May 20,2020 Planning and Grants Committee Meeting

Audience

Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission Planning and Grants Members and Staff. The public is welcome to attend.
*Due to COVID 19, in-person meetings are suspended until further notice.

Date/Time

May 20, 2020, 9:00a.m. to 10:30pm

Location

• Call in information:
  • Please email Samantha Edwards at sedwards@icoyouth.org  if you would like to participate in this meeting.

Agenda

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Welcome and Introductions
4. Planning and Grant Status SF20'
5. SF21' Grant Applications
6. Technical Assistance to Sites
7. IL Juvenile Officer's Association
8. IJJC Three Year Plan
9. Adjourn

Minutes

1. Call to order
   Meeting was called to order at 9:07am.
2. Roll Call, Welcome and Introductions
   Members: Rick Velasquez, Lisa Jacobs, Shelley Davis, Shawn Freeman, Julie Biehl and George Hill. Staff/Guests:  Andrea Hall, Wendy Nussbaum, Katy Culleeny, Chelsea Biggs, Leslie Ress and Samantha Edwards.
   ICOY's new Juvenile Justice Manager, Katy Culleeny, was introduced and welcomed to the group.
3. Planning and Grant Status SF20
   Ms. Biehl asked Commissioners to review who is on the Planning and Grants Committee and whether committee members are reappointed or not. Ms. Hall shared that committee members are from last year with no new additions. Members include Mr. Hill, Ms. Biehl, Ms. Davis, Mr. Velasquez, Ms. Jacobs, and Ms. Esther Franco-Payne. It was shared that the Commission is working with the Lieutenant Governor's Office to make reappointments and to ensure geographic diversity for new member appointments. Additionally, all current members have been advocated for in terms of reappointment.
   1. Financial Spending Report
      A summary of the spending report was shared. As of April, most sites had spent around 70%-80% of their grant money. Dekalb County and DuPage County are currently underspent. DuPage County has indicated that they will not be reapplying for funds in FY21. Ms. Jacobs reminded Commissioners that these grants are not paid in advance, but rather paid upon submission of an invoice to DHS.
      Additionally, ICOY is underspent by 53% and University of Illinois by 52%, but this was expected based on the Commissions direction to CPRD and ICOY this year. Mr. Velasquez asked whether the total amount of unspent dollars will be available to the Commission to use for sites if they decide to issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in early FY21. Ms. Nussbaum advised that the money would remain available to the Commission moving forward but that money does not roll over to sites' individual contracts. Ms. Jacobs confirmed that these are not lapsable dollars, as they are not facing any federal deadlines this year. Ms. Nussbaum advised members that they have three years to spend federal grant money. There is around $500,000 left to spend by September.
   2. Spending Pattern
      Ms. Nussbaum provided committee members with a summary of updates from providers in regard to COVID 19, sharing that DHS sent out a survey to providers about ways in which their work was changing, if at all. Providers had the chance to share whether services had been reduced, had increased, or stayed the same. It was found that system improvement providers had additional responsibilities since Covid-19 hit, including an increase in Covid-19 response webinars with providers, and Shawn Freeman having many additional data analysis responsibilities. St. Clair was also mentioned to have increased direct service through meal distribution and other services for families. One or two programs have said they closed their doors to in-person visits but are staying in contact with families. Almost all the providers reported they were utilizing telehealth. Ms. Nussbaum shared that none of the providers have asked for additional dollars but some have asked to move dollars from one area to another so they could purchase laptops or tablets to offer more telehealth services. There is no anticipation of a huge drop in expenditures.
      Mr. Velasquez asked whether anyone has been able to quantify the type and frequency of services and how they have changed. He acknowledged although the DHS survey was a great place to start, advising that it would be extremely beneficial to do a deeper analysis into the improvements in engagement, crisis response, service delivery, telehealth, and if these are in fact sustainable efforts that could be continued. An additional factor to consider is that the waiver for using telehealth and telemedicine ends in November, so if these services are to be kept as viable piece of Medicaid in rural areas, it would be helpful to have data that supports the aforementioned methods, like telehealth, are effective. Ms. Nussbaum stated that DHS can ask sites to modify their quarterly reports to include information that would be relevant to these efforts and will share results closer to the end of July.
      The Commission agreed on the importance of understanding the ways in which providers have adapted their efforts in response to COVID-19 and that engagement varies from provider to provider. Data collection and discussions with providers would allow the commission to have a thorough understanding of the methods that have been helpful and would be beneficial to continue after COVID-19. The Commission agreed they would not need to allocate more resources for more detailed data collection to accomplish this. Action steps include, calls with providers, continuing data collection, and surveying the field.
4. SF21 Grant Applications
   Ms. Jacobs shared that given the pandemic, DHS did not issue any competitive NOFO's for any of their human services grants, including the commission. There are no opportunities for new funding, and each existing grantee will be funded for SF21' at the same funding amount that they received last year. Commissioners voiced many concerns regarding automatic renewal of grants, especially for those sites who are underperforming or using funds to sponsor programs that are not in alignment with the Commission's goals or Juvenile Justice best practices. Ms. Jacobs stated that the Commission relies on DHS to make sure the mechanics of making these grants are in alignment with OJJDP and all federal requirements. As part of this discussion, the Commission acknowledged that this responsibility was designated to DHS through the creation of the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA).
   Mr. Velasquez advised the commission members of the other ways in which the Commission can have an influence, including, being more prudent of expenses and deliverables, asking sites to be more comprehensive in their explanation of services, and keeping up communication with sites regarding expectations and review of program plans. Ms. Hall shared that budget review and revision would provide an opportunity to informally address program deliverables. The Commission will bring the following questions to DHS 1) How can we be proactive with our expectations and concerns for providers? 2) If expectations are not met and there are still concerns with invoices, how do we monitor activities and expenses? 3) What are our options for reimbursing or not reimbursing funds? Ms. Hall agreed to share the concerns and feedback with DHS.
   During discussion of executive summaries from council and site program plans it was established that there are 10 applications in total including: St. Clair, DeKalb , Morgan, and Kane Councils, four youth serving sites, and two system sites. The National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP) is requesting $130,000 in funds, which is nearly twice how much they received the previous year, and Westside Holistic is being funded by the City of Chicago for the same program with the same amount of kids. Mr. Velasquez said it might have been an issue of the summary not being clear enough and noted they will be reviewed again. The Committee did not decide on whether a working group to look over these applications again would be helpful, and one was not established. Ms. Hall proposed that since it is not a competitive year, she could get Karrie Rueter's permission to make informal phone calls with providers. Additionally, Ms. Biggs suggested that the site visit reports that Sam Edwards and Mr. Velasquez completed last November and December would be a helpful resource.
5. Technical Assistance to Sites
   Ms. Jacobs reviewed CPRD and ICOY's additional responsibilities and leadership in the past few months, recognizing ICOY's outreach and communications to the human services field and Mr. Freeman's extensive detention data analysis. In terms of technical assistance, the Commission is relying on Ms. Biggs, Ms. Edwards, and Ms. Culleeny to bring proposals for providing technical assistance to sites in the next planning and grants meeting. Although site visits might not be feasible in the next few months, there is a desire for more direct engagement from Commissioners alongside ICOY and DHS; this should be built into any proposed plans. Mr. Velasquez suggested Commission engagement with providers happen on a quarterly basis rather than waiting until November and December. It was agreed that programmatic responsibility and Commission committee structures will be looked at as well.
6. IL Juvenile Officer's Association
   Ms. Jacobs reviewed with committee members that the Commission allocates roughly $5,000 to Illinois Juvenile Officers Association (IJOA) for their annual conference and that the Commission participates in the conference. The conference scheduled for June has been cancelled, but Committee members agreed that with the flexibility that comes through ICOY's commission directive funds, they are willing to use previously appointed dollars for the conference rescheduled for September 2020.
   The Commission discussed the ways in which they can further collaborate with the Illinois Juvenile Officer's Association (IJOA), including the Executive Director Tony Jacobson. This collaboration would bring the voice of law enforcement to the Commission, which can further speak to trends of police response to delinquency happening in areas outside of Cook County and potential diversion work with police departments. Mr. Velasquez suggested offering financial support up to $1,000 to assist the IJOA with this project. The commission discussed the benefits a formal mechanism for dialogue with the Illinois Juvenile Officer's Association, including concerns regarding juvenile corrections and youth reentry.
7. IJJC Three-Year Plan
   Ms. Jacobs shared that the Commission has been working with the Center for Coordinated Assistance to States (CCAS), a technical assistance provider funded through Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The first orientation is a SAG101 training for new commissioners or any commissioners who want to brush up on compliance monitoring, core requirements, and what the three-year plan is. Following this training, a series of discussions will happen over the next six months about creating a meaningful three year plan that provides a guide on how the Commission will work to reform the juvenile justice system in IL, it will outline their strengths and weaknesses, and how to better use resources. Mr. Velasquez said CCAS can help give the commission a broader perspective of what other states are doing and help the Commission with the strategic three-year plan.
8. Adjourn
   Ms. Jacobs called the Planning and Grants Committee Meeting to a close at 10:32am.