CALGARY COMMUNITY CONFERENCING

Participant Satisfaction: 1998-2000

Introduction
Description of Respondents
'Best Things' about the Conference
'Worst Things' about the Conference
Recommended Changes to Conferencing
Satisfaction with Various Aspects of Conferencing
Note: This report is the property of Calgary Community Conferencing.
Thanks to Evonne Komaromi and Jenny Shouldice for the initial data entry.

Introduction

At the end of each Conference, evaluation forms are distributed to all participants. This questionnaire includes both open- and closed-ended questions. Open-ended questions ask participants to identify the best and worst things about their Conference experience and to suggest any changes they think might improve the process. The 17 closed-ended questions ask participants to rate their level of satisfaction regarding various aspects of the Conference. The information on satisfaction among Conference participants presented below was gathered from participants in 24 Community Conferences that occurred between January 1998 and September 1999. During that time, a total of 231 people participated in Conferences, 157 of whom completed evaluation forms.

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Description of Respondents

Conference participants who completed evaluation forms can be sorted into 6 categories. Table 1 presents the number and percent of respondents in each category.

Table 1. Number of Respondents by Role

Role	Number	Percent
Young Person	19	12.1
YP Supporters	57	36.3
Victim	46	29.3
Victim Supporters	11	7.0
Others	15	9.6
Observers	8	5.1
Missing	1	.6
Total	157	100.0

As can be seen from Table 1, supporters of young people accounted for the largest proportion of respondents (57 or 36.3%). Victims comprised almost 30% of the total (46 or 29.3%). Only 11 victim supporters completed evaluation forms (7.0% of the total). Nineteen young people returned evaluation forms, accounting for 12.1% of the total. Others, which included primarily professionals (i.e., social workers, probation officers) associated with either the young person or the victim, numbered 15 and accounted for just over 5% of the total respondents.

Most of the 19 young people who completed forms (16 or 84.2%) were male, as were most of the 46 victims (38 or 82.6%). The average age among young people and victims was 15.6 and 15.8 years, respectively. The 19 young people had participated in Conferences regarding a total of 28 harmful incidents. Conferences regarding thirteen young people (68.4%) involved only 1 incident. Most of the incidents for which young people were Conferenced were stealing related (20 or 71.4%). Assault related incidents numbered 4 (14.3%) and others (e.g., mischief) numbered 4 (14.3%).

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'Best Things' about the Conference

Participants were asked an open-ended question regarding what they thought was the best aspect of the Conference. Of the 157 individuals who completed forms, 149 (94.9%) identified at least one 'best thing.' Thirty-five (22.3%) of the participants noted two 'best things' and 13 (8.3%) noted three 'best things.' The 209 'best things' noted among these participants were content analyzed and sorted into 7 categories. The distribution of responses is presented in Table 2a.

Table 2a. 'Best Things' About Conferences Among All Respondents

'Best Thing'	Number	Percent of Responses (N=209)	Percent of Participants (N=157)
Understanding both perspectives	94	45.0	59.9
Meeting each other	30	14.4	19.1
Good process	30	14.4	19.1
Repayment/restitution	20	9.6	12.7
Victims having a say in the judicial process	14	6.7	8.9
Closure	12	5.7	7.6
Getting questions answered	9	4.3	5.7
Total	209	100.0

The most commonly noted 'best thing' about Conferences was the opportunity they afforded participants to gain an understanding of both the victim's and the young person's perspectives on the incident. About 60% (94 or 59.9%) of all participants commented on this aspect of Conferencing, with these comments accounting for almost half (94 or 45%) of all responses. Approximately one-fifth of the participants (30) considered meeting the other people involved and the process itself to be the 'best things' about Conferencing.

Table 2b, portrays the 'best things' about Conferences within the 6 groups of participants.

Table 2b. 'Best Things' About Conferencing Within Participant Roles

	Young Person	YP Supporters	Victim	Victim Supporters	Others	Observers	Total
Understanding both perspectives	12 (50.0)	33 (47.8)	26 (43.3)	8 (47.1)	8 (33.3)	7 (46.7)	94
Meeting each other	6 (25.0)	9 (13.0)	11 (18.3)	1 (5.9)	2 (8.3)	1 (6.7)	30
Good process	0	13 (18.8)	8 (13.3)	4 (23.5)	3 (12.5)	2 (13.3)	30
Repayment/restitution	4 (16.7)	6 (8.7)	2 (3.3)	2 (11.8)	6 (25.0)	1 (6.7)	21
Victims having a say in the judicial process	0	2 (2.9)	7 (11.7)	0	2 (8.3)	3 (20.0)	14
Closure	2 (8.3)	4 (5.8)	2 (3.3)	2 (11.8)	2 (8.3)	0	12
Getting questions answered	0	2 (2.9)	5 (8.3)	0	1 (4.2)	1 (6.7)	9
Total	24 (100)	69 (100)	61 (100)	17 (100)	24 (100)	15 (100)	210

Responses that could be categorized as understanding the victim's and the young person's perspectives were the most common across all participants. Interestingly, meeting each other was the second most common best thing identified among victims and young people, but was less common among other participants. The restitution that occurred was most commonly identified among 'others,' a quarter of whom considered it a 'best thing' about the Conference experience. The Conference process itself was the second most common 'best thing' identified among both young person and victim supporters. That the Conference allowed victims to have a say in the judicial process was the second most common 'best thing' identified among observers.

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'Worst Things' About Conferences

Table 3a. 'Worst Things' About Conferences Among All Respondents

'Worst Thing'	Number	Percent Responses(N=124)	Percent Participants(N=157)
No worst thing	54	43.5	34.4
Too long a Conference	17	13.7	10.8
Stress and fear related to participating	16	12.9	10.2
Emotional response to Conference	10	8.1	6.4
Absence of key participants	9	7.3	5.7
Being the offender/issues related to offender	7	5.6	4.5
Timing	7	5.6	4.5
No control over restoration agreement	2	1.6	1.3
Personal disagreements/family issues	2	1.6	1.3
Total	157	100	100

Just over one third of the respondents (54 or 34.4%) noted a response that was categorized as 'no worst thing.' Adding these to the individuals who left this part of the questionnaire blank (i.e., 36), a total of 90 of the 157 respondents (57.3%) did not identify a 'worst thing.'

Among the 42.7% of respondents who did identify a 'worst thing' about their Conference experience, the length of the Conference was the most commonly identified. The next two most commonly identified 'worst things' (i.e., stress and fear related to participating and emotional response to Conference) both involved feelings associated with the Conference. Taken together, 26 of the 157 respondents (16.6%) identified one of these as a 'worst thing' about their experience. The only other 'worst thing' that was identified by more than 5% of the respondents was the absence of key participants, which was noted by 9 (5.7%) of those who completed the questionnaire.

Table 3b presents 'worst things' by participant role.

Table 3b. 'Worst Things about Conferences Within Participant Roles

Young Person	YP Supporters	Victim	Victim Supporters	Others	Observers	Total
No worst thing	10 (50)	19 (46.3)	15 (37.5)	2 (28.6)	6 (60.0)	2 (33.3)	54
Too long a Conference	1 (5)	4 (9.8)	8 (20.0)	2 (28.6)	2 (20.0)	0	17
Stress and fear related to participating	4 (20)	5 (12.2)	6 (15.0)	1 (14.3)	0	0	16
Emotional response to Conference	1 (5)	3 (7.3)	3 (7.5)	0	0	3 (50.0)	10
Absence of key participants	0	4 (9.8)	2 (5.0)	0	2 (20.0)	1 (16.7)	9
Being the offender/issues related to offender	4 (20)	3 (7.3)	0	0	0	0	7
Timing	0	2 (4.9)	4 (10.0)	1 (14.3)	0	0	7
No control over restoration agreement	0	1 (2.4)	1 (2.5)	0	0	0	2
Pers. disagreements/ family issues	0	0	1 (2.5)	1 (14.3)	0	0	2
Total	20	41	40	7	10	6	124

The most frequent written response across almost all types of participants was a note about there being 'no worst thing' about the Conference experience. Exceptions to this occurred among observers and victim supporters. The most frequent 'worst thing' identified by observers concerned their emotional response to the Conference. Among victim supporters, as many of these participants noted Conference length as noted 'no worst thing.' Conference length was noted as somewhat problematic among victims (20.0%) and others (20.0%), but was identified by only one young person. Stress and fear related to participating and 'being the offender' were most commonly identified by young people (4 or 20.0%) as being the 'worst things' about the Conference. Among victims, 15.0% (6) identified stress and fear related to participating as a 'worst thing.' Observers and other Conference participants were most likely to note the absence of key participants as a 'worst thing.' Half of the observers (3 of 6) identified emotional response to the Conference as a 'worst thing.'

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Recommended Changes To Conferencing

Of the 157 respondents, about one-third (53 or 33.8) did not write a response on this part of the evaluation form. Adding these to the number who wrote 'no changes' results in 85% (134) who did not suggest a change to Conferencing. Among the 23 (14.6%) who did suggest changes, seven (30.4%) suggested that there be more preparation for participants prior to the Conference. The same number suggested that there be mandatory attendance for all those directly involved in the incident. Five respondents (21.7% of those who suggested a change) suggested the physical environment could be improved. Other changes, each suggested by two respondents, were that Conferencing should be used more often with young people and that the process be less influenced by systemic factors.

In Table 4b, the 23 changes that were recommended by participants who completed evaluation forms are presented by respondent role.

Table 4b. Recommended Changes Within Participant Roles

	Young Person (n=19)	YP Supporters (N=57)	Victims (n=46)	Victim Supporters (n=11)	Others (n=15)	Observers (n=8)	Total (n=157)
Mandatory attendance	1	0	2	1	3	0	7
More preparation for participants	1	2	3	1	0	0	7
Physical environment	1	3	0	0	1	0	5
Conferencing more often for yp's	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
Less system influence	0	0	1	0	1	0	2
Total	3	7	6	2	5	0	23

Among young people, 15.8% suggested changes, with 1 young person each suggesting mandatory attendance, more preparation for participants, and changes to the physical environment. Among young people supporters, 12.3% suggested changes, which involved Conference preparation (2), physical environment changes (3), and Conferencing occurring more often for young people. Thirteen percent of victims suggested changes. These changes included mandatory attendance (2), more Conference preparation (3) and less system influence (1). Among the 11 victim supporters, 18.2% suggested changes including mandatory attendance (1) and increased Conference preparation (1). Among other Conference participants, one-third made recommendations. These included advocating mandatory attendance, changes to the physical environment, and less system influence. No observers made any recommendations for change.

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Satisfaction with Various Aspects of Conferencing

Table 5. Satisfaction with Community Conferencing

Satisfaction Item	Number	Average
Where the Conference was held	156	4.5
Overall preparation for the Conference	141	4.6
Having the right people there to make decisions	152	4.5
Being seen as an equal in the Conference	148	4.6
Information provided at the Conference	154	4.5
Being able to speak my mind	145	4.7
My involvement in reaching decisions	143	4.5
Having some control over decision making	140	4.5
Having time to make decisions	143	4.6
The decisions that were made at the Conference	145	4.5
The plan that was agreed to at the Conference	144	4.6
Feeling supported in the Conference	143	4.7
Feeling safe during the Conference	150	4.8
Facilitator's knowledge of legal issues	141	4.7
Facilitator's ability to keep Conference on track	151	4.7
Facilitator's helpfulness	152	4.8
Overall the way the Conference was run	150	4.7
Overall Average		4.6

Overall, participants felt very satisfied with their experience of Community Conferencing. The average level of satisfaction among the 17 items ranged between 4.5 and 4.8, with the total average at 4.6. While it should be remembered that participants rated their satisfaction with each item extremely highly, there was some variance among the average scores.

Participants expressed the highest level of satisfaction with the safety of the Conference and the facilitator's helpfulness; both of these received an average satisfaction rating of 4.8/5.0. Items with the next highest average satisfaction rating (4.7) were participants' sense of being able to speak their minds, feeling supported during the Conference, the facilitator's knowledge of legal issues and ability to keep the Conference on track, and the overall running of the Conference. Four items received an average satisfaction rating of 4.6 from respondents: overall preparation for the Conference, being seen as an equal in the Conference, having time to make decisions, and the plan agreed to at the Conference. Six other items received an average satisfaction rating of 4.5 from participants. While these may have received the lowest rating among all 17 items, it seems important to note that the rating of 4.5 out of five could also be expressed as follows: on average, participants were 90% satisfied with these aspects of Community Conferencing.

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