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The growing practice of arresting students for disruptive behavior in school has led to the so-called "School to Prison Pipeline." The larger issue is that our criminal justice system is focused on punishment instead of accountability, and it is biased based on race and income. For 14years the Community Conferencing Center in Baltimore has worked to provide effective Restorative alternatives to school suspension, court, and incarceration--producing 60% lower recidivism at 1/10th the cost. Learn about their work and how you can mobilize this work in your community.

As the Founding Director of the Community Conferencing Center in Baltimore, Lauren Abramson has seen first-hand : a) that the "Jerry Springer Model" of dealing with each other is not working, b)that our discipline and justice systems are broken, and c) that we have very effective, low-cost ways to fix them. Now all we need is the political will to do so. With the Community Conferencing Center, Lauren has been using Community Conferencing and Daily Rap dialogue circles to effect system reform and empower victims, offenders, and family members to actively participate in fair, accessible community justice.

Click to learn more about Community Conferencing