Restorative Justice Facilitated Dialogues (RJFD) in the Justice System

News by Angela Downs 

Peninsula Dispute Resolution Center (PDRC) has been a non-profit in Clallam and Jefferson Counties since 1992. They focus on mediation facilitation, education and the peaceful navigation of conflict. They have steadily been building their outreach and offerings including peer mediation programs in four schools in both Clallam and Jefferson County and are currently developing a new program for Restorative Justice Facilitated Dialogues (RJFD) in the criminal justice system, modeled by Thurston County and funded by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners. 

Restorative justice is a philosophy that focuses on healing harm done to victims of crime by addressing their needs, impacts, accountability, responsibility and repair. The voluntary participation process is for non-violent conflict between the person who was harmed, the person who caused harm, and an appropriate support team. It is an opportunity for face-to-face, co-facilitated dialogue about the impacts of crime.

PDRC is not mental health therapy, nor do they offer legal assistance. They are one of 21 dispute resolution centers in Washington. Every mediator is required to be trained and certified by the state. PDRC provides ongoing training for certified mediators. The certification requires 40 hours of training, practicum-observation, and co-mediation. They are built of a team of 4 paid employees, 3 of whom hold certifications, 9 certified volunteers, and 10 volunteers in practicum. 

PDRC offers conflict mediation for all small claims or before seeing a judge for less adversarial resolve in Jefferson and Clallam Districts 1 and 2. They also support parenting plans and divorce cases, have a housing stability program for conflict between landlords and tenants and even offer basic mediation training to the community.    

The process begins with a court referral. PDRC will provide referral forms for the court, or the court can create their own. There is an indepth intake to make sure participants are emotionally ready through a comprehensive trauma informed assessment. Facilitators then prepare and more deeply clarify participants' needs. 

Then finally, there is the face-to-face dialogue, this is where people who are harmed have a voice and drug court and behavioral health court participants can be accountable for the needs of people harmed.

In an interview with the Beacon about Behavioral Health Court and justice, Prosecuting Attorney James Kennedy said, “How do I incorporate restorative justice? It's not my job to tell victims they need to forgive their offender." He says that justice is largely about what the victim wants and how to raise their voice.  

Mary Irwin, the Executive Director of PDRC said Kennedy reached out to her with the hopes of collaborating based on the Thurston County model. “It’s not often a prosecuting attorney comes to a non-profit for assistance and collaboration,” Irwin said. Thurston County has shared lessons already learned from their RJFD program with PDRC, such as the need for more education and communication for participants and stakeholders, and the need to refine the referral process.

Irwin says this program provides people with a way forward and is a groundbreaking approach compared to our traditional one dimensional punitive system. The program received approval in late 2025 and is currently finalizing the contract. “It’s our honor and privilege to serve the community. Most of our work is done in confidentiality and people don’t know we exist,” Irwin said.