Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Wall of Justice: Milpitas High School students painted this mural at Thomas Russell Middle School in Milpitas as part of the Restorative Justice Project, which will soon be expanding into Campbell.




Second Chances

New program for youth offenders will include input from community members, crime victims

By Suzanne Barnecut

This fall Campbell will introduce a Restorative Justice Program aimed at assisting small-time youth offenders to justly repay their crimes, thus keeping them out of juvenile hall, and fostering a greater sense of community within the city. As an expansion of the county's Juvenile Crime Enforcement Accountability Challenge Grant Program, Campbell will be one of five new areas (divided by ZIP code) targeted by the program, joining Gilroy, the Burbank and Mayfair neighborhoods of San Jose.

Restorative Justice pivots on the concepts of community protection, competency development and accountability.

"It's a program that focuses on ensuring public safety and holding youth accountable for their actions by involving the neighborhood, the youth offender and the victim," said RJP spokesperson Danielle Kelly.

The idea is that crime is reduced when members of the community are the primary participants in holding offenders accountable and, therefore, making a youth feel personally accountable to the victim and community for their wrongdoing. The program also looks beyond the crime to supply positive and supportive role models at home, at school and in the community, as well as setting high expectations for success.

Kelly emphasizes that the program isn't open to youths who commit violent crimes. It targets first-time offenders with low-end offenses, such as vandalism, petty theft or minors in possession of alcohol. It is more of a preventative program, effective after a crime is committed, but before the youth in question has the opportunity to lengthen their rap sheet and spend time in jail.

Restorative Justice replaces the diversion program that many areas, including Campbell, have in place. In diversion, crimes go through the probation department and youth report to a probation officer. The interaction is nonpersonal and isolating. The RJP replaces this completely and acts, as Hector Sánchez, a mental health rehabilitation specialist for Gardner Health Center, put it, more like an African village. "It takes the village to raise the child," Sánchez said.

Sánchez will be the lead Youth Intervention Worker for the Campbell area. Youth Intervention Workers replace probation officers and hold the youth accountable by getting involved with the youth and their family.

"We get close to the minor," Sánchez explained. "We make it more interpersonal by getting involved with the family and encouraging the family to help the child. Sometimes we can help the entire family with a problem."

The program starts its works when a youth commits a low-end offense and is referred from the Probation Department to the Restorative Justice Program. Completing the program and maintaining good behavior for two years clears the minor's record. Most youth opt to participate.

Probation officers give the cases to a youth intervention worker and a community coordinator to set up a Neighborhood Action Board (NAB), consisting of three community volunteers. The youth intervention worker then contacts all parties involved and makes sure everyone makes the commitment to their part.


Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Diversion Tactic: Probation officer Pam Rhodes counsels first- and second-time offenders at the high school district office.




The intervention worker meets with the NAB board to discuss the case before meeting with the family and minor. Then, during the meeting with the family, to which the victim is invited, NAB members help the youth determine his/her strengths, what the family thinks the minor's strengths are, the family's strengths, and how these strengths can help amend the wrong committed.

As a group they discuss the offense and draw up a contract to repair the offense, ideally addressing both the victim personally and the greater community. An example might be that the offender writes a letter of apology to the victim and then performs some community service.

The youth intervention worker is responsible for ensuring that the minor fulfills the contract as agreed within a 90-day period, and helping the minor receive tutoring, therapy or drug and alcohol treatment, if necessary. Upon completion of the contract, the youth returns to the NAB board to be congratulated.

The Challenge Grant Program is a research-oriented grant, aimed at developing a program to be adopted statewide and the California State Board of Corrections has approved funding for a fourth year. Since it began in November 1997, the RJP has proved successful in its initial three communities. For example, in three years there were a total of 415 referrals to the program in Gilroy, and as of August 2000, only 44 cases were deemed unsuccessful. Overall, 85 percent of the youth have no new referrals at six months after completing the program.

In comparison to Gilroy, the Campbell site had 109 referrals in 1999 and only about 70 to date this year. This leaves a very small percentage of local kids at risk for future offenses. Consequently, the program also reduces the number of victims. With the additional funding, Campbell/ Leigh/Blackford, Silvercreek/Evergreen, Morgan Hill/San Martin/South San Jose, Washington/Willow Glen, Alum Rock and Yerba Buena, as well as the cities of Mountain View and Milpitas, will serve a combined population of more than 500,000 county residents.

While Restorative Justice serves the community at large, the program also depends on community support. NAB recruitment for the Campbell site will begin in September with the implementation of the program shortly thereafter.

"I hope the community has open arms and gives us an opportunity to show what we can do," Sánchez commented. "They will see positive changes." At the very least, open arms, hearts and minds are called for from community members, but for those who would like to work with youth, or become a mentor, opportunity abounds. Since the inception of the program 23,618 volunteer hours have been recorded, and there are approximately 255 NAB members participating in the original three sites.

One doesn't need previous experience to become a NAB member, only the desire to promote justice. Community volunteers apply to become a NAB member. After applying, volunteers are fingerprinted at the Sheriff's office and are subject to a background check before beginning formal training.

Training consists of a one evening course, a full Saturday and, finally, a role-playing session. All NAB members have coaches they can depend on and monthly meetings with the community coordinators at the Probation Department.

"Volunteers are encouraged to become as involved as they would like in these kids' lives," Karen Berlin, Supervising Probation Officer for Campbell said. "If we can connect these kids to strong adult role models, we know we're doing the right thing."

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For more information, call 800.200.9775.

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