April 12, 2022 IJJC Compliance Committee Meeting

Audience

Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission Compliance Committee Members and Staff. The public is welcome to attend.

Date/Time

  • Tuesday, April 12, 2022
  • Time:  10:00AM to 11:30AM 

Location

Agenda

  1. Welcome, Introductions & Roll Call
  2. Overview of Meeting Goals
  3. Working Groups Report Out
    1. Jail Removal
    2. Monitoring and Strategy
    3. Scared Straight and Court Holdings
  4. Next Steps
    1. Recap: Areas of Concern and Potential Next Steps
    2. Compliance Manual Drafting
    3. Center for Coordinated Assistance to States - TTAS
  5. New Business
  6. Public Comment
  7. Adjourn

Minutes

  1. Welcome, Introductions & Roll Call
    Chairman Rick Velasquez called the meeting to order at 10 a.m. and invited Executive Director Andrea Hall to call roll.
    Roll Call: Julie Biehl, Bob Bowen, Colton Currah (CCAS), Ebonie Epinger, Sav Felix, Andrea Hall, Lisa Jacobs, Katie Penkoff (CCAS), Peg Robertson, Honorable Stephen Sawyer, Ryan Shands (CCAS), Rick Velasquez, Richard Walsh
    Staff: Seth El-Jamal
    Motion: Andrea Hall called for a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting on February 4, 2022. Rick Velasquez noted a correction that needs to be made. The minutes will be edited and committee members will finalize them at the next meeting.
  2. Overview of Meeting Goals
    Rick Velasquez invited Vice Chair Lisa Jacobs to introduce the topics of discussion for the remainder of the meeting. Lisa Jacobs explained that the Commission is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 (JJRA). The JJRA has produced new areas that each state must examine in terms of compliance. OJJDP released an annotated outline that explains how a new compliance manual should be established. The committee is partnering with Loyola University to examine the Commission's current manual. The committee will discuss possible routes to regain compliance with OJJDP and JJRA.
  3. Working Groups Report Out
    1. Jail Removal
      Lisa Jacobs explained that the Jail Removal workgroup has been tasked with developing strategies around education and collaboration to bring the state back into compliance. The state is currently facing the issue of noncompliance with jail removal, which is based on two factors. Firstly, OJJDP has heightened its standards and lowered the de minimis threshold. Secondly, there has been a shift in pattern and practice, particularly in Chicago where youth are being held for longer periods of time. Under federal statute, there is a six-hour limit for holding a youth in custody for identification, investigation and processing in an adult facility or any police lockup or jail. Illinois law permits longer holding periods, which may present challenges for re-establishing compliance. If the state is deemed out of compliance, Illinois faces a loss of federal funding. Lisa Jacobs opened the space for discussion.
      In response to a question from Sav Felix about the key differences between state and federal requirements surrounding jail removal, Lisa Jacobs explained that the issue lies at the municipal level. Youth can be held for up to twenty-four hours if they are being investigated for more serious cases. Most of the violations for youth being held in Chicago are within the seven-to-eight-hour range and are not for more serious offenses. There is a misalignment between federal and state statutes, and OJJDP will the entire state even if most violations are showing up in Chicago.
      Following a question from Julie Biehl about what is occurring in other states, Ryan Shands shared that each state takes a different approach to compliance. Some have direct file statutes where youth go directly to jail, which makes compliance more challenging to meet. Following a question from Peg Robertson about whether there are issues that are unique to the districts with a high volume of violations, Lisa Jacobs stated that there could be higher levels of police presence in those communities. However, this has not been confirmed by data yet. Bob Bowen noted that there has been an increase in delinquent activity throughout the pandemic while youth have been learning virtually. In relation to COVID-19, Rick Velasquez added that there has been a significant reduction of direct service support for families, which has directly impacted the incarceration of youth.
    2. Monitoring and Strategy
      The committee did not address this workgroup.
    3. Scared Straight and Court Holdings
      Lisa Jacobs introduced the next workgroup discussion. Court holding facilities are now included in the monitoring universe, which includes any rooms with a locked door. If youth are in custody, they must be held in Site and Sound Separation and cannot be held for longer than six hours. Judges must understand these requirements to help the state monitor compliance and Sheriffs must oversee security in court facilities as it relates to this issue. Additionally, sheriffs may need to submit violation reports. Furthermore, Scared Straight programming ordered by a court or as a condition of probation is now considered a Site and Sound violation of the JJDPA. Judges should not be mandating these programs and Sheriffs should not be providing these programs. Lisa Jacobs opened the space for discussion.
      Bob Bowen shared that most Sheriffs do not want to be involved in these programs and St. Clair County and Winnebago County are the only counties where they have been found. There is a major concern that the Jail and Detention Standards Unit does not have the capacity to monitor the increased number of holding facilities. Lisa Jacobs noted that the Commission has met with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts and there are opportunities to work with the Probation field to ensure that these programs are not occurring in districts. Court holding facilities are the most challenging aspect of monitoring, since the federal definition of Site & Sound Separation does not include brief contacts. Dan Hunt added that while Scared Straight programming is not prevalent in Illinois, Judges are not prevented from ordering it.
      In response to a question from Bob Bowen about alternative solutions to the expanded requirements, Lisa Jacobs explained that the committee must review current monitoring strategies with both the Jail and Detention Standards Unit and Richard Walsh to best address this issue. Challenges are presented at the lockup level. Sites with written policies that state they do not hold youth have not been included. Moreover, part-time facilities are not being monitored. OJJDP is now expects sites to shift from being monitored every three years to once a year.
      Katie Penkoff added that CCAS must follow up with Didier to clarify expectations from OJJDP regarding reporting strategies surrounding monitoring around Site & Sound Separation. Clarification of the definition of a secure and non-secure facility is needed. Lisa Jacobs noted that the committee's fourth workgroup is responsible for the legal research of federal and state alignment of definitions, as well as core requirements on status offenders and Site & Sound Separation. Loyola students are making progress with drafting these. Bob Bowen added that the committee must examine the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR), which will clarify what is being enforced as the guidelines for monitoring.
  4. Next Steps
    1. Recap: Areas of Concern and Potential Next Steps
    2. Compliance Manual Drafting
    3. Center for Coordinated Assistance to States - TTAS
      Lisa Jacobs recapped the discussion and listed action items for the committee's next meeting. Action items include conducting outreach with the Chicago Police Department on issue of jail removal, working with CCAS and Honorable Ben Rowe on the court holding definition, checking in with the Department of Corrections to ask for up-to-date policies, and legal drafting with the Loyola team. Andrea Hall shared that the Commission is meeting with CCAS on Friday, April 15th and will discuss monitoring strategies moving forward. Bob Bowen and Richard Walsh will be included in this meeting.
  5. New Business
    The next committee meeting will be held in mid-May.
  6. Public Comment
    The committee did not act on this item.
  7. Adjourn
    Rick Velasquez moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:30 a.m. Motion carried.