I. Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 9:15am.
II. Roll Call
Chairman-Lisa Jacobs, Rick Velasquez, George Hill, Esther Franco-Payne, IJJC Chairman-George Timberlake. Quorum declared present. Staff: Rob Vickery, Karima Douglas, Monica Kelley. Guests: Susan Witkin, Eliza Solowiej, First Defense Legal Aid.
III. Approval of Minutes
Minutes were not reviewed; they will be addressed at the October meeting.
IV. JABG Planning
Rob Vickery, IJJC Executive Director, provided an overview of Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2010 JABG funds which expire on November 4, 2014. DHS Fiscal has helped adjust State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2014 allocations to use this money before more recent funds. There is still a possibility that a portion of the money will be lapsed back to OJJDP as grantees have historically underspent their contracts. Rob has already discussed the situation with affected grantees and will continue to track expenditures closely and follow up with them. He will send a formal letter to formula grantees and state-level discretionary grantees. The Committee determined that the timeframe was too short to make any additional allocations out of FFY2010 funds and agreed that some minimal lapsed amount was still a “victory” given the short timeframe to use these funds.
Commissioner Hill asked about modifying contract language to require grantees to spend funds on a regular monthly or quarterly schedule. Rob Vickery will explore this idea with DHS Legal and Fiscal.
The Committee next discussed FFY2011 JABG funds which expire on June 30, 2015. Based on how grantees historically underspend, the Committee determined it may be sensible to issue one or more additional contracts to ensure FFY2011 funds are maximized. Rob Vickery will circulate the JABG RFP used earlier this year to the Committee members for their feedback and develop a revised draft to present to the Commission at its September 17, 2014 meeting. By releasing the RFP, the Commission will have the option to award one or more additional contracts in November for a January through June project period. This may be several small projects or one larger project. Judge Timberlake noted we could possibly use this money to fund part of a conference or a youth conference. The Committee also discussed distributing the RFP to all Juvenile Justice Councils in the state. Motion to proceed with the RFP made by Commissioner Velasquez; second by Commissioner Hill. Motion approved.
V. Youth Advisory Board Planning
Rob Vickery presented a document which summarized concerns and issues raised during recent discussions about the Youth Advisory Board; the document also includes strategies for addressing these issues. Commissioner Jacobs summarized the goals for the Youth Advisory Board as: (1) advising the Commission; (2) informing the Commission’s funding decisions; and (3) identifying and developing their own projects. Additionally, the group should articulate its own goals in a manner consistent with the Commission’s stated goals.
One area of focus is to recruit qualified and committed applicants for the two available “Youth Commissioner” positions. Commissioner Timberlake requested this be prioritized by staff.
This is an opportunity to develop more formal structures, including bylaws to guide the group’s role, membership, and operations. Further ideas for improving and expanding the group include increasing staff capacity to work with the group, identifying one or more “host agencies” across the state to facilitate statewide membership. Commissioners identified that bringing staff support to help develop the new structure may be helpful, as current staff capacity is limited. However, Rob Vickery expressed a desire to flesh out a framework for the group in advance to bringing any additional support on board. Commissioner Timberlake requested that staff identify multiple sources of information so that we do not reinvent the wheel. He mentioned the Project NIA concept paper, OJJDP and CJJ, the DCFS Youth Council, and Mikva Challenge. Commissioner Franco-Payne requested that the one page work plan summarizing next steps be presented at the September 17, 2014 Commission meeting.
VI. Planning for Annual Report & Three Year Plan
This item was tabled due to time constraints.
VII. Data Warehouse
This item was tabled due to time constraints.
VIII. New Business
None noted.
IX. Adjourn
Motion to adjourn made by Commissioner Timberlake, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs. Meeting adjourned at 11:25am.