Students and Community Members Learn Victim-Offender Dialogue Facilitation

On February 9, 2019, CCMA founders Dr. Char Berquist and Heather Blades led a victim-offender dialogue training for Missouri State students and area community members. This training, offered by the Center for Dispute Resolution (CDR) at Missouri State University, prepared participants to volunteer with the CDR facilitating  dialogues between someone whose offense has caused harm and those impacted by their actions.

This process will be applied to two types of case referrals: juvenile offenders referred by the Greene County Juvenile Office, and Missouri State students who have violated the University Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

About Victim-Offender Dialogue
Victim-offender dialogue is a facilitated discussion between someone who has committed an offense and the person/people impacted by that offense.

• All parties are prepared in advance to take part in a structured dialogue about the harm caused.
• Those involved have a chance to “tell their story” and ask questions of one another.
• The parties then work together to develop a plan to repair the harm caused and hold the person whose actions caused the harm accountable. This plan may include the payment of restitution, the completion of meaningful community or University service, or other creative options.
• The goal of the plan is both to repair the harm but also to reintegrate students who have committed conduct violations into the University community.

About the Training
​This training covered basic restorative justice principles and prepared participants to volunteer to facilitate Victim-Offender Dialogues in two types of cases: with juvenile offenders referred by the Greene County Juvenile Office, and with Missouri State students who have violated the University Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

No prior mediation experience is necessary to become a volunteer victim-offender dialogue facilitator.  Dr. Berquist and Ms. Blades have been providing outstanding training in Victim-Offender Dialogue Facilitation (Victim-Offender Mediation)for 1 5+ years, and are also experienced in providing program development support. 

For more information on Victim-Offender Dialogue Training, email [email protected].