Public Meeting Notice

Public Meeting Notice  Restorative Justice Advisory Committee Meeting

Tuesday, March 12, 2019
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
  • Posted: March 7, 2019 12:08 p.m.
  • Last Updated: June 6, 2019 12:52 p.m.

Address

1 Ashburton Place, 21st Floor, Conference Room #1, Boston, MA 02108
This meeting is open to the public.

Contact   for Restorative Justice Advisory Committee Meeting

Executive Office of Public Safety and Security

Address

1 Ashburton Place, Suite 2133, Boston, MA 02108

Overview   of Restorative Justice Advisory Committee Meeting

The Restorative Justice Advisory Committee will meet on March 12, 2019 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m at 1 Ashburton Place, 21st Floor, Conference Room #1, Boston, MA 02108.

If any member of the public wishing to attend this meeting seeks special accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact Anjeza Xhemollari at (617) 727-7775 or anjeza.xhemollari@mass.gov.

Meeting Minutes

  1. Call to Order

At 11:11AM, Chair Deputy Secretary Jennifer Queally called this meeting of the Restorative Justice Advisory Committee to order.

  1. Welcome and Introductions

 

  1. Attendees

 Voting Members 

1. Chair Jennifer Queally-EOPSS; 2. Scott Taberner-HHS; 3. Jamie Eldridge- Senator;4. Sean Garballey- Representative; 5. Dave Sullivan- MDAA; 6. Allison S. Cartwright-CPCS; 7. John Millett-Probation; 8.*Stephanie McCarthy-MOVA; 9. Nicholas Cocchi- MA Sheriff’s Association; 10. Hon. Rosemary Minehan-Trial Court; 11. Erin Freeborn- Communities for Restorative Justice; 12. Cheis Garrus- Our Restorative Justice; 13. Susan Jeghelian-MOPC;14. Kara Hayes- Chief of Community Engagement-Suffolk DA’s Office 15. Carolyn Boyes-Watson-Center for Restorative Justice at Suffolk University 16. Ret. Chief Fred Ryan-MCOPA.

*Designee for Diane Coffey-MOVA

EOPSS Staff -Anjeza Xhemollari and Michaela Martini

Guests- Nick Melikian, Monica Dominique, Mary Quinn, Jill Fagerberg, Brendan Nolan, Brenda Nolan and Jennifer Drew.

  1. Review/Approval of Meeting Minutes from February 12, 2019

A motion to approve the draft meeting minutes was made by Sheriff Nicholas Cocchi and seconded by Scott Taberner.

  1. Board Members: 2 Minute Presentation on Restorative Justice (members who have not participated)

Rep. Sean Garballey began the conversation by speaking about the effectiveness and use of restorative justice in Arlington as well as how working with Ret. Chief Fred Ryan deepened his level of understand of restorative justice. John Millett from Probation added his involvement with restorative justice and spoke about risk assessments and how violations of probations have decreased in Middlesex. Sheriff Nicholas Cocchi spoke about how nonviolent offenders can particularly benefit from restorative justice and the positive impact it has on the community and the victim. Ret. Chief Fred Ryan then spoke about socioeconomic disparities in criminal justice as a whole and how restorative justice works to hold juvenile offenders accountable while still allowing them to move forward with their lives. He mentioned how the offender can use this as a learning opportunity moving forward and how the mental health crisis and substance use disorder comes into play as well. Judge Minehan discussed Section 35 treatment and its successes in treating substance use disorder. She mentioned how diversion programs for nonviolent offenders should be considered so these individuals still have a chance at employment since they do not yet have CORI, etc. Chair Queally spoke about how restorative justice as a whole can make a meaningful difference in a juvenile’s life and that there is an opportunity for restorative justice in probation, corrections, and in many other places.

  1. Vote on Remote Participation

This vote was taken to ensure that moving forward a member of the committee may participate by phone once quorum has been established for a meeting. Ret. Chief Fred Ryan made a motion to approve the remote participation with a roll call vote. This motion was second by Representative Sean Garballey and passed by a unanimous voice.

  1. Comments/Question on presentation by Erin Freeborn, Executive Director, Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ) “Respect Responsibility and a Path Forward”

Erin offered to answer any questions about her presentation now and again reiterated that restorative justice can be delivered on a spectrum and in many different models. There were no questions from members of the committee at this time.

  1. Presentation by Kara Hayes, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Chief of Community Engagement/LGBTQ Liaison “Preparing for the Process, Restorative Justice, and the SCDAO”

Kara began her presentation speaking about her unique survivor perspective and her experience in criminal justice for over 30 years. She remarked that restorative justice is adaptable to many crimes and communities. She discussed the importance of cooperative processes that include all stakeholders. She spoke about her recent work in training 28 people in her own community and helping neighbors to better understand the program and acknowledging that it is not about perfection but the constant work to build these relationships and expand knowledge of the benefits of restorative justice. Kara also spoke about keeping this work victim-centered when prepping for implementation and not losing sight of that. Kara emphasized that no one gets to tell a victim they have to forgive or how they feel. She acknowledged that restorative justice does not always have the legitimacy that it deserves and that there is a lot of mistrust surrounding this type of work. She remarked that when implementing restorative justice, we need to ensure that cities and communities are involved and believe the process belongs to them and is healing for them as well.

  1. Schedule of future presentations

Carolyn Boyes-Watson offered to speak on May 14, 2019 and Sheriff Nicholas Cocchi offered to speak on June 11, 2019.

  1. Update on Request for Response (RFR)

Chair Queally informed the committee that (EOPSS) didn’t receive any qualifying responses from an educational institutions. One was an institution from New Zealand and one was from an institution in Florida. They unfortunately did not meet the criteria. There was some follow-up discussion on how to proceed with respect to subcommittees and the possibility of working on the work themselves and then sending it back to an educational institution to finalize it. The group was hopeful that an educational institution specializing in criminal justice or restorative justice might find value in doing this type of work.

  1. Determining Subcommittees

After some discussion about the best way to track this data and conduct the report, the committee decided to re-group in April and determine the subcommittees and their missions. The chair asked Susan Jeghelian and Carolyn Boyes-Watson to coordinate and discuss a subcommittee regarding the legislative mandate to work with higher education institution to inventory state restorative justice services.  

  1. Update on Annual Report

Chair Queally updated the group that the annual report went out and that it was a straightforward one-page report that can be made available to members.

  1. Public Comment

Monica Dominique inquired if any committee members had received any inquires on restorative justice programs. Chair Queally stated that public comment is a listening body and the board members could not respond. Anjeza Xhemollari followed up with Monica after the meeting. 

  1. Open Session for Topics Not Reasonably Anticipated Within 48 Hours of the Meeting

N/A

  1. Adjourn

Ret. Chief Fred Ryan made a motion to adjourn, motion was second by Cheis Garrus and the meeting ended at 1:00PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agenda

  1. Call to order
  2. Review/approval of meeting minutes from January 8, 2019
  3. Board Members: 2 minute presentation on Restorative Justice (members who have not participated)
  4. Vote on remote participation
  5. Comments/questions on presentation by Erin Freeborn, Executive Director, Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ) "Respect Responsibility and a Path Forward"
  6. Presentation by Kara Hayes, Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Chief of Community Engagements/LGBTQ Liason "Preparing for the Process, Restorative Justice and the SCDAO"
  7. Schedule of future presentations
  8. Determine subcommittees
  9. Update on Request for Response (RFR)
  10. Update on annual report
  11. Public comment (10 minutes)
  12. Open Session for topics not reasonably anticipated within 48 hours of the meeting.

Contact   for Restorative Justice Advisory Committee Meeting

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