The Restorative Practices Advisory Committee Planning Grant Program is an initiative from the Office of Restorative Practices. It aims to fund the creation of the statutorily required Restorative Practices Advisory Committees. 

Restorative Practice Advisory Committees (RPAC) are a collaborative group of community members and system partners. RPACs will meet regularly and utilize restorative practices in their decision-making process and come to consensus when developing, expanding, and maintaining restorative practices criteria and referral processes for their county, Tribal Nation, or collaborative of Tribal Nations and/or counties. Once these criteria are developed, cases must be referred to the local restorative practices initiatives. The advisory committees make recommendations to the Office of Restorative Practices (ORP) regarding initiatives that are requesting grant funding, they can also request grant funding for the functions of the RPAC itself and for per diem for the community members listed in the statute.

Restorative practices refer to a practice within a program or policy that incorporates core restorative principles, including voluntariness, prioritization of agreement by the people closest to the harm on what is needed to repair the harm, reintegration into the community, honesty, and respect. Restorative practices can involve victim-offender conferences, family group conferences, circles, community conferences, and other similar victim-centered practices. Restorative practices funded under this statute may be used at any point, before court involvement, after court involvement, to prevent court involvement, or in conjunction with court involvement. Restorative practices are rooted in community values and create meaningful outcomes such as: 

• Establishing and meeting goals related to increasing connection to community, restoring relationships, and increasing empathy; considering all perspectives involved; and taking responsibility for impact of actions by all parties involved.
• Addressing the needs of those who have been harmed.
• Recognizing and addressing the underlying issues of behavior.
• Engaging with those most directly affected by an incident and including community members that reflect the diversity of the individual's environment.
• Determining the appropriate responses to specific incidents through the use of a collaborative process. 
• Providing solutions and approaches that affirm and are tailored to specific cultures.
•  Implementing policies and procedures that are informed by the science of the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. 

A request for proposals was distributed on Jan. 7.

Available funding

Up to $500,000 is available for planning grants to establish Restorative Practices Advisory Committees pursuant to Minnesota Statute 142A.76.

Applicants may propose funding up to $40,000. 

Minimum number applications

The Office of Restorative Practices must receive at least one application. If the minimum number of applications is not received, the office must reopen the application process.

Project dates

The grant period for the awarded grants will be approximately 12 months, beginning on or around June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026.

Eligible applicants

Grants will be awarded to private and public nonprofit agencies; local units of government, including cities, counties, and townships; local educational agencies and Tribal Nations. 

Due date

Feb. 10, 2025, by noon  

Read the full RFP

To receive notice when requests for proposals are available, sign up at Office of Justice Programs Updates. 

For more detailed information, see the Office of Restorative Practices Statute.