Restorative justice: policy and practice framework
Guidance on the practice of restorative justice (RJ) in Scotland in relation to adults and children. It sets out minimum standards and expectations against which RJ practice can be benchmarked, monitored and evaluated to ensure consistent delivery in line with RJ principles.
23. Follow up and aftercare
23.1 Directly after a RJ process, facilitators should ensure all parties to RJ feel safe and are further supported, where necessary, in a way that meets their ongoing needs. This begins with the provision of a safe space for each participant to debrief, reflect and process the RJ process with the facilitator or a support worker they find most helpful.
23.2 Aftercare should be tailored to each party’s needs. Each party should have agency and choice regarding what kind of aftercare would feel most supportive and beneficial to them. RJ facilitators should support all parties to RJ to co-create an aftercare plan reflecting these choices. Aftercare plans should remain dynamic in line with an individual’s ever-changing needs as the RJ process continues. RJ facilitators should check in with all parties to RJ at every stage of the process to establish if they would like to adapt the aftercare plan in any way.
23.3 Local RJ services should connect to the CJP within their area to create networks of needs-led support services which can be accessed before, during and after an RJ process. RJ services that specifically support children, either who have been harmed, or have caused harm, should have formal links with local Children’s Services to ensure effective multi-agency information sharing and support. Liaising with the likes of Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and Violence Against Women and Girls Partnerships would also ensure an understanding of locally accessible support in a range of needs-led areas.
23.4 It is important to obtain feedback from all parties to RJ following the conclusion of any process. This is regardless of whether the RJ process concluded in a direct or indirect method of RJ or was terminated prior to this. Along with any quantitative data that the RJ service should record, an evaluation of the process should be completed with all parties to RJ. This should seek to understand whether the principles of RJ as outlined within Figure 1 were achieved, and whether the individual experienced a trauma-responsive RJ process against the 5 Rs of trauma-informed practice.
23.5 Section 26 provides more information on monitoring RJ provision and obtaining person-centred feedback following RJ delivery.
Contact
Email: restorative.justice@gov.scot