Community Accountability Programs Information ... - Ministry of Justice

Before a conferenceis convened(continued)During a conferenceAfter a conferencehas concluded• A complaints process regarding the conference must beestablished and accessible to all participants, and they aremade aware of this process.• All participants have an opportunity to have the process andpotential outcomes fully explained to them by a programrepresentative.• The referring agent and/or program representative mustinitiate the approach with the young person and the victim.• All parties choose to participate in the process voluntarily andare not under any threat or coercion to do so by any party.• A letter of informed consent is obtained from all partiesparticipating in the process, acknowledging that the processhas been fully explained and that they agree to take part.• The nature of the alleged offence must be explained to theyoung person, who must voluntarily accept responsibilityand accountability for the harm done.• The young person (and parents or legal guardians) have beenfully apprised of their right to legal counsel and their right tohave the matter dealt with in a different manner.• The requirements and limits of confidentiality are fullyexplained to all participants.• All participants are treated with respect and dignity at alltimes.• Involvement in the process is safe and accessible, and doesnot endanger any participant.• A neutral, non-threatening approach, and wheneverpossible, a neutral location, is utilized.• The conclusions and recommendations of the conference arerecorded.• Victims are afforded the opportunity to explain, in a safeenvironment, how they were impacted by the offence.• The young person is given an opportunity to “make thingsright” and to ask for help with problems that may havecontributed to the offence.• Appropriate record keeping is undertaken and case filemanagement is maintained.• The young person is informed about the content of theagreement and voluntarily accepts it.• The young person understands the problems that may havecontributed to the wrongdoing and is supported inaddressing them.• A process is in place to follow up with the victim and youngperson once the terms of the agreement are completed.• Once the agreement is reached and fulfilled, the referringagent is informed and the file is returned.• If an agreement is reached but not complied with, thereferring agent is informed and the file is returned.Getting Started 47