NCJ Number
94122
Date Published
Unknown
Length
140 pages
Annotation
This manual provides information on how to develop and operate a Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP), including suggestions about planning and organizing a VORP as well as information about mediating an encounter between victim and offender, how to train volunteers, and how to manage program paperwork.
Abstract
This manual is intended for use in conjunction with the training workshops offered by the Victim Offender Reconciliation Resource Center of the PACT Institute of Justice, although it provides useful information outside of this setting as well. An overview of the VORP process presents a narrative and diagrammatic description of the steps in the program, including referral, client intake, assignment to a volunteer, mediation, and monitoring. The 'VORP Organizer's Handbook' is included to provide guidance on designing a program, developing community support, and clarifying critical issues, although it is not intended as a blueprint for constructing a VORP. The 'VORP Volunteer Handbook' is included for use in teaching methods of mediation and is intended for use throughout a volunteer mediator's experience with VORP. The handbook on training also includes sections on recruitment, screening, and ongoing support for volunteers. Also included are a summary of the case and information management system as it has developed in the Elkhart (IN) program over a number of years; articles on victim services, the effectiveness of VORP as an incarceration substitute, and using VORP in an urban-multicultural setting; and PACT program overviews.