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PSU Graduate Student Finds Success in Multnomah County Juvenile Justice Program
(Portland, OR) November 28, 2000 - When Governor John Kitzhaber called for Oregonians to make November 2000 "Mediation Month," PSU graduate student Karen Stone responded. Through her recently completed thesis work, Stone has made a major contribution in promoting the use of mediation in rehabilitating juvenile offenders in Multnomah County.
Stone's thesis, completed within PSU's Administration of Justice program, examines juvenile recidivism (re-offending) rates for Resolutions Northwest's Victim-Offender Mediation Program. Stone analyzed the records of 4,442 juveniles who entered the Multnomah County Juvenile Justice System during 1996 and 1997, and found that 41.6 percent reentered that system one-year after their initial detention. During that same time period, 251 juvenile offenders were referred to Resolutions Northwest's victim-offender mediation program. Only 20.3 percent of these offenders reentered the Multnomah County Juvenile Justice System within one year of completing the program.
Stone’s study is one of the few studies to examine recidivism rates for a large number of juveniles that have been involved in victim-offender mediation programs over several years. The 20 percent recidivism rate is consistent with rates in similar programs nationwide. The favorable recidivism rate, coupled with low-cost service provided by community members, supports the restorative justice approach of Multnomah County's Adult and Juvenile Community Justice Department.
Resolutions Northwest is a non-profit organization that since 1983 has provided a variety of programs aimed at increasing skills and opportunities for the peaceful resolution of conflict for victims, offenders, families, students, and the community. The victim/offender mediation program brings crime victims and juvenile offenders together to reach agreements for restitution, and to provide answers and healing for the victim and the community, to hold the youth accountable, and to reduce crime. Cases are referred to RNW by juvenile justice officials, community agencies, parents, or other individuals.
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