An expert in restorative justice will be the keynote speaker at the second annual Criminal Justice and Rehabilitation Conference set for Tuesday, Oct. 29, at University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Jonathan Scharrar, a lawyer, is an assistant professor and director of the Restorative Justice Project at the Frank J. Remington Center, part of the University of Wisconsin Law School. He will speak at 8:40 a.m. at the Memorial Student Center on “Reducing Recidivism and Transforming Lives.”
Restorative justice, or changing the problem behavior and repairing the harm, has shown potential for reducing recidivism, according to studies. Scharrar will discuss several models of restorative justice to either supplement a traditional criminal justice system or to be a complete alternative.
Scharrar is a member of the advisory council for the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice. He has helped design and implement restorative justice programs, has facilitated victim-offender dialogues and is a restorative justice trainer.
The daylong conference is free. Registration remains open.
New this year is an additional opportunity for student attendees. A portion of the day’s events will overlap with the Government and Non-profit Career Expo from 2 to 4 p.m., an opportunity for employers and agencies to meet UW-Stout graduate and undergraduate students and faculty to network and discuss job opportunities. The event is hosted by UW-Stout’s Career Services.
Other conference sessions include:
- Diversion Programming for Underage Alcohol and Tobacco/Nicotine Use, Kathy Asper, Arbor Place of Dunn County
- Police Recruit Trainings, Eric Anderson, Law Enforcement Academy director, Chippewa Valley Technical College
- Candid Conversation: Officer Involved Shooting, Adam Myers, detective, Lake Hallie Police Department
- Expressive Arts and Correctional Rehabilitation, Andy Felton, assistant professor of rehabilitation and counseling, UW-Stout
- Measuring Social Support in a Justice-involved Population: An Exploratory Study, Shawn Trusten, adjunct instructor, UW-River Falls; and Phillip Galli, assistant professor, UW-River Falls
- Strategies to Reducing Recidivism, Julia Kraemer, Employ job search trainer, Minncor Industries, St. Paul; and Michael Hreha, employer development and retention, Minncor Industries
- Smart Justice at work: A Rural County’s Perspective, Sara Benedict, criminal justice coordinator, Dunn County; and Kristin Korpela, director of Human Services, Dunn County
Also, six students from UW-Stout’s criminal justice and rehabilitation program will talk about their education experiences as part of a panel discussion.
Sponsors are UW-Stout’s College of Education, Hospitality, Health and Human Sciences and the department of rehabilitation and counseling. UW-Stout’s Professional Education Programs and Services, part of the Discovery Center, is coordinating the event.
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Photos
Jonathan Scharrar
Andy Felton
