Restorative Justice Advisory Board Meeting

May 8, 2008

In attendance: Lynn Patton – MCDSS, Matt Ready – NCHCC, Tom Buttner – Retired MCDSS, Laura Yarie – Justice Programs, Shelly Smith-Payant – Wausau School District, Torrie Kolbeck – GWCS/NCHCC, Nissa Schuller – Boys & Girls Club, Tamera Hansen – Marathon County DA’s Office, Brenda Pellowski – EMPD,  David Cha, Paula Schultz, and Carrie Vergin – MCRJP.

Introductions took place and a welcome was given to our two new volunteers – Matt Ready and Torrie Kolbeck. The minutes from the February 7, 2008 board meeting were reviewed. 

Carrie Vergin then updated the group on the website now available at www.mcrjp.org This site was paid for through a grant from the State and Local Bar Associations. A special thanks to them for their interest in restorative practices and for assisting us in this endeavor. Also, a thank-you to Jim Prozinski for being our “web-master”! Carrie shared that two grants had been applied for; one from the Office of Justice Assistance, concerning the prevention of truancy, and the other from a local foundation for our Victim-Assistance Trust Fund. During the past couple of months, the staff attended two conferences. The first was sponsored by the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families and the other was the 2^nd Annual Restorative Justice Conference. Carrie also attended a Wisconsin Charter School Conference and presented with Shannon Young of Wausau’s New Horizons Charter School.  

Updates were then given by the DA’s Office and The Boys & Girls Club, pertaining to their restorative programs. Nissa Schuller of the Boys and Girls Club, stated that so far this year, they have received eight referrals for Peer Court. Four youth have completed, and four are presently pending. Nissa states that they have now opened the program up to include underage drinking and tobacco violations. Tamera Hansen of the DA’s Office handed out brochures for the adult restorative program and shared a flier concerning the informational talk scheduled for May 20^th. The featured speaker will be Court of Appeals Judge Edward Brunner. Tamera has been hired as a Restorative Justice Attorney for Marathon County and will be developing the adult program.

Carrie then opened the table for discussion concerning the future of restorative practices in Marathon County. We considered the idea of forming a working board that could assist various agencies in developing restorative programming, seek out funding, and disperse these funds. We also discussed the possibility of this board applying for their own non-profit status. It was agreed that for the foreseeable future, Marathon County Restorative Justice Programs would remain under the non-profit umbrella of Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin. Goodwill has been very gracious in their assistance. During our next meeting, we will continue to discuss the development of a board that could oversee restorative programming in the county. In the meantime, Carrie will meet with Tom Buttner and Lynn Patton, concerning the budget for next year.

The next Advisory Board Meeting will be held August 7, 2008 @ 12:00 pm. We will meet in the community room of Goodwill in Weston.