September 1, 2010 IJJC Meeting

I. Welcome

Meeting was called to order at 9:32am.

Commissioners: Rodney Ahitow, Roseanna Ander (Ph), Julie Biehl, Edith Crigler, Debra Ferguson (Ph), Eugene Griffin (Ph), George Hill, Lisa Jacobs, Patrick Nelson, Wayne Straza, Randell Strickland, George Timberlake, Rick Velasquez, Arthur Bishop. Quorum declared present. (Ph=Participated via teleconference call.)

Staff: Karrie Rueter, Julie Stremlau, James Reynolds, Ron Smith, Dick Walsh.

II. Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Hill moved to approve the minutes, Commissioner Strickland seconded the motion. All in favor, minutes approved.

III. IJJC Committee Updates/Motions

Communications Committee Reports 

Commissioner Biehl updated the members on SB1725 and HB5914, legislation directing the IJJC to develop a report on juveniles whom have been the subject of parole revocation in the past year for the purpose of developing recommendations to ensure the effective reintegration of youth offenders into communities. She reported that 30 observations of records have been completed and 139 Parole Board Hearings have been observed. She explained a lack of equal distribution in sites reviewed. The southern part of the state is less represented. The Communications Committee would like to request an extension of the HB 5914 report deadline. This extension will allow more time to attend more hearings and to allow for proper chart reviews. Chairman Timberlake was unable to attend any hearings in July or August and he would like to attend in September and October. The Committee wishes to extend the due date for this report as it seems they will be unable to complete it by September 30, 2010.

The inability to achieve this deadline is due to the difficulty of this project and the significant delay in receiving the data/information from the Department of Juvenile Justice. The information was requested in May 2010 and was finally received on August 23, 2010. There were 421 youth revoked in the six month period. Currently, 151 files have been reviewed and coded. It is not possible to complete chart reviews and finalize recommendations to the legislators by the deadline of September 30, 2010.

It has been noted that the information for review does not include all materials. Commissioner Biehl will draft a letter for submission by Chairman Timberlake to the Governor’s office in an attempt to rectify the issues with the sharing of information. It is further recommended IJJC Chairman Timberlake consider working with the Secretary to resolve this issue if necessary.

Commissioner Biehl explained further issues that have surfaced. One issue is the references to a Pre-Parole School. Observers were unable to monitor this school and could not find any clear documentation that any of the youth attend this school prior to their parole board hearings. It is recommended that one of the Northwestern students observe a pre-parole school and report back to the Commission.

The Committee is also studying how other states address parole issues. It is noted that many facilities do not use a Parole Review Board (PRB) but a judge makes the parole decisions or the Department of Juvenile Justice Superintendent. An analysis of these processes will be included in the final report. Chairman Timberlake requested interim timelines and a final completion date for this report. Commissioner Biehl estimated submitting the report by January 31, 2011.

DMC Committee

DMC Co-Chair Commissioner Ferguson gave the DMC update. The DMC Conference was a great success and the members and those whom attended were recognized for their contributions to the event. The DMC Committee is currently working on planning, priorities and finalization of the charter and budget. The DMC members request that a member of the DMC Committee also be a member of the Planning and Grants Committee due to its role in determining funding and overall decision making. The DMC Committee will defer to Chairman Timberlake for guidance.

The committee discussed what has been done in the past and how to move forward. The partnership with planning and grants will help to assess needs. There was a discussion on the use of Requests for Proposals (RFP’s). Priorities must be developed before an RFP can be released and the timeframe for an RFP does vary from 4 to 6 weeks. Karrie Rueter added that writing the RFP is not the issue; it is the time it takes for approval that slows the process. The RFP process can be time consuming and staff intensive. There was discussion about new Government Public Systems Intern staff. Commissioners Crigler, Biehl, and Velasquez would like to participate in the review of resumes for these intern positions.

Next DMC meeting will be October 18th.

JDAI Committee

JDAI Chairman Velasquez gave the JDAI update. He stated the JDAI Committee has had issues with establishing quorum for the meetings scheduled on three different occasions. There is a need to increase the number of members to the JDAI Committee in order to have an active committee. Chairman Timberlake will address this issue. A history of JDAI was presented at the meeting and an examination of the successes and wisdom learned from past experience was discussed. The Jurisdictional approach has been done for ten years and there is still a need to educate and reinvolve the key players in JDAI. There was dialogue and discussion about reaching out to states attorneys and considering how to move forward. There was a discussion about addressing the issue of confinement which has not been examined in any of the jurisdictions.

The link between JDAI and Redeploy was also discussed. Chairman Velasquez explained that the Casey Foundation changed their reporting requirements. These reports are necessary and required by the sites. Karrie Rueter noted that the eleven JDAI sites have not received any funding in about six years. Due to the lack of funding it is difficult to expect the sites to work to provide the data requested. It was determined that the sites could receive an incentive to provide the data. Chairman Velasquez stated that $1000 up to $2000 dollars could assist the sites in providing needed data. Commissioner Jacobs asked if the sites were aware this information is needed and are they willing to oblige. A letter will be sent to the sites requesting their assistance. Commissioner Straza motioned to approve a minimum of $1000.00 up to $2000.00 for JDAI specified sites for submission of required data through and management by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed.

Chairman Velasquez informed the Commission of the upcoming Annie Casey Annual Conference October 4th, 5th, and 6th in Kansas City, MO. Illinois has 12 openings for the conference. Please notify Chairman Velasquez if you would like to attend. The JDAI Annual Report is due and it does not appear it will be completed on time. An extension for submission of this report will be requested as necessary.

Planning and Grants Committee

Commissioner Jacobs gave the Planning and Grants Committee update. A quorum was not present at the last meeting. The discussion was intended and structured as a discussion of possible system improvement strategies and activities for consideration by the Commission as a whole. The specific recommendations and strategies are in the Planning and Grants minutes of August 20, 2010. http://intranet.dhs/oneweb/page.aspx?item=51851

IV. Break

V. Status of Funds Report

Operations / Travel

Karrie Rueter explained that the Commission budget for expenses is $30,000 for the year. Due to the 25 members and the travel that is required for IJJC meetings and committee meetings it is likely that we are going to expend this money very quickly. Please understand the limits and guidelines in order to best utilize this money.

Program Expenditures / Balances

Karrie Rueter explained the handouts describing the budget amounts and projections. There was an extensive conversation about what is currently funded and why.

Government Public Service Intern Update

Debra McCarrel handles the interviews and the hiring of the Government Public Service Intern candidates. If desired, the Commission members could participate in the interviews by phone. JDAI and other committees may have access to these interns to assist in various Commission duties.

YNC Final Report

Not discussed.

VI. Funding Priorities

A lengthy discussion was had about the topics addressed at the last Planning and Grants meeting. The Commission decided to plan another meeting to further address the issues.

VII. Lunch

VIII. Funding Process

Staff discussed the difference between an RFP and a dedicated project. Staff further explained that the Commission can decide to fund a pilot program with sufficient and reasonable justification for the program.

IX. Committee Structure

Karrie Rueter suggested that as the Committees establish their Charters. There is clarification needed on how the Committees are structured. For instance, some committees are requesting that non-Commission members be named Committee members. This brings about the issue of voting rights and issues of reimbursement for participation in meetings and the need for Ethics compliance, etc. The Commission guidelines and by-laws were discussed. It was determined that non-Commission members of committees are not allowed to vote and do not receive any compensation for their participation in the committee meetings. They are not authorized committee members so they do not count toward a quorum. 

X. Compliance Update

A brief update was given by Ron Smith and Dick Walsh. We remain in compliance. Mr. Walsh recently attended training in Washington, DC and they use Illinois compliance program (contracts with DOC) as a model for other states to consider.

XI. Other Updates

DCFS / DJJ Merger

Chairman Timberlake reported that the meetings continue with the merger and that the collaboration and work groups have been helpful.

Legislative

No legislative updates.

ICJIA Reports

No ICJIA updates.

Redeploy Illinois

No Redeploy updates.

Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws

No EUDL updates.

Juvenile Crime Enforcement Coalition

No JCED updates.

Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice

No Federal Advisory update

Federal Coordinating Council

No FCC update.

XII. Other Business

XIII. Adjourn

Commissioner Ahitow motioned to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Straza seconded the motion. All in favor, meeting adjourned at 3:28pm.