ABSTRACT
Restorative justice is far from one-size-fits-all. In fact, many institutions offer a menu of options, allowing harmed parties to choose what type of restorative model suits their needs. This chapter describes the conference model as well as two others: shuttle facilitation and a restorative circle. In restorative conferencing, the facilitator relies on the script to ask a series of questions to the person responsible; then a series of questions to the harmed parties; and then to others present, such as support persons, and finally repeating the pattern. Shuttle facilitation is a restorative model that does not include face-to-face dialogue. Instead, a facilitator works with participants individually and “shuttles” information back and forth until the parties come to resolution. Contemporary use of restorative circles is based on traditional circle practices of North American indigenous communities. Community circles generally focus on larger social issues, such as sexism or rape culture, and include not only personal accountability but also efforts toward social change.
