Rock for Restorative Justice

press release: The TimeBank is inviting its members and the broader community to celebrate and honor the leaders who have helped to bring about these systemic changes at the 2nd Annual Rock for Restorative Justice event. The festivities will take place on Saturday, June 4 from 12:00-3:00 p.m. at the High Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave. in Madison. Among the live music performers is positive hip-hop artist ANT Da HopeBoy. Between acts we will recognize the young leaders who serve as peer jurors. Community leaders in the Madison Police Department, the Madison Metropolitan School District, Madison Municipal Court, and Dane County will also be honored for their pivotal roles in promoting restorative justice as a positive alternative to the traditional justice system, which has proven less effective, and more unjust. The suggested donation for this fundraising event is $20.

The past year has seen tremendous changes in the way Madison approaches juvenile justice, both in its schools and in the broader community. Instead of reflexively resorting to its long-standing criminal justice approach – issuing police citations leading to municipal court appearances – police, school officials, and community organizations are employing restorative justice techniques as part of a collaborative effort to handle youth behavior in a way that restores harm and promotes positive youth development.  The mission of the TimeBank Youth Court Program is to provide a positive alternative to the juvenile justice system so youth can willingly take responsibility for their actions, make amends and build healthy and productive relationships. Working with law enforcement, schools, and neighborhood groups, youth in the program can contribute to a safer, more caring community. This approach is showing very positive results.

Across all four Madison high schools, restorative justice youth courts have contributed to markedly improved school climate. There are far fewer youth receiving formal municipal citations for behavior incidents occurring at the schools and there have been hundreds of youth trained in restorative justice philosophy and practices. The more recently-established community courts are also using restorative justice programming with young adults across the city of Madison, as well as with citations involving the homeless population in downtown Madison. Regardless of the setting, the restorative justice methodology allows the community to hold people accountable for their actions, while diverting them from the formal justice system. 

One of the main proponents of this approach is the Dane County TimeBank (DCTB), which organizes community members using the currency of time, in the form of neighbor-to-neighbor exchange of services. Established in Madison in 2005, DCTB has quickly grown to be one of the largest and most-respected timebanks in the country, boasting some 2,800 members.  In September of 2015 the TimeBank became a partner in a city-wide initiative to provide all youth between the ages of 12-16 the opportunity to participate in a restorative justice process rather than go through Municipal Court.  Along with partners at YWCA, Briarpatch Youth Services, and Dane County Human Services, the cross-systems collaboration is working to reduce the number of youth entering the formal system.  The TimeBank is now running youth courts at all four city high schools as well as at two new community locations held at Fountain of Life Church and James Reeb Unitarian Church. 

This year’s award recipients are uniformly enthusiastic about the impact to the restorative justice courts:

·       Jennifer Cheatham, Superintendent, Madison Metropolitan School District

·       Andre Johnson, Dane County Juvenile Justice Manager

·       Mike Koval, Chief of the Madison Police Department

·       Dan Koval, Dane County Municipal Court Judge