Georgia | Georgia Community Action and Linkages for Legal Socialization | 21 May 2014

On May 17 – 18 GE Calls hosted the experts from USA: Amy Holloway, Director of Victim Services for the Vermont Department of Corrections and Kate Searles Brayton, Director of the Essex Community Justice Center An interactive training was held with participation of the school representatives around the following subjects: • What is restorative justice? • How to use restorative practices at schools? • Why and how can we reduce cases of delinquent behavior using restorative circles? It was noted that frequently school administration cannot identify the real problems of students, especially when there is no strategy of conflict resolution developed at the school. The goal of the training was to introduce practical restorative methods, which can be used for conflict resolution and prevention, even in the schools with limited resources. Alternative approach towards conflict resolution and prevention was discussed, which focuses on the impact that was made on the victim, offender and the community, what are the emotions; correct communication and inclusion of all parties during the process. Several practical issues were covered: when and how to conduct restorative circle, managing emotions, facilitators role, reaching the agreement, planning the next steps, technical sides of restorative circles, environment, tools, etc. Apart from the schools the training was attended by the representatives of different state and non-governmental organizations, whose area of work directly involves juvenile crime prevention.