FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCING COMES TO THE US - A COMPARISON WITH VICTIM-OFFENDER MEDIATION

A boy hesitantly appears in the doorway to a meeting room. A large man wearing a name tag greets him thoughtfully and points out where he sh ould sit in the horseshoe of chairs in the room. The boy crosses the r oom, picks his name fag up off the chair puts it on crookedly, and sit s down. On his face apprehension alternates with bravado. As his mothe r and sister done with hanging their coats, enter the room the boy beg ins to fidget quietly. The large man greets them and points out their places in the horseshoe of chairs; they find their name fags on their chairs and sit down on either side of the boy. Other people that the b oy and his family are close to appear in the doorway, are greeted and move to their seats farther down the arch of the horseshoe: his grandf ather and cousin, his basketball coach, his school social worker an el derly neighbor and a member of his mother's church. Their faces, and t hose of his mother and sister betray various emotions; grim calm, hope fulness, solemnity, foreboding, sadness, and quiet interest. When they are seated, the chairs on one side of the horseshoe arch are full. Th e investigating officer enters, and sits at the apex of the arch. When they are all seated, the large man leaves the room and comes back wit h a group of people who have been waiting in a nearby room. The boy's victim enters the room first; she is a small, white-haired woman who s hakes a little as she crosses the room and sits in a chair directly ac ross the horseshoe from the boy. The boy glances quickly at her and th en looks down and away to avoid her eyes. On her face, anxiety is swif tly replaced by surprise, relief and then anger as she openly studies the boy across from her Her daughter a middle-aged woman, sits down on one side of her and her teenaged grandson takes his place on the othe r side of the victim. The older woman's minister two elderly women nei ghbors, and a middle-aged male friend find their name tags on chairs f urther down the horseshoe's arch. When they sit down they fill the las t vacancies in the horseshoe of chairs. The large man who greeted them all takes his place on a chair at the open end of the horseshoe. He i s the conference coordinator and the only one with whom every person p resent has spoken about this meeting. He smiles quietly, looks around the circle effaces, clears his throat and begins the family group conf erence.