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Issue date: January 26, 2001

Making Amends

@vcredit:Dick Waters

A youth and his mother meet with neighborhood accountability board members (left to right) Chris Nagao, Juan Aranda, and Rob Wilson and CHAC youth intervention worker Janine Pohorski to discuss the boy's progress in the Restorative Justice program Tuesday.

Restorative justice: it takes a village

By Jaime Bloss

A teen commits what he or she believes to be a "victimless crime": a bunch of friends spray-paint graffiti on a wall, toss a rock through a window, or smoke pot together. A minor asks an adult to buy him a beer.

These kids have all committed misdemeanors or felonies. Should they be placed in a juvenile detention center or sent to jail? Is there a way for them to be rehabilitated and become productive members of their communities?

Santa Clara County's restorative justice program is betting on the kids, and it seems to be working, with the help of neighbors, parents, schools, and the nonprofit organization, Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC).

"We're a new concept derived out of an old concept. We take the idea that it takes a whole village to raise a family," said Loren Rucker, community coordinator for the restorative justice program. "We want our juveniles to be held accountable for the actions that they've done to their community."

Restorative justice began in Mountain View in 1998 and in Los Altos in April 2000. During that time, Rucker estimates that approximately 200 to 275 juveniles have completed the program, and fewer than 7 percent of them have re-entered the juvenile justice system.

The program, which deals with first and second misdemeanor offenders and sometimes felons, depending on the age and severity of the felony, is a collaborative effort of the Santa Clara County Juvenile Probation Department and CHAC.

There are three components to the program: accountability, competency development, and community protection. Students participating must have 100 percent school attendance during the course of the eight-week program. In addition, the juvenile must write an apology letter to the person against whom they committed the crime.

The juveniles and their parents agree to enter into a contract in which the juvenile agrees to perform certain tasks during the eight-week period. Each contract is tailored to fit a juvenile's specific needs, Rucker said. The juvenile's parents have a say in what they would like to see in the contract. For example, if a teen is are not calling home when he knows he is going to be home late, parents can request that provision be put in the contract. Similarly, parents may put in the contract that the juvenile has to ask for permission to go out, Rucker said.

The contract isn't just a piece of paper. CHAC employs three youth intervention workers to administer the program. While these workers advocate for the juveniles, they also act as enforcers, visiting schools and homes to make sure that the juveniles are in compliance with the contract they've signed, Rucker said. CHAC can provide family, individual, and substance abuse counseling, Rucker added.

Community members also take part in this program as part of the neighborhood accountability board. During the first meeting, three community members, a coach provided by the county probation department, and a youth intervention worker all sit in a circle with the juveniles and their parents and talk about what happened.

Because the group wants to start out on a positive note, the members first talk about the juvenile's strengths, Rucker said. Part of the restorative justice program is to make the teen realize there is no such thing as a "victimless crime." The group talks about what happened that brought the juvenile to the program. Many times it's hard for the juveniles to tell the group what they had done.

"That's a difficult pill to swallow, because you have to own that," and take responsibility for the action, Rucker said.

The group asks the juvenile who was harmed. Often, the juvenile will say that no one was harmed. But the group digs deeper, asking if the juvenile's family was harmed. If a teen had shoplifted, for example, community members might speak up and explain that the teen's action harmed them, because they shop at that store and prices were raised to offset the losses the store incurred because of shoplifting, Rucker said.

The last thing the group talks about is how they can help the juvenile. Rucker gives the members of the neighborhood accountability board a resource list of after-school events, tutoring, and community events that juveniles can participate in to keep them out of trouble, such as volunteering at the library, the chamber of commerce, or the police department.

Sometimes Rucker has to explain that "victimless crimes" might not harm others, but do harm the individual committing the crime. That's a difficult concept for the kids to grasp, until Rucker gives an a hypothetical example the teens can easily identify with.

"If you're a 14-year-old kid and you're smoking marijuana on a daily basis, what exactly is coming into your mind when you're in the classroom talking to the teacher?" she asks. "Are you learning anything or are you just sitting in the back of the room, with the shades on, buzzing?"

Rucker continues, "That also leads to more destructive behavior, because if the teacher is trying to connect with you, you're going to be more harsh and not want to listen to what she says, so the teacher's not going to deal with you because she has 40 other students in the class that she has to deal with. So, nine times out of 10, she's going to send you out (of the classroom), which that juvenile wanted to be out anyway."

One of the hardest aspects of the restorative justice program is when adults think the crimes committed are not a big deal. They may say, "'When I was a kid, I did that, and I'm not a bad person because of it,'" Rucker explained. "Well, we're not saying these juveniles are bad. But they are at a fork in the road. It's up to us as a community to take those juveniles and say, 'We're not going to throw you away, we're going to embrace you in the community, because we're going to make you own what you did.'"

At the end of the eight-week program, there is another neighborhood group meeting. The group finds out if the juvenile completed the program, and receives feedback from the juvenile and his or her parents. The community members are able to ask questions at the meeting as well, Rucker said.

A 15-year-old youth, whose name is confidential, finished with the program this week and spoke with the Voice. He entered the program because he was disturbing the classroom, he said. After completing the program, he learned more about the law and wrote an apology letter to his teacher for his actions.

The boy's mother, who also spoke with the Voice, said that the program helped her son to become more responsible. He has also learned that he has to respect people and the school, she said, and the family is also talking more because of the program.

"We're not trying to change their lives," Rucker said. "We're just trying to have them take a look at their lives. We can sit here, as adults, and tell (the juvenile) everyday, 'This is what's wrong with your life and you need to change your life.' But the juvenile is thinking, 'You can tell me all day until you're blue in the face, but if I don't want to change, then I'm not going to.'"

Rucker hopes that the restorative justice program will help more kids want to make the change.

To volunteer as a Neighborhood Accountability Board Member, contact Loren Rucker at 903-6390, ext. 1261.