Call to Order
Meeting was called to order at 10:45 AM.
Roll Call
Commissioners: Chairman George Timberlake, Roseanna Ander, Julie Biehl, Edith Crigler, Debra Ferguson, Esther Franco-Payne, Gene Griffin, George Hill, Arnetra Jackson, Lisa Jacobs, Rev. Charles Jenkins, Edwin Reyes, Pamela Rodriquez, Vice Chairman Wayne Straza, Randell Strickland, Rick Velasquez.
Staff: Karrie Rueter, Julie Stremlau, Deborah McCarrel, Ron Smith, Dick Walsh, Bob Sabich, Kim Fornero, Miguel Millett.
Guests: Eileen Subak, Lindsay Bostwick, Erica Hughes, Brian Miller, Jessica Hunter, Jessica Schreiber and Kristine Neal.
Approval of Minutes
Gene Griffin moved to approve the minutes of the January 12, 2010 Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission meeting, the January 11, 2010 Planning and Grants Committee minutes, and the Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee minutes from September 9, 2009 and January 11, 2010. Rick Velasquez seconded the motion. All in favor, minutes approved.
New Commissioner Updates
The Commission is still in need of more youth members to meet the federal requirements. Arnetra Jackson is the newest youth member and the group welcomed her.
Ethics / Revolving Door Policies
The revolving door prohibition provides that State officers and employees who, within the year prior to termination of State service:
- participated personally and substantially in a decision to award contracts with a cumulative value of over $50,000 to a prospective employer, or its parent or subsidiary; or
- made a regulatory or licensing decision that directly applied to the prospective employer, or its parent or subsidiary
may not accept employment or receive compensation from that prospective employer, or its parent or subsidiary for one year following the officer’s or employee’s termination of State service. Their spouses and immediate family members living at home may not accept such employment or compensation, either. 5 ILCS 430/5-45. Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. With respect to the procurement revolving door prohibition, removes the requirement that the procurement participation by the former State executive branch constitutional officer, legislator, or employee was personal and substantial. Requires that the appropriate ethics commission or Auditor General conducts a public hearing, at which public comment may be offered, before granting or denying a waiver of the prohibition against the procurement or regulatory revolving door. In determining whether to grant or deny a waiver, requires that the appropriate ethics commission or Auditor General assess relevant information, including the effect of the prospective employment or relationship upon the procurement or regulatory decisions based on the totality of the participation by the former officer, legislator, or employee in those decisions (now, a waiver shall be granted upon a showing that the prospective employment or relationship did not affect the procurement or regulatory decisions).
Commissioners have been asked to sign and return the document to Jim Reynolds.
Review of New Commissioner Training
IJJC Training was held on March 2nd. Many new commissioners participated and found the training helpful.
Committees and Membership
Chairman Timberlake finalized the committees and their chairpersons. He asked the Commissioners to contact him if they are not in agreement with his assignments. Information is forthcoming on the goal for each committee. A list of the new committees and their members is in the packet.
Commission and Committee Meeting Schedules
The tentative dates for the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission meetings are in the packet. They are as follows:May 12, 2010 Starved Rock Lodge and Conference Center, Oglesby, ILJuly 14, 2010 Youth Network Council, Chicago, ILSeptember 8, 2010 IL Department of Agriculture, Springfield, ILNovember 10, 2010 IL Department of Agriculture, Springfield, IL
Status of Funds Report
Karrie Rueter gave an overview of the budget.
Compliance Update
Dick Walsh gave the Compliance Update. Illinois continues to be in compliance with DSO, Separation and Jail Removal requirements. DOC staff made 561 visits to facilities for monitoring and technical assistance purposes from January through December 2009. Monitoring and coordination with DOC and IDJJ continues.
Title V Grant Application
Karrie Rueter presented the Title V Grant Application to the group. Illinois seeks Title V funding to support policy, practice and programming improvements related to youth domestic battery, which has emerged as a significant juvenile justice issue for girls in Illinois. The group discussed the application. Pam Rodriguez moved to approve. Vice Chairman Straza seconded. Abstained: Lisa Jacobs, Rick Velasquez, Randell Strickland and Chairman Timberlake. All in favor, motion passed.
Title II Grant Application
Karrie Rueter explained that the 2009 application was the Three-Year Plan. This 2010 Title II Grant Application is an update. We analyzed juvenile crime and took the most recent data and updated the 2009 document.
Chairman Timberlake advised the group that the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) might possibly be collapsed into the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). If this occurs we will need to adjust the Title II comments concerning DJJ.
The DMC section of this grant is required to be updated annually. The Planning and Grants committee and the DMC committee review the DMC section of the Title II grant. Pam Rodriguez explained that the Commission has already allotted funding in many areas and these cannot be changed quickly. Vice Chairman Straza commented that we lack sites for Hispanics in our DMC program. He suggested we review our current sites and determine how best to address this issue.
Due to the timeline for the submission of this application no changes are recommended at this time. The Committees will review the application and recommend future changes.
Pam Rodriguez motioned to approve Title II Grant Application. Electronic comments from the members are due by March 19th. Once received, the application will be updated to reflect comments and submitted. Randell Strickland seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed.
Federal Site Visit
The Department of Human Services is due for its annual Federal Site Visit. Kristie Brackens, OJJDP State Representative, will be in Illinois March 29th through April 2nd.
CJJ Midwest Regional Conference
The Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) Midwest Regional Conference was to be held in June. The Committee is having difficulty reserving hotels in the area. This conference may need to be pushed back further into the summer. Lisa Jacobs asked for input from everyone and will take emails and calls to discuss the plan for this conference.
Annual Report
The annual report has not been submitted, it was due in December. Final comments due from Patricia Connell are expected soon and will be reviewed by the new Commission and submitted as soon as possible.
Re-Entry Report (1725)
The Re-Entry Report has been given another extension due to the possible consolidation of DJJ and DCFS. The Commission will address this topic once final recommendations are received.
2nd Chance Act – Juvenile Re-Entry Grant Opportunity
The 2nd Chance Act – Juvenile Re-Entry Grant was submitted. Karrie Rueter stated her appreciation to everyone who helped pull this application together and we will notify the group once we receive any feedback.
Legislative Update
No legislative update.
ICJIA Reports Update
Lindsay Bostwick and Erica Hughes addressed the Commission and discussed what the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) is currently doing and asked what more ICJIA could do to help.
Redeploy Illinois Update
No Redeploy update.
EUDL Update
The long-term goal of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Block Grant is to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors and the purchase and consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors. For the purpose of this grant, minors are defined as individuals younger than age 21.
To accomplish the long-term goal, grantees implement programs or strategies that are evidence-based environmental prevention approaches designed to reduce underage drinking. Performance Measure and outcome (objective) data are collected and analyzed to measure progress and outcome change.
The EUDL Block Grant supports 4 grantees: The Chicago Police Department, Prevention First, Inc., Eastern Illinois University (Illinois Higher Education Center) and the Illinois State Police.
The Chicago Police Department has increased the percent of liquor license holders who have not sold alcohol to a minor.
The Illinois State Police have increased the number of compliance checks conducted, DUI saturation patrols and party patrols.
The Illinois Higher Education Center increased the number of college campuses implementing best practice strategies to reduce underage drinking.
Prevention First, Inc. has increased the number of local law enforcement officers who are trained and certified in best practice law enforcement strategies to reduce underage drinking.
**IJJC broke for lunch to watch Governor Quinn’s Budget address. Immediately following, the meeting reconvened and the members discussed the impact of the impending 2011 budget and how the Commission might address the issues that will arise.
The Secretary of DHS and directors do a presentation to the stakeholders explaining the status of services under this budget. Debra Ferguson explained her understanding of the budget and how it will effect the Department of Mental Health. Karrie Rueter explained her understanding of the Community Health and Prevention cuts anticipated to the youth services system.
Chairman Timberlake reminded everyone that the Commission serves as a federally mandated State Advisory Group to the Governor, the General Assembly and the Illinois Department of Human Services. The IJJC expressed its need to address this budget and to respond to the Governor with a clear indication of how this will affect the juvenile justice system. The Communications Committee accepted the task of compiling recommendations. Pam Rodriguez stressed the need for urgency in IJJC getting these comments/recommendations to the Governor’s office.
Rick Velasquez motioned for the IJJC Communications Committees to work on a proposal for the Governor with approval for submission by the Executive Committee due to the time constraints. Lisa Jacobs seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed.
JCEC Update
No JCEC update.
Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice Update
The Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ) has published its 2009 Annual Report to the President and Congress. The report addresses significant issues facing our nation’s juvenile justice system. Primary among its concerns, FACJJ urges reauthorization of the JJDP Act.
Federal Coordinating Council Update
Pam Rodriguez reported the next quarterly meeting for the Federal Coordinating Council is in April. Attorney General Eric Holder convenes the OJJDP Coordinating Council. His attendance attracts high level leadership from all of the participating agencies in the federal government. Areas of focus for the Coordinating Council include: juvenile reentry and transition out of the youth system into adulthood; sharing of information about youth across and among systems to enhance continuity and comprehensiveness of care; access to justice; and DMC.
Other Business
Representatives from First Defense Legal Aid (FDLA) gave an overview of their program to the Commission. They have a variety of ways to promote their program. They pass out business cards, do advertisements on the radio and newspapers to get the word out about their organization. They do a lot of outreach with agencies that are already established in the communities. Debra Ferguson commented that the parents as well as the children need guidance in understanding the process and it is a true disadvantage if these children do not get representation.
Roseanna Anders commented that the bulk of FDLA’s work is with adults. FDLA takes calls from all over the Cook County area. They train their workers to work with juveniles and have more training scheduled for the spring. FDLA admitted they need to expand their reach and knowledge in the juvenile justice arena. FDLA began this program with funding from IJJC. The IJJC funding is supporting the juvenile focus of the FDLA.
One of the original desires of the IJJC when they funded the FDLA was to see a difference for DMC. Rick Velasquez asked about sustainability once the IJJC money is expended.
FDLA explained they built off what existed in their program to begin the juvenile focus. The Compliance Monitor’s report indicated the best area for FDLA to start this project. IJJC paid for the hiring of an attorney and the set-up of an entire data system focused on juveniles. There is not much data as the program has only really been up and running for six months. FDLA requested the Commission advise them on how best to expand their program. The Planning and Grants and the DMC Committee will hear future proposals for the FDLA program and will bring those recommendations to the full Commission.
Adjournment
Roseanna Ander motioned to adjourn. Rick Velasquez seconded the motion. All in favor, meeting adjourned at 3:20 PM.