rgc ov 4 - 1-03

Facilitating Restorative Group Conferences : 

1 Facilitating Restorative Group Conferences Lesson 4: Role of the Facilitator Minnesota Department of Corrections with the National Institute of Corrections RGC

Lesson Objectives (1) : 

2 Lesson Objectives (1) Listen to and communicate effectively with a wide variety of participants Identify and deal with cultural issues Explain the role of the facilitator including standards of conduct Understand the legal issues including confidentiality and mandatory reporting

Slide 3: 

3 Understand the variety of options to repair the harm Conduct effective initial phone calls and pre-meetings Assess the readiness of potential participants Start to determine if the facilitator role is a good fit for you Evaluate your own competency and that of a co-facilitator (2)

Communication Exercise : 

4 Communication Exercise Who are my people and where did I come from? Who is my family?

Slide 5: 

5 What was it like to do the exercise? How did it feel to listen? To talk? Was one harder than the other? Were you working against any other kind of family or cultural training about communicating? Were your observations & guesses accurate? If yes, have there been times when assumptions were very inaccurate? What kind of difficulties did that create? How did you feel talking about your people?

Dynamics of Difference : 

6 Dynamics of Difference White middle class (mainstream) culture has been imposed upon minorities Used to judge intelligence, mental health, beauty, appropriate communication Mainstream values applied to others draw mainstream conclusions

Cultural Competence . . . : 

7 Cultural Competence . . . Ability to work effectively with people whose culture is different from your own Requires understanding your own biases Requires understanding the differences of people with whom you interact

Cultural Diversity : 

8 Cultural Diversity Race Gender Sexual orientation Power imbalance Age differences Physical abilities National origin Lifestyle differences Economic level Religion Philosophical beliefs Education

Implications : 

9 Implications Implications in case assessment Which cases are referred for conferencing Implications during the conference Being impartial to all participants Drawing conclusions from the conversation

Cross Cultural Communication Worksheet : 

10 Cross Cultural Communication Worksheet Eye contact: looking someone in eye Slow speech, lots of pauses Smiling and laughing during serious event Sitting slouched down in chair at conference with arms crossed over chest and eyes on floor

Assumptions : 

11 Assumptions Don’t assume you know a person’s sexual orientation, race, religion or other cultural practices It is okay to say you are not knowledgeable about a given culture It is okay to ask participants to help you understand how their culture affects how the harm was done or how it impacted upon them

What is a hate crime? : 

12 What is a hate crime?

Hate Crimes (2) : 

13 Hate Crimes (2) Crimes committed against a person simply because of some physical characteristic or belief of theirs, such as race, sexual orientation, national origin, or religion

Slide 14: 

14 What distinguishes a hate crime from other crimes? How might a hate crime feel different to a victim? Why? What additional considerations or concerns might you (as a facilitator) have with a hate crime case? Hate Crimes (3)

Local Culture Activity : 

15 Local Culture Activity How are people different from each other in this community? What barriers to communication might arise with these differences? What strategies can be employed to help make all participants in a conference feel safe and empowered?

Taking Care of Yourself As a Facilitator: Being Centered . . . : 

16 Taking Care of Yourself As a Facilitator: Being Centered . . . enables you to focus through others’ pain, frustration, extreme feelings, and ability or inability to reach agreement

Care of a Facilitator (1) : 

17 Care of a Facilitator (1) Before a pre-meeting or conference, establish a place of inner calm Sit or stand with body balanced Breathe deeply Afterwards, talk with a colleague or another facilitator for feedback and self assessment

Slide 18: 

18 Say out loud one thing you did well Breathe! Continue daily care Care of a Facilitator (2)

Slide 19: 

19 STATISTICS & PEOPLE ACTIVITY

Functions of a Facilitator : 

20 Functions of a Facilitator Educate potential participants in pre-meetings Bring conference treats, forms, tissues, and name tags Create safe atmosphere Allow for free expression of emotion Aid participants’ communication process Help group develop creative, realistic agreement, if willing Write agreement; get signatures Complete paperwork and follow up on agreement (or program staff)

Facilitator As Umpire : 

21 Facilitator As Umpire You are not one of the game players You watch the game You remind participants of the rules if necessary You throw the conversational ball back into the game so participants can play You are not responsible for the final score --Officer Paul Schnell

Basic FacilitatorCommunication Skills (1) : 

22 Basic FacilitatorCommunication Skills (1) Eliminate distractions Demonstrate active listening Suspend judgement Be empathetic Try not to assume

Slide 23: 

23 Be aware and tolerant of differences in communication styles Allow speakers to vent Model and teach use of "I" statements Be aware of your emotions and biases Acknowledge the speaker's emotions as existing and legitimate (2)

Body Language : 

24 Body Language Eye contact to all Physically centered, sitting with body balanced, able to see everyone easily Alert, but relaxed muscles Use body and eye contact to direct speaker to talk to all

Vocal Language : 

25 Vocal Language Tone of voice: encouraging, calm, reassuring “I” statements Neutral word choices Use of silence: 10 counts after question, 10 counts after answers

Allowing Emotional Expression : 

26 Allowing Emotional Expression Keep facial expressions neutral or supportive Gently pass tissues to teary participants Check in on all participants Use silence: count 10 after a strong emotional expression If participant expresses anger inappropriately, remind them of ground rules

Problematic Facilitation Techniques : 

27 Problematic Facilitation Techniques Talking for participants Interrupting Dominating participants’ discussion Allowing participants to only look at or talk to facilitator

How to Give Feedback Using Communication Checklist : 

28 How to Give Feedback Using Communication Checklist Separate behavior from person Suggest alternatives Acknowledge skills displayed Be honest, but talk with intention of helping to improve Look to learn for yourself

Typical Duties, Responsibilities and Qualifications of Facilitators : 

29 Typical Duties, Responsibilities and Qualifications of Facilitators See Participant Guide Refer to your agency or program’s job description

Summary: Role of the Facilitator : 

30 Summary: Role of the Facilitator Be compassionate, sincere, respectful Listen! Let people vent their emotions Stay neutral (“equally partial”), while disapproving of harm done Be a facilitator, not judge or negotiator Do not be directive

Slide 31: 

31 Don’t counsel participants Be aware of community resources Model and teach communication skills Be able to work independently Be willing to keep records Be able to do a very basic readiness check Be willing to evaluate yourself and co-facilitator – See tool in manual! (2)

Self Assessment : 

32 Self Assessment Know thyself. --Socrates

Preparation Meetings Enable All Participants to … : 

33 Preparation Meetings Enable All Participants to … Recall and sort out feelings about the incident Gain comfort with the process and facilitator Learn the process expectations and benefits Decide whether to participate Understand the process and agree to the ground rules Minimize their fears Plan what they want to say about the effects of the harm done

Slide 34: 

34 Work on their communication skills Work through some of their feelings Decide who they would like as support people Understand restorative concept and begin thinking about options for the agreement Decide where and when to meet In a case with many people harmed or many people doing harm, decide if there will be one or several meetings Develop realistic expectations

Pre-Meetings Allow the Facilitator to … : 

35 Pre-Meetings Allow the Facilitator to … Inform potential participants about conferencing process, to aid their informed choice Decide whether participants are appropriate and ready for a meeting Develop a strategy to deal with potential difficulties or complicating factors Determine which support persons are appropriate and possibly prepare them

Initial Phone Calls : 

36 Initial Phone Calls Offender and parents Victim and supporter

Preparing for Pre-Meetings: Safety Issues : 

37 Preparing for Pre-Meetings: Safety Issues If juveniles, schedule with parent Never enter or remain at residence in which you feel uncomfortable Never continue meeting if you feel parties are too angry or are under influence of a chemical Be careful about revealing any private information

Preparing for Pre-Meetings:Conference Co-Facilitation : 

38 Preparing for Pre-Meetings:Conference Co-Facilitation More difficult to coordinate scheduling Increases safety Allows observing things one person might have missed Helps facilitate difficult or complex sessions Enables shared feedback, viewpoints

Preparing for Pre-Meetings:Legal Issues : 

39 Preparing for Pre-Meetings:Legal Issues Confidentiality Admissibility in court Data privacy restrictions Mandatory reporting Protection against lawsuit For facilitation For damage or injury in completing reparation Parent’s legal financial responsibility

Preparing for Pre-Meetings:Options for the Agreement : 

40 Preparing for Pre-Meetings:Options for the Agreement Financial payment Work for victim Work for the charity of victim’s choice Restorative community service Apology Participation in education, assessment, or program Anything else that feels fair to all participants Combination of the above

Preparing for Pre-Meetings:Facilitator Standards of Conduct : 

41 Preparing for Pre-Meetings:Facilitator Standards of Conduct In small groups, spend 5 minutes brainstorming and recording: What should be the standards of conduct for conference facilitators? (Don’t look further in Participant Guide!)

Model Standards of Conduct : 

42 Model Standards of Conduct National civil mediator standards are in your manual Review on your own time

Pre-Meetings Allow the Offender and Parent to : 

43 Pre-Meetings Allow the Offender and Parent to Consider how the harm may have impacted others Understand difference between conferencing and disciplinary or justice processes Perhaps learn about the victim’s attitude and circumstances Make an informed decision about participating Consider some ways they might realistically make up for the harm done

Tips for Working with Parents : 

44 Tips for Working with Parents Validate the parents’ feelings Allow them to vent Treat them with compassion Allow time for them to talk Find time to visit with the youth alone if possible

Parents Needing Special Consideration : 

45 Parents Needing Special Consideration Controlling - frequently intervene for their children Minimizing - make light of the behavior of their child Angry/punitive - fed up and want their child to be punished Passive/overwhelmed - have given up emotionally and possibly in every other way

Offender and Parent(s)Initial Face to Face Meeting : 

46 Offender and Parent(s)Initial Face to Face Meeting

Processing Questions : 

47 Processing Questions How did it feel in each of your roles? What did you see that you liked? Was a reasonable agreement reached? What made it difficult to reach consensus? What helped to move the group along? How could the facilitator have improved their performance?

Pre-Meetings Empower the Victim to … : 

48 Pre-Meetings Empower the Victim to … Vent their anger and frustration Experience validation of their feelings Understand the difference between conferencing and disciplinary or justice processes Learn about rights, alternatives and resources Perhaps learn about the offender Make an informed decision about participating Develop realistic expectations Decide if they wish to speak first

Victim and Supporter Initial Face to Face Meeting : 

49 Victim and Supporter Initial Face to Face Meeting

Processing Questions : 

50 Processing Questions How did it feel in each of your roles? What did you see that you liked? Was a reasonable agreement reached? What made it difficult to reach consensus? What helped to move the group along? How could the facilitator have improved their performance?

Preparing Supporters and Other Community : 

51 Preparing Supporters and Other Community Invite those that belong Avoid those who are inappropriate Make sure everyone is clear on roles Supporters & other community members will: Bring resources and knowledge Bring creative perspective for repairing harm Help re-integration Strengthen the community itself Establish base of support for program

Problem Points: Multiple Offenders : 

52 Problem Points: Multiple Offenders Preference of the victim Safety of all individuals Power imbalance Offenders disagree about their personal shares of the culpability

Conferencing withMultiple Offenders : 

53 Conferencing withMultiple Offenders Consider separate conferences when: Victim requests to see them separately Many offenders and few (or only one) victim Offenders are in placement Offenders have disproportionate levels of culpability