the homicide of a young man and the conference that was held four years later, in which the murder victim’s friends and family confront the offenders face to face. Exclusive videos of follow-up interviews, filmed a year after the conference, highlight the long-term impact of restorative processes on the lives of participants.

On Day Two, video interviews with psychiatrist Donald Nathanson, author of Shame and Pride: Affect, Sex, and the Birth of the Self, and prison psychologist Roger Blake provide additional thoughts for group discussion. The focus then shifts to restorative conferencing and sexual abuse. The video Kathy’s Story is a young woman’s remarkably articulate and emotional first-person account of long-term sexual abuse, her troubled passage to adulthood and her journey toward healing, which included a restorative conference.