Vermont Business Magazine At the Community Restorative Justice Center in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, non-violent offenders are referred to Reparative Panels as an alternative to a punitive approach to justice. Vermont State University (VTSU) students completing their Restorative Justice program internships participate in these panels, which offer the responsible party the opportunity to communicate and learn in an environment with their peers. The goals are to help the individuals learn from their mistakes, keep them out of the corrections system, and thus reduce the likelihood they will re-offend.
In addition to the Reparative Panels for low-level offenses, the Community Restorative Justice Center offers a year-long, weekly program – Circles of Support and Accountability, or COSA – an even more in-depth option that serves people returning from incarceration, or those who have committed more serious offenses. While the restorative justice goals are the same for both processes, they serve different populations and different community needs.
“This is a fully interactive effort,” said Susan Russell, reentry program coordinator at the Center. “The students are fully trained, background-checked, and oriented to the reparative panel process and participate for up to a year. The goal of this work is to identify the impact of a person’s behavior on a person who has been harmed or on the community, to think about the types of amends that can be made, to make the harmed party or the community whole, and to think about how to move forward in a healthier way. The students are participating as a facilitator once they have enough experience. Advancing and expanding the use of restorative justice, awareness of it, and implementing its techniques across sectors of what we do make our communities stronger.”
Katrina Feddersen is a junior at VTSU and is double majoring in Restorative Justice and Criminal Justice.
She notes, “people, but especially youth and students, need to develop problem-solving skills and strong communication abilities, in addition to empathy for others. It’s about accountability and helping people realize how their actions affect others. Ultimately, our goal with a restorative process is to reduce the likelihood a person will re-offend, and when we approach the justice system with the goal to help people learn and pick another path next time—rather than to punish them—we do just that.”
Feddersen, 21, attends classes on VTSU’s Lyndon campus. She’s planning to complete her program internship, a requirement in the major, this summer at a restorative justice center like the one in St. Johnsbury, or closer to her home town of Woodstock at the center in White River Junction. Ultimately, after graduating, she plans to work in a school system helping kids understand how their actions and choices affect themselves and others. She sees restorative justice as a way to help kids stay in the classroom rather than relying on a punitive approach.
“Suspension and expulsion don’t necessarily help kids develop problem solving skills and communication abilities,” she adds. “It’s so important to keep kids learning and especially if they’re already on a troubled path, to reduce the likelihood they will become offenders.”
VTSU launched a new Bachelor of Science in Restorative Justice program this fall and is one of the first to offer Restorative Justice at the Bachelor’s degree level as its own major. Restorative Justice was originally offered as a concentration within the University’s popular Criminal Justice program, but student and community interest, along with funding from the state, made it possible to stand up the program on its own.
Jessica Visnesky is a faculty member in the Restorative Justice program. She shares,“from the initial Restorative Justice curricular expansion as a concentration program, students have consistently asked for more: more Restorative Justice-specific coursework, more time directly engaged in restorative practices, as well as more opportunities for student-led facilitation. That’s what we are trying to address with the Restorative Justice degree – students don’t just learn theory, they directly experience the practices. In a way, the processes themselves become the course content. We’ve also integrated content on trauma awareness and building resilience, areas of study that students tend to describe as particularly impactful and relevant.
“There is still significant cross-over with the Criminal Justice program, but that program focuses more on understanding the criminal legal system, whereas Restorative Justice is centered on the skills and practices that would make it possible for someone to practice restorative justice work in the field,” states Brandon Stroup, professor of criminal and restorative justice at VTSU. “We have a lot of students in this first class, like Katrina, that are pursuing the double major. The fastest growing demand for this type of work is in K-12 schools. There’s a need and a demand for our graduates with both skill sets, so we are really excited to see this program grow this year, thanks to the support we received from the legislature last year.”
