History

Community Justice & Mediation Center

The Community Justice and Mediation Center was formed July 1, 2004 with a merger of Citizens for Community Justice, Inc. and the Community Conflict Resolution Program, Inc. Both these groups worked to resolve community problems through education, mediation and advocacy and came to believe that they could do so more effectively through merging.

Citizens for Community Justice, Inc. (CCJ) began in May 1980 with a meeting of a group of citizens concerned about conditions in the Monroe County jail. Then called Citizens for Jail Improvement, the group adopted bylaws in 1981 but did not incorporate. Activities in the early years included meetings with the Sheriff and jail staff, researching good jail and alternative to jail practices, holding public meetings to inform citizens about criminal corrections issues, advocating for an adequate jail budget, and providing services in the jail.

While most early activity was focused on ways to improve jail conditions and reduce the jail population, as early as June 1981 the group began working with others to establish a Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP). Around the same time the state began funding Community Corrections programs in an effort to reduce jail populations. The Monroe County Community Corrections office agreed to provide a VORP program. The program was successful but discontinued a few years later because of state Community Corrections funding restrictions. In 1991 CCJ, then called Citizens for Jail Improvement and Juvenile Justice, looked again at establishing a VORP program. Deciding to operate the program themselves, the group incorporated as Citizens for Community Justice, Inc. in 1995 and secured a grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute that allowed launching VORP from a rented office with paid staff in 1997.

The group’s 1989 annual meeting topic, “Juveniles, Justice and Jails,” was the beginning of a greater focus on youth. In June 1990 the group combined with the local Juvenile Justice Task Force and adopted a new name – Citizens for Jail Improvement and Juvenile Justice. A focus on youth has continued with most of the VORP cases to date involving juveniles and the operation of a program designed to prevent recidivism in juvenile shoplifters. More recently grants have funded training youth mediators and working with the schools on conflict resolution issues.

The Community Conflict Resolution Program (CCRP) had its roots in the period from 1998 to 2000 when a grassroots group known as the Coalition for a Peaceful Community (CPC) became active in promoting a wide variety of conflict resolution efforts in the community. The CPC included members from the public schools, Indiana University, Harmony School, the faith community, the Monroe County Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA), and the City of Bloomington, including its newly appointed Safe and Civil City Program Coordinator. One of CPC’s goals was building an active community mediation program for neighborhood and family conflict. Approximately thirty members of the community attended a community mediation-training workshop in 1992. This trained mediator group and others from the CPC soon formed the Community Conflict Resolution Program (CCRP), incorporating in 2001, with CCJ serving as its fiscal agent. CCRP’s programs included conflict resolution services (especially community mediation) and educational programming, both public programs (including mediation training) and workshops designed for client organizations. CCRP relied on individual contributions, grants, and substantial support from the Keller Runden endowment at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

CCJ and CCRP began working together, offering joint trainings and applying together for grants. It soon became apparent that it would be wise to explore how a closer formal relationship might enhance the missions of each organization. The Boards of Directors held a joint retreat in January 2003 at which time it was decided to appoint a Reorganization Committee that would look at how to bring the two groups closer together. That group in August 2003 recommended that CCJ and CCRP merge. The two Boards considered the Committee’s report and voted early in 2004 to merge. Together the two Boards agreed on a new mission statement and organizational structure. The merger was effective July 1, 2004, with the members of the two earlier boards elected to a new Citizens for Community Justice, Inc. board and CCRP dissolving. The organization voted to do business as Community Justice and Mediation Center.