ABSTRACT
Families and communities have reciprocal obligations and responsibilities. Peacemaking circles provide a very effective forum for working out those reciprocal obligations. This chapter presents a child protection case that was processed through a peacemaking circle by a community just learning to use circles. Peacemaking circles are often organized by community groups, dominated by citizens, and facilitated by community volunteers. Peacemaking circles frequently begin to look at the larger community context in which the family is struggling and identify changes necessary in the community. Group conferences and peacemaking circles have both come from indigenous roots, but through quite different pathways. Family group conferences stem from many of the same principles that shape circles. Conferences have been successfully used for child protection cases and many other kinds of conflict. In their application in Western culture, group conferences emphasize accountability in the context of a caring community— that is, accountability and then support.
