BARJ in Illinois - Northern

Lee County Probation Department
309 S. Galena , Suite 400
Dixon , Illinois 61021

Phone: 815-284-5267, ext. 109
Email: mhuffman@countyoflee.org
Contact: Mary M. Huffman

What RJ practice/s do you use?
Victim Offender Conferences

Specific services offered:
Community Volunteers contact victims and juveniles to arrange a Victim Offender Conference. Upon completion of the conference, the Lee County Restorative Justice Officer monitors the juvenile's compliance to the agreement.

What population do you serve?
First Time Offenders, Juveniles 16 and under

How/where do you get referrals?
Police Contacts are reviewed by Lee County State 's Attorney and Probation to determine if the case is appropriate for referral. Community Volunteers are then contacted to make arrangements to set up the Victim Offender Conference.

Does your process, program or activity show equal concern for victims, offenders and the community of those affected?
yes

Does the process, program or activity encourage the offender to feel accountable for his conduct, and be willing to repair the harm caused to the victim and the community of those affected, in a way that focuses on the competency development of the offender?
yes

Does the process, program or activity provide opportunities for dialogue, direct and/or indirect, between all of the community of those affected, including the victim and offender?
yes

Does the process, program or activity encourage collaboration to restore and develop positive relationships among the members of the community of those affected, including the victim and the offender?
Yes, we have had some volunteers work with the offender to complete any Community service which has been requested because of the Victim Offender Conference.

Does the process, program or activity empower the community of those affected to increase its capacity to recognize and respond to harm and crime in a restorative justice way?
Yes

In what ways are you evaluating your program?
Upon completion of the conference all members complete an evaluation form. In the future upon the juvenile completing the requirements of the conference, a letter will go out to the victim along with another survey to determine the effectiveness of the program.

Lee County Probation Restorative Justice Programs

Lee County Victim Offender Program has been in existence since 2001. When the program was first developed, Restorative Justice Officer Tom Schwamberger conducted and arranged all the conferences. In 2003, Lee County trained community volunteers to be facilitators of the Victim Offender Conferences. The community volunteers contact the victims of crime to determine an interest in the Victim Offender Conference. If the victim wants to participate in the Victim Offender Conference and the juvenile offender is eligible, the volunteer will arrange the conference and facilitate the conference. The community volunteers complete necessary paperwork and once a conference has been successfully conducted, the paperwork is returned to the Lee County Restorative Justice Officer who will monitor the juvenile for compliance with the agreement reached in the Victim Offender Conference. At this time eligible juveniles are first time offenders and have to be in agreement to participate in the Victim Offender Conference. The cases are screened with the Lee County State 's Attorney and the Probation Department to see if the case is appropriate for a referral to the Victim Offender Conference. Community Volunteers are currently being trained by the Probation Department.

New Developing Program:
Representatives of SCI Court Intensive Youth Service Program and the Lee County Probation Department are in the process of developing a program in which juveniles perform community services to earn credit to pay restitution to the victims. This would be a court ordered program and the juveniles would earn $5.00 an hour for each hour of Public Service completed. At this time the program is still in the developing stages. Once a funding source is determined, then the program is looking to provide the victim with a maximum of $200.00. Local churches have been approached to provide work. We believe this holds to the Restorative Justice Program because it holds the juvenile accountable for their actions, restores the victim for financial loss, and involves community in providing the work.