Dane County Community Restorative Court

In 2014, the Dane County Board of Supervisors included funding for a pilot Community Restorative Court (CRC) in the budget.  Using national best practices in a strengths based approached, the CRC provides young adults who are 17-25 years old and who have committed misdemeanor law violations in Madison an opportunity to appear before a group made up of community members (prior to being charged) to ensure accountability, determine alternative sanctions and to help repair the harm done to the victim of the crime. The CRC also seeks to help the offender with issues related to employment, healthy relationships, basic needs, and other personal matters to prevent re-offending.

In 2017, the CRC began expansion beyond the City of Madison and is now taking referrals from Fitchburg, Sun Prairie, and Middleton.

For more information on the Community Restorative Court, please contact:
Ron Johnson, CRC Coordinator
810 W. Badger Rd (in Centro Hispaño)
Madison, WI 53713
(608) 630 -1214
Johnson-hs.Ronald@countyofdane.com

Homelessness Restorative/ Transformative Justice - City of Madison

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The Homelessness Restorative/Transformative Justice Project is a collaborative effort between multiple partners including Madison Municipal Court,  Sankofa Behavioral & Community Health,  and the City of Madison.

The goals of the project are:
1) For homeless and recently homeless people to have municipal tickets they cannot pay reduced or eliminated from their record through participation in restorative process as a way to eliminate barriers to future success. 
2) For homeless or recently homeless people to identify and achieve goals they decide to pursue such as securing housing, sobriety, source of income, family connections or other goals to improving their life situation. 
3) For all involved to develop policy, culture and enforcement recommendations to shift away from the criminalization of homelessness.


For more information about the Homelessness Restorative/Transformative Justice program, please contact:
Sankofa Behavioral and Community Health
608.285.9101
1955 W. Broadway Suite 105
Monona, WI 53713

​​University of Wisconsin-Madison – Restorative Resolution Pathways

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSCCS) began its Restorative Resolution Pathways (RRP) process in 2016. In student misconduct cases where there is direct harm to a complainant or victim, and the respondent has accepted responsibility for the behavior that has caused the harm, the option for a restorative conference or circle can be offered by
the investigating officer, after consultation with OSCCS staff.

Cases that likely warrant consideration for referral to RJ resolution include:
  • Assaultive behavior or disorderly conduct (excluding domestic/dating violence, stalking, sexual assault allegations)
  • Retail and property theft over $100
  • Resisting police
  • Vandalism/property damage
  • Academic misconduct (first violation)

RRP allows for those involved and affected by the behavior to identify the harm and engages those parties to identify the solutions to the incident, the steps the person responsible can take to restore trust, repair relationships, and remedy the harms. The outcome of the process will be sent to the OSCCS for implementation as a settlement agreement, rather than the initial sanction issued, consistent with UWS Chapter 17.

For more information on the RRP process or restorative justice at UW-Madison, please contact:
Ryan Podolak, Student Conduct Coordinator,
Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards
ryan.podolak@wisc.edu