Introduction of the RYCNC
The Restoring Youth Coalition of North Carolina (RYCNC) is a coalition of community-based youth-serving organizations who will guide, build capacity, encourage and provide structure for restorative justice programs, processes, trainings and practitioners within the Juvenile Justice scope of services in North Carolina.
The coalition has partnered with the ZSR Foundation and the State of NC – DPS to overcome past barriers for North Carolina youth who have been historically marginalized resulting in criminal charges, excessive and unnecessary school suspensions and expulsions, traumatic experiences, and community dysfunctional struggles, to achieve lasting systemic change through new resources, opportunities, and restorative processes.
Our Vision for NC
We envision a North Carolina Juvenile Justice System that is improved by the state-wide use of restorative practices which emphasize repairing the harm caused by youthful wrongdoing while reducing the social and financial cost of our present system.
We envision widespread use of restorative practices which collaboratively engages youth, families and communities in addressing the harm created by wrongdoing in ways that focus equally on the needs of those harmed, community safety, as well as youth accountability and growth.
We envision common infrastructure of restorative principles and practices throughout our juvenile justice system and community-based organizations serving these youth.
Most importantly, we envision a juvenile justice system, through it’s community based services, that addresses the wrongdoing of youth restoratively, not punitively, so as to ensure each youth’s worth and dignity, assuring just and fair processes, and assisting them in overcoming barriers.