April 8, 2015 Planning and Grants Committee Meeting

Audience

Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission Planning and Grants Members and Staff. The public is welcome to attend.

Date/Time

April 8, 2015, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Location

• 401 S Clinton, 1st Floor, Chicago, IL
• 815 E Monroe, Springfield, IL
• Call In: 888-494-4032 Code: 5329547331#

Agenda

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Minutes
4. State-Level Project Funding Requests
5. JABG Expenditures Review
6. Title II Expenditures Review
7. New Business
8. Adjournment

Minutes 

1. Call to Order
   The meeting was called to order at 9:11am.
2. Roll Call
   Planning and Grants Chairman, Lisa Jacobs, IJJC Chairman George Timberlake, Rick Velasquez. No quorum. Staff: Rob Vickery, Julie Stremlau, Karima Douglas, Ron Smith. Guests: Susan Witkin and Kanako Ishida.
3. Approval of Minutes
   Unable to approve minutes due to lack of quorum.
4. State-Level Project Funding Requests
   Executive Director, Rob Vickery gave an overview of the state level funding requests and the process thus far. The group discussed aspects of the funding and proposals. BARJ in Illinois has requested an additional year of funding $75,000 and DJJ requested $120,000 for YASI/CPI and PBIS. At the March meeting, the committee approved $42,000 for DJJ to continue its YASI assessment and case planning project; this motion will be presented at the May Commission meeting. No decision or motions necessary.
   The committee discussed the proposal from the Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice Project. This would continue their work developing restorative justice practices in local juvenile detention centers. The committee had questions about the proposal and wanted a more detailed explanation. There were questions about expanding to additional detention centers. Commissioners also asked whether the project included a program description and specific tools for use in marketing or expanding the initiative. Commissioners asked about the cost per coaching or training and sustainability. Finally, members asked about evaluating the impact and suggested a group like Adler School of Professional Psychology might be able to help with evaluation. Executive Director Rob Vickery will request additional information to answer these questions.
   The committee also discussed the proposal from the Illinois Association of Juvenile Justice Councils. They applied for a local grant as part of the local SFY 2016 application process, but the application was not considered fully with the others as it was more of a statewide training and technical assistance project rather than a local juvenile justice council or program implementation. Their initial proposal focused on developing local approaches to address truancy. IJJC Chairman Timberlake noted that there have been changes in the organization and their board met on Monday. They will meet again in May and moving the application forward, but they are willing to shift their focus from truancy to diversion or other approaches. Is there something more we want to see from them? JJ councils require and analyzing the data. The committee discussed whether it should be determining a project's objectives, or whether applicants should develop their own proposals. The committee recommended that we request that the IAJJC a proposal to provide broad training and technical assistance to local juvenile councils.
5. JABG Expenditures Review
   Executive Director, Rob Vickery has spoken with every JABG provider that has spent under 50% of their grant funds. The group discussed options of pulling money from those agencies and dispensing to others to ensure funds are expended. The contract with AOIC is still inactive. Planning and Grants Chairman Jacobs asked about withdrawing our funding from them. To clarify, Rob explained that it is really not a withdrawal as they never accepted the contract. IJJC Executive Director, Rob Vickery will inquire with the DHS legal department to determine the best course of action. It was noted that most all other grantees will expend their funding. The potential lapse of funds is greatest with the Cook County and the Chicago contracts and could be as much as $330,000.
6. Title II Expenditures Review
   The group discussed expenditures for each contract, including payroll differences and issues with spending. ICJIA wanted to spend general revenue funds first and then federal money. The Department of Corrections did not spend their entire training budget last year.
   DMC Chairman, Karima Douglas believes the CASP grant money will be expended. There is a new judge in Peoria that is implementing a new court call for youth on probation attending school. If not, he is implementing sanctions and detention. It was determined the JDAI Committee would try to address this issue. IJJC Chairman Timberlake added that we should address this immediately. Chairman Jacobs stated that if they receive funding and are not engaged we will no longer assist them.
7. New Business
   The group discussed pending legislation and current bills, especially bills in reference to juvenile justice issues like JSO. Chairman Jacobs explained that they continue to roll out the study. Video Conferencing bill - IJJC Chairman Timberlake stated he thought this session was successful and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next session.
8. Adjournment
   Meeting was adjourned at 10:24am.