2-15-2013. Office of restorative justice. (1) There is an office of restorative justice in the department of justice.
     (2) The purposes of the office of restorative justice are to:
     (a) promote the use of restorative justice throughout the state by balancing the needs of victims, communities, and juvenile and adult offenders;
     (b) provide technical assistance to jurisdictions and organizations interested in implementing the principles of restorative justice; and
     (c) bring additional resources to Montana communities for restorative justice programs.
     (3) (a) For the purposes of 2-15-2012, 2-15-2014, and this section, the term "restorative justice" means the philosophy of promoting and supporting practices, policies, and programs that focus on repairing the harm of crime, strengthening communities around the state, emphasizing accountability, and providing alternatives to incarceration for offenders who are at low risk for violence.
     (b) Restorative justice is intended to improve the ability of the justice system to meet the needs of victims, to encourage community and victim participation in the criminal justice process, to reduce crime and increase the public sense of safety, to hold offenders accountable, and to provide rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders back into the community.
     (c) Restorative justice programs include but are not limited to victim-offender meetings, family group conferencing, sentencing circles, use of victim and community impact statements, restitution programs, constructive community service, victim awareness education, victim empathy programs, school expulsion alternatives, peer mediation, diversion programs, and community panels.
     (4) Efforts of the office of restorative justice may include but are not limited to:
     (a) providing educational programs on the philosophical framework of restorative justice;
     (b) providing technical assistance to schools, law enforcement, youth courts, probation and parole officers, juvenile corrections programs, and prisons in designing and implementing applications of restorative justice;
     (c) housing a repository for resources and information to coordinate expertise in restorative justice;
     (d) serving as a liaison between victims, the judiciary, and state agencies, such as the department of justice and the department of corrections, that are involved in criminal and juvenile justice efforts, including victim compensation programs;
     (e) providing information to schools, local governments, law enforcement, state agencies, the judiciary, and the legislature regarding systemic changes that may be necessary to enhance further development of restorative justice in the state; and
     (f) securing additional resources for restorative justice programs through a grant program administered by the board of crime control, which may be coordinated with other appropriate grant programs of agencies, and providing sustained funding for successful community programs.

     History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 581, L. 2001.