The Colorado Restorative Justice Council engages communities to create lifelong cultures of respect and responsibility.
Our Mission
The State Restorative Justice Council advances restorative justice principles and practices throughout Colorado by providing gateways to information,
networking and support.
The RJ Council and RJ Community extend sincere gratitude to Representative Pete Lee and Senator Linda Newell along with the many
other legislators who have supported restorative justice over the years.
The RJ Council meets every other month. The meetings are open to interested parties. For the schedule and minutes please see the side bar. If you
would like to attend an RJ Council meeting, please contact: Deb Witzel at deb.witzel@judicial.state.co.us at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.
The meeting schedule and locations are subject to change without notice.
As you may or may not know, there are four sessions focusing on restorative justice practices at the COVA conference this year. As RJ is increasingly considered\n a viable and relevant strategy for assisting victims of crime, it is likewise increasingly important for RJ practitioners to understand the complexities\n of victimization and victim services. The COVA conference is a wonderful opportunity to gain this knowledge and connect with the community of victims,\n survivors, and victim advocates.
\n
As a result, we will be offering a limited number of scholarships for RJ practitioners to attend the COVA conference this year. Information for the conference\n can be found here: http://www.coloradocrimevictims.org/cova-conference.html Scholarships will cover the registration fee of $500. You will be responsible for your own lodging.
\n
If you are currently practicing restorative justice in any capacity and would like to attend the COVA conference to improve your understanding of crime\n victims and survivors, please complete the scholarship application below. Please contact me with any questions.
",
"urlWithHost": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/blog/cova-scholarships-for-rj-practitioners",
"rating": 0.0,
"commentsCount": 0,
"trackbacksCount": 0
},
{
"id": 985021,
"type": "BlogsPosts",
"date": "2017-08-09T14:10:07.067",
"author": "Matthew Riede",
"authorPictureUrl": "/CatalystImages/UserProfileDefault.jpg",
"trackbackUrl": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=21083&PostID=985021&A=Trackback",
"url": "/blog/inspiration-from-dr-jaiya-john-celebrating-restorative-justice",
"title": "Inspiration from Dr. Jaiya John celebrating Restorative Justice",
"postFeaturedImage": "",
"metaTitle": "Inspiration from Dr. Jaiya John celebrating Restorative Justice",
"metaDescription": "Dr. Jaiya John’s Key Note from the 2016 Colorado Restorative Justice Conference inspired us, raised our spirits and opened our hearts.",
"body": "
Dr. Jaiya John’s Key Note from the 2016 Colorado Restorative Justice Conference inspired us, raised our spirits and opened our hearts. You can now download\n this moving key note speech from Dr. John’s CD Baby site. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jaiyajohn12
\n
\n
As planning begins for the National Association for Community and Restorative Justice Conference in 2019 here in CO, we hope you will stay tuned to\n www.rjcolorado.org for information and to join the CO organizing committee.
\n
",
"urlWithHost": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/blog/inspiration-from-dr-jaiya-john-celebrating-restorative-justice",
"rating": 0.0,
"commentsCount": 0,
"trackbacksCount": 0
},
{
"id": 968983,
"type": "BlogsPosts",
"date": "2017-05-05T00:00:00",
"author": "Brenidy Rice",
"authorPictureUrl": "/CatalystImages/UserProfileDefault.jpg",
"trackbackUrl": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=21083&PostID=968983&A=Trackback",
"url": "/blog/the-only-constant-is-change",
"title": "The Only Constant Is Change",
"postFeaturedImage": "",
"metaTitle": "The Only Constant Is Change",
"metaDescription": "Deb Witzel, the RJ Coordinator for the Colorado Judicial Department, has moved on to a wonderful new adventure using RJ in a different capacity.",
"body": "
Change can be both exciting and come with a sense of sadness. Deb Witzel, the RJ Coordinator for the Colorado Judicial Department, has moved on to a wonderful\n new adventure using RJ in a different capacity. We are sad to see her go and excited for the next chapter for both her and RJ in Colorado. We are now\n searching for a new coordinator to work with RJ statewide. This link will bring you to the job posting and more details. In the meantime, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Brenidy Rice and I am the manager of the Criminal Justice Programs\n Unit with the Colorado Judicial Department. I have worked in the criminal and dependency and neglect system for over 12 years, in alternative programs,\n and worked at the state level for the past six. I supervise a team that includes the RJ coordinator position. I will be doing my best to move things\n forward with the RJ Council while we work to hire a new coordinator. Please feel free to reach out with questions and share this opportunity widely!
",
"urlWithHost": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/blog/the-only-constant-is-change",
"rating": 0.0,
"commentsCount": 1,
"trackbacksCount": 0
},
{
"id": 962016,
"type": "BlogsPosts",
"date": "2017-04-13T08:57:11.993",
"author": "Deb Witzel",
"authorPictureUrl": "/CatalystImages/UserProfileDefault.jpg",
"trackbackUrl": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=21083&PostID=962016&A=Trackback",
"url": "/blog/colorado-high-impact-vod-programs-get-a-boost",
"title": "Colorado High Impact VOD Programs Get a Boost",
"postFeaturedImage": "",
"metaTitle": "Colorado High Impact VOD Programs Get a Boost",
"metaDescription": "In 2011, Colorado state law created new opportunities for victims of crime in the form of High Impact Victim Offender Dialogues.",
"body": "
In 2011, Colorado state law created new opportunities for victims of crime in the form of High Impact Victim Offender Dialogues. High Impact VODs offer\n victims and survivors of serious, violent crimes the opportunity to meet face to face with the offender in their case for a facilitated dialogue process.\n The outcomes of these cases in the CO Department of Corrections have been overwhelmingly successful.
\n
\n \n
\n
\n
As a result, access to High Impact VODs is growing. VODs are offered statewide by trained facilitators to victims and survivors of serious, violent crimes,\n whether or not the offender in their case is incarcerated, on probation or parole, or has completed supervision requirements. High impact cases are\n those involving serious bodily injury, including murder, vehicular homicide, manslaughter, serious assault, and robbery. (By Colorado state law, VODs\n are not available in cases of sex assault, domestic violence, child abuse, or stalking.)
\n
Now, High Impact VODs are getting another boost. The National Institute of Justice has funded a research team headed by faculty at the University of Denver\n Graduate School of Social Work to study the outcomes of High Impact VOD cases in Colorado. This partnership – a collaboration of the Colorado Organization\n for Victim Assistance, the Colorado Restorative Justice Council, the Department of Corrections, Division of Youth Corrections, and Chief Probation\n Officer’s Council – is an important opportunity to learn more about how High Impact VODs help Colorado crime victims.
\n
We need your help!
\n
Both victims who are participating in a High Impact VOD and those who are not are eligible to participate in the study. Participants will be asked to provide\n information via a combination of surveys and interviews at three points in time over approximately one year and will receive a total of $150 in gift\n cards as thanks for their participation. If you are a trained facilitator and receive a request from a crime victim for a High Impact VOD, please contact the Principal Investigator, Shannon Sliva [303-871-4451 | shannon.sliva@du.edu] to learn more about including your case in the study.
\n
To learn more about the Colorado VOD Project in general, or to ask about having a dialogue, please contact Dana Rae Vaughn-Kivenge at the Colorado Organization\n for Victim Assistance. [720-408-1383 | dana@coloradocrimevictims.org]
",
"urlWithHost": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/blog/colorado-high-impact-vod-programs-get-a-boost",
"rating": 0.0,
"commentsCount": 0,
"trackbacksCount": 0
},
{
"id": 961103,
"type": "BlogsPosts",
"date": "2017-04-06T13:20:31.01",
"author": "Deb Witzel",
"authorPictureUrl": "/CatalystImages/UserProfileDefault.jpg",
"trackbackUrl": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=21083&PostID=961103&A=Trackback",
"url": "/blog/building-implementation-capacity-for-restorative-justice-in-co",
"title": "Building Implementation Capacity for Restorative Justice in CO",
"postFeaturedImage": "",
"metaTitle": "Building Implementation Capacity for Restorative Justice in CO",
"metaDescription": "RJ Colorado practitioners wanted for interviews with PhD candidate in the Communication Department at CU Boulder, Joanne Esch.",
"body": "
My name is Joanne Esch; I first began working in restorative justice in 2009 at the Longmont Community Justice Partnership and have remained passionate\n about RJ ever since. I am currently a PhD candidate in the Communication Department at CU Boulder and my research focuses on restorative justice and\n implementation science. My dissertation aims to identify drivers and barriers to successful RJ implementation in criminal justice contexts. With support\n from the RJ Council and the assistance of implementers around the state, I am investigating questions such as:
What are the essential components of RJ practice, and what adaptations have been made to aid its uptake in particular settings?
\n
What implementation challenges are people encountering, what strategies are being used, and with what effects?
\n
Overall, what are the drivers and barriers to successful RJ implementation?
\n
\n
Those of you in the field are the key resource to the success of this research. If you have experience implementing RJ and would be willing to share your\n thoughts and experience I would love to talk with you. I am particularly interested in interviewing people who participated in the pilot and/or currently\n work in one of the pilot districts. Please email me with your contact information: joanne.esch@colorado.edu.\n Thank you!
",
"params": {
"name": "Template - Footer - Latest Posts"
},
"blogpostlist_26": {
"moduleName": "blogpostlist",
"moduleDescriptor": {
"templatePath": "/Layouts/Blog/footerlist.tpl",
"parameters": "21083,5,,,template=\"/Layouts/Blog/footerlist.tpl\"",
"apiEndpoint": "/api/v3/blogpostlist",
"objectType": -1,
"objectId": -1,
"adminUrl": ""
},
"editableFieldTypes": {
"id": "Id",
"title": "Text",
"body": "Html"
},
"items": [
{
"id": 992845,
"type": "BlogsPosts",
"date": "2017-09-27T09:50:02.14",
"author": "Matthew Riede",
"authorPictureUrl": "/CatalystImages/UserProfileDefault.jpg",
"trackbackUrl": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=21083&PostID=992845&A=Trackback",
"url": "/blog/cova-scholarships-for-rj-practitioners",
"title": "COVA Scholarships for RJ Practitioners",
"postFeaturedImage": "",
"metaTitle": "COVA Scholarships for RJ Practitioners",
"metaDescription": "If you are currently practicing restorative justice in any capacity and would like to attend the COVA conference to improve your understanding of crime victims and survivors, please complete the scholarship application.",
"body": "
As you may or may not know, there are four sessions focusing on restorative justice practices at the COVA conference this year. As RJ is increasingly considered\n a viable and relevant strategy for assisting victims of crime, it is likewise increasingly important for RJ practitioners to understand the complexities\n of victimization and victim services. The COVA conference is a wonderful opportunity to gain this knowledge and connect with the community of victims,\n survivors, and victim advocates.
\n
As a result, we will be offering a limited number of scholarships for RJ practitioners to attend the COVA conference this year. Information for the conference\n can be found here: http://www.coloradocrimevictims.org/cova-conference.html Scholarships will cover the registration fee of $500. You will be responsible for your own lodging.
\n
If you are currently practicing restorative justice in any capacity and would like to attend the COVA conference to improve your understanding of crime\n victims and survivors, please complete the scholarship application below. Please contact me with any questions.
",
"urlWithHost": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/blog/cova-scholarships-for-rj-practitioners",
"rating": 0.0,
"commentsCount": 0,
"trackbacksCount": 0
},
{
"id": 985021,
"type": "BlogsPosts",
"date": "2017-08-09T14:10:07.067",
"author": "Matthew Riede",
"authorPictureUrl": "/CatalystImages/UserProfileDefault.jpg",
"trackbackUrl": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=21083&PostID=985021&A=Trackback",
"url": "/blog/inspiration-from-dr-jaiya-john-celebrating-restorative-justice",
"title": "Inspiration from Dr. Jaiya John celebrating Restorative Justice",
"postFeaturedImage": "",
"metaTitle": "Inspiration from Dr. Jaiya John celebrating Restorative Justice",
"metaDescription": "Dr. Jaiya John’s Key Note from the 2016 Colorado Restorative Justice Conference inspired us, raised our spirits and opened our hearts.",
"body": "
Dr. Jaiya John’s Key Note from the 2016 Colorado Restorative Justice Conference inspired us, raised our spirits and opened our hearts. You can now download\n this moving key note speech from Dr. John’s CD Baby site. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jaiyajohn12
\n
\n
As planning begins for the National Association for Community and Restorative Justice Conference in 2019 here in CO, we hope you will stay tuned to\n www.rjcolorado.org for information and to join the CO organizing committee.
\n
",
"urlWithHost": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/blog/inspiration-from-dr-jaiya-john-celebrating-restorative-justice",
"rating": 0.0,
"commentsCount": 0,
"trackbacksCount": 0
},
{
"id": 968983,
"type": "BlogsPosts",
"date": "2017-05-05T00:00:00",
"author": "Brenidy Rice",
"authorPictureUrl": "/CatalystImages/UserProfileDefault.jpg",
"trackbackUrl": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=21083&PostID=968983&A=Trackback",
"url": "/blog/the-only-constant-is-change",
"title": "The Only Constant Is Change",
"postFeaturedImage": "",
"metaTitle": "The Only Constant Is Change",
"metaDescription": "Deb Witzel, the RJ Coordinator for the Colorado Judicial Department, has moved on to a wonderful new adventure using RJ in a different capacity.",
"body": "
Change can be both exciting and come with a sense of sadness. Deb Witzel, the RJ Coordinator for the Colorado Judicial Department, has moved on to a wonderful\n new adventure using RJ in a different capacity. We are sad to see her go and excited for the next chapter for both her and RJ in Colorado. We are now\n searching for a new coordinator to work with RJ statewide. This link will bring you to the job posting and more details. In the meantime, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Brenidy Rice and I am the manager of the Criminal Justice Programs\n Unit with the Colorado Judicial Department. I have worked in the criminal and dependency and neglect system for over 12 years, in alternative programs,\n and worked at the state level for the past six. I supervise a team that includes the RJ coordinator position. I will be doing my best to move things\n forward with the RJ Council while we work to hire a new coordinator. Please feel free to reach out with questions and share this opportunity widely!
",
"urlWithHost": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/blog/the-only-constant-is-change",
"rating": 0.0,
"commentsCount": 1,
"trackbacksCount": 0
},
{
"id": 962016,
"type": "BlogsPosts",
"date": "2017-04-13T08:57:11.993",
"author": "Deb Witzel",
"authorPictureUrl": "/CatalystImages/UserProfileDefault.jpg",
"trackbackUrl": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=21083&PostID=962016&A=Trackback",
"url": "/blog/colorado-high-impact-vod-programs-get-a-boost",
"title": "Colorado High Impact VOD Programs Get a Boost",
"postFeaturedImage": "",
"metaTitle": "Colorado High Impact VOD Programs Get a Boost",
"metaDescription": "In 2011, Colorado state law created new opportunities for victims of crime in the form of High Impact Victim Offender Dialogues.",
"body": "
In 2011, Colorado state law created new opportunities for victims of crime in the form of High Impact Victim Offender Dialogues. High Impact VODs offer\n victims and survivors of serious, violent crimes the opportunity to meet face to face with the offender in their case for a facilitated dialogue process.\n The outcomes of these cases in the CO Department of Corrections have been overwhelmingly successful.
\n
\n \n
\n
\n
As a result, access to High Impact VODs is growing. VODs are offered statewide by trained facilitators to victims and survivors of serious, violent crimes,\n whether or not the offender in their case is incarcerated, on probation or parole, or has completed supervision requirements. High impact cases are\n those involving serious bodily injury, including murder, vehicular homicide, manslaughter, serious assault, and robbery. (By Colorado state law, VODs\n are not available in cases of sex assault, domestic violence, child abuse, or stalking.)
\n
Now, High Impact VODs are getting another boost. The National Institute of Justice has funded a research team headed by faculty at the University of Denver\n Graduate School of Social Work to study the outcomes of High Impact VOD cases in Colorado. This partnership – a collaboration of the Colorado Organization\n for Victim Assistance, the Colorado Restorative Justice Council, the Department of Corrections, Division of Youth Corrections, and Chief Probation\n Officer’s Council – is an important opportunity to learn more about how High Impact VODs help Colorado crime victims.
\n
We need your help!
\n
Both victims who are participating in a High Impact VOD and those who are not are eligible to participate in the study. Participants will be asked to provide\n information via a combination of surveys and interviews at three points in time over approximately one year and will receive a total of $150 in gift\n cards as thanks for their participation. If you are a trained facilitator and receive a request from a crime victim for a High Impact VOD, please contact the Principal Investigator, Shannon Sliva [303-871-4451 | shannon.sliva@du.edu] to learn more about including your case in the study.
\n
To learn more about the Colorado VOD Project in general, or to ask about having a dialogue, please contact Dana Rae Vaughn-Kivenge at the Colorado Organization\n for Victim Assistance. [720-408-1383 | dana@coloradocrimevictims.org]
",
"urlWithHost": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/blog/colorado-high-impact-vod-programs-get-a-boost",
"rating": 0.0,
"commentsCount": 0,
"trackbacksCount": 0
},
{
"id": 961103,
"type": "BlogsPosts",
"date": "2017-04-06T13:20:31.01",
"author": "Deb Witzel",
"authorPictureUrl": "/CatalystImages/UserProfileDefault.jpg",
"trackbackUrl": "http://www.rjcolorado.org/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=21083&PostID=961103&A=Trackback",
"url": "/blog/building-implementation-capacity-for-restorative-justice-in-co",
"title": "Building Implementation Capacity for Restorative Justice in CO",
"postFeaturedImage": "",
"metaTitle": "Building Implementation Capacity for Restorative Justice in CO",
"metaDescription": "RJ Colorado practitioners wanted for interviews with PhD candidate in the Communication Department at CU Boulder, Joanne Esch.",
"body": "
My name is Joanne Esch; I first began working in restorative justice in 2009 at the Longmont Community Justice Partnership and have remained passionate\n about RJ ever since. I am currently a PhD candidate in the Communication Department at CU Boulder and my research focuses on restorative justice and\n implementation science. My dissertation aims to identify drivers and barriers to successful RJ implementation in criminal justice contexts. With support\n from the RJ Council and the assistance of implementers around the state, I am investigating questions such as:
What are the essential components of RJ practice, and what adaptations have been made to aid its uptake in particular settings?
\n
What implementation challenges are people encountering, what strategies are being used, and with what effects?
\n
Overall, what are the drivers and barriers to successful RJ implementation?
\n
\n
Those of you in the field are the key resource to the success of this research. If you have experience implementing RJ and would be willing to share your\n thoughts and experience I would love to talk with you. I am particularly interested in interviewing people who participated in the pilot and/or currently\n work in one of the pilot districts. Please email me with your contact information: joanne.esch@colorado.edu.\n Thank you!
![\"Restorative](\"/img/logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t",
"params": {
"name": "Template - Logo"
}
},
"contentholder_2": {
"moduleName": "contentholder",
"moduleDescriptor": {
"templatePath": "/_System/ContentHolders/Menu - Header Menu.html",
"parameters": "name=\"Menu - Header Menu\"",
"apiEndpoint": "/api/v3/contentholder",
"objectType": 19,
"objectId": 6581244,
"adminUrl": "/Admin/ContentHolders_Detail.aspx?ContentHolderID=6581244"
},
"editableFieldTypes": {
"id": "Id",
"content": "Html"
},
"id": 6581244,
"name": "Menu - Header Menu",
"content": "