Restorative Justice Program

What is Restorative Justice?

Restorative justice (RJ) is an approach to crime that focuses on accountability and repair of harm to those affected by the offense, including victims, family, and community. Accountability for the person who caused harm means actively accepting responsibility, hearing and acknowledging the impact of their actions, and taking steps to repair the harm caused by their offense.

Restorative practices date back thousands of years and are based on indigenous, communitarian values from cultures around the world. At its core, restorative justice emphasizes a collaborative, inclusive process where all involved parties can voice their experience and work towards an agreement that meets everyone’s needs rather than focusing solely on punishment.

The Boulder DA’s in-house Restorative Justice Program (DARJ) provides restorative justice services for eligible cases that come to the DA’s Office, primarily diversion cases. DARJ provides the following restorative justice services:

• Victim offender dialogue
• Community group conferencing
• Restorative conversations
• Restorative justice training

A restorative justice conference is a structured, facilitated meeting where the person harmed by an offense and the person who caused the harm can come together to discuss the impact of the offense and collaboratively develop a plan for what the responsible party will do to make things as right as possible for everyone affected. This meeting may include support people, members of the community, and others who were affected, depending on the situation and the needs of those involved. Restorative justice conferences are facilitated by highly trained DA staff or volunteers and may be held in person or online.

Participation in RJ is always voluntary and everyone who attends will be well prepared before coming together to meet. Defendants do not receive any benefit to their case for participating in an RJ conference.

Information for Victims and Harmed Parties

At a restorative justice conference, the person harmed is supported to tell their story, ask questions and receive answers about what happened and why, and have input into an agreement for what the responsible party will do to repair harm from the offense. If you are interested in learning about restorative justice options, please contact the victim advocate or DA on your case.

Information for Responsible Parties / Defendants

Volunteer Opportunities

Are you interested in being part of criminal justice reform? Want to help build a stronger and safer community while also learning valuable skills? The Boulder District Attorney’s Office offers volunteer opportunities in Restorative Justice Facilitation and Restorative Justice Community Member Representation.

To be considered, individuals must complete our 4-hour Restorative Justice Community Member training. This provides a foundation in restorative practices and equips those who are interested in volunteering to serve as a community member in restorative processes. In this role, volunteers support accountability and meaningful repair of harm through active participation and input in a restorative process. They elevate community concerns and help responsible parties consider the impact their actions had on the broader community. They also contribute ideas when the group brainstorms ways to address and repair harm. Restorative Justice Community Member training is offered entirely online several times each year.

Those wishing to facilitate with our program must complete our 20-hour Facilitator Training in addition to the Restorative Justice Community Member training. Facilitator Training provides the groundwork, skills, and practice for individuals to onboard into a facilitative role. The Facilitator training is offered annually, entirely online, typically over the course of 3 days (one day a week for 3 consecutive weeks). There is an application process for Facilitator Training as space is limited.

For all volunteers, we require:

• Application (following completion of Community Member Training)
• Interview
• Fingerprinting & Record Check
• Confidentiality and Policy Agreement and Acknowledgement
• Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) certification (provided)

Volunteers are expected to continue to build and strengthen their practice through participation in additional training, case debriefs, and skill-building sessions. These typically occur via quarterly team meetings, which are hybrid to support accessibility.

Onboarding Process:

Once onboarded as a volunteer, individuals are invited to participate in and/or facilitate cases with staff. This allows new volunteers to receive mentoring and support as they gain competence and confidence. It also supports a culture of continuous learning and feedback. Following these experience, new volunteers are paired with mentor facilitators to support their development and engagement.

After completing the orientation and onboarding process, volunteers then have the flexibility to sign up for community member opportunities and schedule when they facilitate based on their availability. Time commitment for a community member is usually 2-hours per case. Facilitators commitment is typically 5-10 hours per case, divided over the course of several weeks. There is no minimum number of cases required, however volunteers are expected to remain active and invest in the program for at least a year.

Initial Training:

Meet the training requirement(s) to volunteer:

• Community Member – completion of DARJ’s 4-hour Restorative Justice Community Member Training is required to contribute as a volunteer Community Member in DARJ restorative processes.
• Facilitator – in addition to Restorative Justice Community Member training, completion of DARJ’s 20-hour Restorative Justice Facilitator Training is required to volunteer as a Facilitator of DARJ restorative processes.

To receive emails about DARJ training opportunities as they become available, sign up for our training outreach list.

For more information, please visit our volunteer website or contact the RJ Program Coordinator, Denise Lord, via email: dlord@bouldercounty.gov.

Training Opportunities

The Boulder County DA’s Office is a national leader in prosecutor-led diversion and restorative justice and was one of the first DA’s offices in the country to create an in-house restorative justice program. We strongly support the work of other diversion and restorative justice programs and have provided consultation and training for multiple jurisdictions in Colorado and around the country as well as diversion and restorative justice training for attorneys, system professionals, service providers, and community members.