Our Mission and Guiding Principles

Attention is paid to interconnectedness; the relationships between a person and themselves, the community, and their families. Restorative justice helps build/rebuild positive relationships and encourages a sense of belonging.

We consider what happened leading up to an incident, who else was involved and any contributing factors; we work to understand what the contributing factors were and how to respond to those factors by connecting people with necessary resources and education.

Accommodations are made in order to make restorative justice accessible to everyone; cultural contexts are considered; and facilitators are conscious of various traumas and experiences, with intent not to cause further harm. We meet within the referred person's community whenever possible, to remove barriers such as transportation.

Our agency adapts to individual needs, changing our approaches according to each unique situation. We are flexible and realize that there is no "cookie-cutter" approach. ICJS recognizes that each person's circumstances can have different root causes and outcomes, and every person may have different ways to respond and learn.

We recognize that environmental factors are major contributors to incidents of harm, which can be beyond a person's control and a responsibility of another party or society as a whole; we encourage people to take responsibility for their part, and provide them with the supports they need to do so.

All parties are engaged to work together as equals in a respectful, safe environment. While it can be emotional, we do not condone disrespect in any session, and no person is more important than the other. The physical and emotional wellness and safety of everyone involved is a priority.

We are not exclusively focused on the incident of harm; we provide support and education to all parties to address the root causes of harm and to prevent future incidents; restorative justice is not punitive/punishment focused, it is reparative.