Restorative Justice Volunteer Opportunity

We are looking for volunteers to give 1-2 hours per month of their time for Youth Justice Councils for youth who have committed minor offenses. This conference gives victims the chance to tell what happened, to ask questions, to tell how the incident affected them and other people such as members of the community like yourself. The volunteers, offender and youth all give input on what the consequences of the actions are and how amends can be made. Council members take turns describing the impact of the behavior while a facilitator leads the meetings, and the whole group decides how to best repair the harm as a formal agreement is written up. Amends are made to the victim, the community, and those affected both directly and indirectly. The Community Program Specialist provides follow-up with the participants until the agreement is successfully completed and lets the volunteers know the outcomes of the conference.

The goals are:

• Provide an alternative to punitive systems by involving the victims, offender, parents, and community in a means of responding to crime/wrongdoing in a positive and constructive way,
• Increase awareness of the full impact of the harming behavior,
• Affirm a strong sense of safety and care within the community,
• Support accountability and positive resolutions to problems by reducing the risk of re-offense by 35%.

Please contact the Community Program Specialist at with your interest: Morgan.Adams@mt.gov.