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Justiceworks wants to be community voice

By BRIAN LEAHY
of The Gazette
Justiceworks Inc., a new nonprofit organization, is seeking to be a community justice initiative for the next generation of volunteers.

"We're trying to create a community voice, particularly through volunteers into the justice system, and as an interface, not only to support the justice system, but to direct its impact," said Portage County Circuit Court Branch I Judge Frederic W. Fleishauer.

The effort to create Justiceworks began two years ago when the Portage County Justice Coalition gave a group of volunteers a charge to investigate the issue of restorative justice, Fleishauer said. That group gave its report to the Justice Coalition on Wednesday, April 21. An organizational meeting for Justiceworks is scheduled for Thursday, May 20.

During those two years, a team of 110 citizens representing schools, youth programs, the criminal justice system, law enforcement, social services, victims and offenders have contributed more than 500 hours to conceive a new vision for community justice in Portage County, according to Justiceworks officials.

Restorative justice and community justice are "kind of amorphous concepts" with several different aspects to them, Fleishauer said.

"In a nutshell, restorative justice is a philosophy of criminal justice which considers crime as an injury to the victim, the community and the offender," Fleishauer said. "Only when all three are restored is the community cured of the injury.

"Community justice arises from the concept that the community has the first responsibility to maintain peace," Fleishauer said. "Although this may seem to suggest a transfer of authority from political and governmental agencies, in a government of, for and by the people, those agencies exist to provide legal structure, intervention and support for community justice processes."

Justiceworks will have two levels of membership - voting and non-voting. The voting membership will be limited to 50 members, representing a cross-section of the community and agencies, who select an 11-member board of directors which will run the day-to-day operations and set policy, Fleishauer said.

The group learned this week it has received a small grant from the state Bar Association to help it get started, Fleishauer said. Earlier this year, the Portage County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution supporting Justiceworks and its efforts to obtain funding through the office of 7th District Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau. Obey's office has indicated he supports the initiative, but no word has been received on funding. Another grant application is pending with a national organization.

Once Justiceworks becomes established, it will need to seek funding sources in the community, he said.
"Certainly, funding is going to impact what we can and cannot do," Fleishauer said.

One of the most immediate changes visible to the public will be in the area of family law, Fleishauer said. A family law support center will be created to assist people in filling out the forms and educating about the processes, but not give out legal advice, in family law cases. About one-half of all divorce cases in the county involve people who are not represented by a lawyer. Services would most likely be provided by the Legal Aid Society.

The organization would also work to rapidly address a strong community concern involving mediation services, particularly with divorce cases and potentially with small claims court cases, Fleishauer said.

"There's also a strong interest and concern with providing post-incarceration housing to offenders," Fleishauer said, "so when people get out of jail that they don't get right back into the same situation where they decided to get into jail."

PRISM Jail Ministry, a volunteer group, has been involved with the post-incarceration housing issue, he said.
"Justiceworks hopes to be an organization that coordinates the provision of volunteer services to the court," Fleishauer said. "We hope to ensure that agencies work together and their efforts are not in conflict with or duplicate each other."

Other efforts will include public education about justice-related issues through forums, Law Day events and school projects, he said.

Community justice efforts in other locations have included community initiatives in which sentences are reached after victim-offender conferences, Fleishauer said. Other states, especially Minnesota, have been conducting "circle sentencing" in which the court involves a group of people, such as victims, victims of similar crimes, law enforcement, prosecutors, employers of defendants and citizens, in determining sentences and then imposes those sentences.

More than 400 felony cases and nearly 900 misdemeanor cases were filed in Portage County courts in 2002.

Persons interested in becoming involved with Justiceworks should contact Fleishauer at 346-1355 or Kathy King, county justice planner, at 346-1342.



	Justiceworks wants to be community voice By BRIAN LEAHY of The Gazette Justiceworks Inc., a new nonprofit organization, is seeking to be a community justice initiative for the next generation of volunteers. "We're trying to create a community voice, particularly through volunteers into the justice system, and as an interface, not only to support the justice system, but to direct its impact," said Portage County Circuit Court Branch I Judge Frederic W. Fleishauer. The effort to create Justiceworks began two years ago when the Portage County Justice Coalition gave a group of volunteers a charge to investigate the issue of restorative justice, Fleishauer said. That group gave its report to the Justice Coalition on Wednesday, April 21. An organizational meeting for Justiceworks is scheduled for Thursday, May 20. During those two years, a team of 110 citizens representing schools, youth programs, the criminal justice system, law enforcement, social services, victims and offenders have contributed more than 500 hours to conceive a new vision for community justice in Portage County, according to Justiceworks officials. Restorative justice and community justice are "kind of amorphous concepts" with several different aspects to them, Fleishauer said. "In a nutshell, restorative justice is a philosophy of criminal justice which considers crime as an injury to the victim, the community and the offender," Fleishauer said. "Only when all three are restored is the community cured of the injury. "Community justice arises from the concept that the community has the first responsibility to maintain peace," Fleishauer said. "Although this may seem to suggest a transfer of authority from political and governmental agencies, in a government of, for and by the people, those agencies exist to provide legal structure, intervention and support for community justice processes." Justiceworks will have two levels of membership - voting and non-voting. The voting membership will be limited to 50 members, representing a cross-section of the community and agencies, who select an 11-member board of directors which will run the day-to-day operations and set policy, Fleishauer said. The group learned this week it has received a small grant from the state Bar Association to help it get started, Fleishauer said. Earlier this year, the Portage County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution supporting Justiceworks and its efforts to obtain funding through the office of 7th District Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau. Obey's office has indicated he supports the initiative, but no word has been received on funding. Another grant application is pending with a national organization. Once Justiceworks becomes established, it will need to seek funding sources in the community, he said. "Certainly, funding is going to impact what we can and cannot do," Fleishauer said. One of the most immediate changes visible to the public will be in the area of family law, Fleishauer said. A family law support center will be created to assist people in filling out the forms and educating about the processes, but not give out legal advice, in family law cases. About one-half of all divorce cases in the county involve people who are not represented by a lawyer. Services would most likely be provided by the Legal Aid Society. The organization would also work to rapidly address a strong community concern involving mediation services, particularly with divorce cases and potentially with small claims court cases, Fleishauer said. "There's also a strong interest and concern with providing post-incarceration housing to offenders," Fleishauer said, "so when people get out of jail that they don't get right back into the same situation where they decided to get into jail." PRISM Jail Ministry, a volunteer group, has been involved with the post-incarceration housing issue, he said. "Justiceworks hopes to be an organization that coordinates the provision of volunteer services to the court," Fleishauer said. "We hope to ensure that agencies work together and their efforts are not in conflict with or duplicate each other." Other efforts will include public education about justice-related issues through forums, Law Day events and school projects, he said. Community justice efforts in other locations have included community initiatives in which sentences are reached after victim-offender conferences, Fleishauer said. Other states, especially Minnesota, have been conducting "circle sentencing" in which the court involves a group of people, such as victims, victims of similar crimes, law enforcement, prosecutors, employers of defendants and citizens, in determining sentences and then imposes those sentences. More than 400 felony cases and nearly 900 misdemeanor cases were filed in Portage County courts in 2002. Persons interested in becoming involved with Justiceworks should contact Fleishauer at 346-1355 or Kathy King, county justice planner, at 346-1342.