The Vermont Law School will be receiving a $3 million federal grant to continue running the National Center on Restorative Justice, reports the Associated Press.
The program was created at the Royalton-based school in 2019 in partnership with the US Department of Justice, the University of Vermont, and the University of San Diego. The program aims to provide education to future generations of juvenile and criminal justice professionals with alternative approaches to the criminal justice system.
In a statement on Tuesday, US Senator Patrick Leahy said, “We need to rethink our approach to the entire justice system.” Vermont Law School is reportedly the first school in the country to host such a center, which offers a degree program, summer institute, and creates education chances for incarcerated individuals.
According to the Community Justice Center Network of Vermont, the term restorative justice is a, “victim-focused, community-based approach,” to responding to crimes which centers the harm experienced by individuals and, “what needs to happen to make things better.”
In recent decades, the restorative justice approach has been adopted by schools and courts to a alternative to suspensions and sentences.
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