Restorative Practice

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Upper Hume Community Health Service
Family Community Group Conferencing An
integrated Restorative approach to promoting
student engagement and well-being in rural
Victorian communities Presented by Margaret
HUNTER UHCHS Maree CRIBBES Wodonga MYC
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Background

• Upper Hume Community Health Service is funded to
  provide the Adolescent Mediation and Family
  Therapy (AMFT) in Wodonga as part of our FRSP
  services.
• UHCHS also provides the School Focused Youth
  Service (SFYS) in the Wodonga area.
• Student Engagement Program (SEP) pilot in 2005
  which looked at different ways of working with
  young people and families.

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Family and Community Group Conferencing An
integrated and Restorative approach to promoting
Student engagement and well-being in rural
Victorian communities.

• Family Decision-Making
• Resolving conflict repairing harm
• Taking ownership of behaviour
• Restoring well-being
• Supporting relationships
• Creating positive climate for change
• Building networks of support

Family and Community Group Conferencing
Centre for Adolescent Health, Deakin, ACU
Children, young people and families
Police
Restorative Practices in Schools
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• Picture This?

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Whats in it for the school?

• Wodonga Middle Years College Vision
• Quality Relationships
• Optimism
• Achievement
• Lifelong learning
• Our Question was how could we use what was being
  offered by SFYS to assist us to achieve our
  vision?

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Family and Community Group Conferencing An
integrated Restorative approach to promoting
Student engagement and well-being in rural
Victorian communities.

• Restorative Conferencing
• Resolving conflict repairing harm
• Taking ownership of behaviour
• Restoring well-being
• Culture
• Managing relationships
• Creating positive climate
• Building networks of support

Centre for adolescent Health, Deakin, ACU
Children, young people and families
Restorative practices - Schools
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Restorative practices

• The implementation of restorative approaches as
  the basis of student behaviour, punitive measures
  were not producing changes in behaviour.
• This process aims to educate students to see the
  effect their behaviour has on others and to be
  responsible to healing any harms that has been
  caused
• Implemented into both campuses and three feeder
  primary schools

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Effects of exclusion from school

• Students who receive school suspensions and
  expulsions are often already disadvantaged
• Negative consequences for the students excluded
  from school
• intensifying academic difficulties
• school drop-out
• disengagement from school
• student alienation, crime and delinquency, and
  alcohol and drug use
• (Bond et al 2007 Hemphill et al 2006 Arcia
  2006, American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee
  on School Health 2003 Stranger 2002 Costenbader
  Markson, 1998)

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On the other hand

• Rights of individuals to learn teach within a
  safe, supportive environment
• Parent community demands for tough action on
  violence crime
• Pressure on time resources for dealing with
  individuals with complex behavioral issues
• Effects on school culture reputation

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Schools social issues
Prof Glenn Bowes
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and another thing
Prof Glenn Bowes
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Reducing student suspension rates and engaging
students in learning

• NSW case studies - Geoff Riordan, UTS
• Conclusions re good practice leadership
• Work in partnership with parents community in
  addressing student learning problems
  misbehavior
• Provide work for suspended students develop
  re-integration plans for return to school
• Modify curriculum teaching methods
• Work with external agencies to assist school
  student
• Develop implement support strategies for
  teachers
• Riordan, G. (2006) Improving Schools 9 (3)
  239-250

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Family and Community Group Conferencing An
integrated and Restorative approach to promoting
Student engagement and well-being in rural
Victorian communities.

• Family Decision-Making
• Resolving conflict repairing harm
• Taking ownership of behaviour
• Restoring well-being
• Supporting relationships
• Creating positive climate for change
• Building networks of support

Centre for Adolescent Health, Deakin, ACU
Children, young people and families
Police
Restorative Practices in Schools
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Punitive v Diversion

• THEN
• Use of Discretion
• Use of Police Cautioning Process
• Court/Fine
• Youth Detention

• NOW
• Court Youth Conferencing
• Restorative Practice
• Family Community Group Conferencing

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REALITY

• In the Wodonga Police Local Government Area the
  youth population aged 10 to 24 years, equates to
  approximately 10 of the current total population
  (2006 ABS Census data)
• Youth 10 to 24 years are responsible for 51 of
  all offending in our Police Service Area
• Wodonga has a population of approximately 35,000
  and is the fastest growing centre in the state.

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Family Community Group Conferencing/Restorative
- Whats in it for us?

• Healthy partnerships with other agencies
• Early intervention/ Breaking the cycle
• Breaking down the Police/Youth negative stereo
  type
• Reduction in youth crime and resultant ripple
  effect.
• Better co-ordinated response to family needs

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FCGC Referral

• Young Person Well Being
• Absenteeism
• Student Engagement
• School Conflict
• Family Conflict
• Emerging Offending Behaviours

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Stages of a FCGC

• Preparation
• Information Sharing
• Key Issues
• Family Private Time
• Plan of Support
• Review

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• Picture This?

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Restorative Practices Family and Community
Group Conferencing in Wodonga

• Young people families inclusive empowering,
  engaging/re-engaging YP with school,
  family community
• Schools whole school approach to
  wellbeing relationships
• Police partnering in crime prevention,
  early intervention community support
• Community Agencies service coordination,
• Local communities taking ownership of
  strategies to assist young people

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Contacts

• Margaret Hunter Upper Hume Community Health
  Service Wodonga 02 60228888
• mhunter_at_uhchs.vic.gov.au
• Maree Cribbes Wodonga Middle Years College
  Wodonga 02 60579000