October 18, 2017 Planning and Grants Committee Meeting

Audience

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

Date/Time

October 18 2017, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Location

• 401 S Clinton
  2nd Floor
  Chicago, IL
• 823 E Monroe
  Springfield, IL
• Call in: 888-494-4032 Code: 5329547331#

Agenda

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Minutes
4. Fiscal Updates
   1. YTD FY18 Spending
   2. Travel Reimbursement
5. Program Updates
   1. DMC
      1. Committee Update
      2. Redeploy/IJJC Collaboration
      3. DMC Training and Technical Assistance
   2. JDAI
   3. JJ Councils
   4. Compliance Monitoring
6. Project Updates
   1. Training and Technical Assistance to JJ Councils
   2. Transfer Data Reporting
   3. Girls Grant (Adolescent Domestic Battery Model Arrest Protocol)
7. New Business
   1. IJOA Conference
   2. DHS New Hire
   3. Board Members
   4. Three Year Plan/28 assurances
8. Legislative Updates
9. Public Comment
10. Next Meeting
    November 8, 2017
11. Adjourn

Minutes

1. Call to Order
   Meeting was called to order at 9:12 AM.
2. Roll Call
   Committee Members: Chairperson George Timberlake, Commissioners Lisa Jacobs, George Hill, Julie Biehl, Rick Velasquez. Quorum present. Staff: Wendy Nussbaum, Julie Stremlau, and Edna Metcalf Guests: Olivia Wilks and Danielle Kindle.
3. Approval of Minutes
   Executive Committee minutes will be reviewed at the next full Commission meeting. Lisa Jacobs motioned to approve the September 19th Planning and Grants Committee minutes. Chairperson Timberlake seconded the motion. All in favor, minutes approved.
4. Fiscal Updates
   1. YTD FY18 Spending
      Wendy Nussbaum reported that there have been some additions to the FY18 YTD Spending since the document was sent out Friday. Specifically, CPRD submitted their EDF, but this does not impact anything because it has already been obligated. Kane County and Lurie Children's hospital did not report, so this will be checked into. Commissioner Velasquez reported that activity is underway with reporting, but there has been some delay in submitting some of the invoices.
      Commissioner Jacobs reported that DJJ has attained Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) compliance. Commissioner Jacobs reported that DJJ's PREA compliance officer is also the detention monitor, which creates opportunities to monitor PREA compliance efforts in detention centers as well. Commissioner Jacobs also reported that DJJ's PREA compliance standards and processes are proving useful in the efforts to update detention standards, including incorporation of protections for LGBTQ youth and training staff on PREA provisions.
      Commissioner Velasquez asked if there are other reports other than financial invoices. Wendy Nussbaum stated that they are required to also submit quarterly reports. From a fiscal perspective, the concern is that, without more reports, the narrative about what is actually taking place is not evident. It is not necessary for these reports to be extensive, but they must keep the committee informed. Wendy Nussbaum believes that the state has also instituted programmatic monitoring. This will also provide additional requests for what the commission wants to know.
      Commissioner Jacobs discussed the importance of projecting forward to 2018 for the commission's JJ award. Wendy Nussbaum stated that these projections change on a daily basis. The 2012 and 2013 JABG funds have been fully expended, though the balance sheet indicates a small amount of funding ($6,000) which DHS will allocate among existing approved contracts. Wendy Nussbaum explained that the Title II data goes from 2013 to 2016, thus appearing to have a two-year gap. She believes that this is because 2013 is a federal fiscal year, and 2016 started going by state fiscal year and is thus equivalent to the 2015 federal fiscal year. The 2016 Title II has about $48K left in it which, is already allocated to state expenses and thus cannot be spent without verification. 10% is going towards planning and administration and an additional 10% is going towards the state. This is a hard cap at 10%, so Wendy Nussbaum stated that she needs to go back and determine why this is data does not reflect this.
      Wendy Nussbaum reported that the 2017 FY includes, under the current amount obligated, FY18's contracts, leaving an unobligated balance of $314K. Wendy Nussbaum reported that she believes some of this money was spent prior to this fiscal year. Thus, what is actually left is $300K of unobligated funds. Wendy Nussbaum added that the actual amount of unobligated funds is about $10K less, taking the revised EDF and Chairperson Timberlake's travel expenses into account. Chairperson Timberlake asked if the commission is in a position to start talking about how to obligate those funds. Wendy reported that the commission typically would not spend that money until the next fiscal year. Commissioner Jacobs recommended that the commission start thinking about SFY 2019 awards that are effective July 1st (NOFO). Wendy Nussbaum explained that it will be necessary to do the same NOFO process and thus figure out our funding priorities. There are two factors to consider: the 3-year plan will be due in same time period and there will be a financial audit in December. Wendy reminded the group of the JJDPA requirements to expend 66.6% of the federal funds on local entities and activities. Chairperson Timberlake recommended looking forward to how to present at the next meeting on November 15th, with this and normal business taking up the entirety of the meeting. Commissioner Nussbaum summarized that there are three key pieces: identifying priorities for FY19 (timeline unknown, but predicting January or February), audit, and preparation of 3-year plan.
      Commissioner Velasquez asked how much adjustment the commission would have to make. Commissioner Jacobs stated that part of Illinois' challenge is that there are contracts with CPRD to operate the statewide detention data system, contracts with ICOY, and a contract for around $200,000with DOC to do monitoring. These contracts support local data collection, JJDPA compliance monitoring and policy development, but do not take the form of direct grants to local entities. Thus, the JJDPA is complying in that it is not funding state operations with these funds, but we are also not directly funding local units of government or nonprofits. She stated that, in preparation for the audit, the commission needs to be helpful to DHS in understanding why decisions were made and how the relationship with the University of Illinois functions to provide them with direct technical assistance and receive data in return.
   2. Travel Reimbursement
      Wendy Nussbaum reported that the commissioners' travel was not included in the first ICOY budget. DHS did not provide the capacity to attach the budget and ICOY does not have a new contract yet due to the internal DHS policy. This current week is the week that this was to be corrected to take care of FY18 expenses. FY17 expenses will have to be discussed offline between Wendy Nussbaum and Chairperson Timberlake.
5. Program Updates
   1. DMC
      1. Committee Update
      2. Redeploy/IJJC Collaboration
      3. DMC Training and Technical Assistance - meeting on Thursday for informal meeting to get basic advice. Also put in formal request directly through OJJDP with timeline indicated for site visits within the next few months (thus needing ASAP). Narrative has changed regarding disproportionality (more positive with less recognition of DMC still existing). Training was chosen not to do due to expense.
         Olivia Wilks reported that the DMC Committee has submitted a FOIA request to take a closer look at the contract between CPS and CPD and based on that information will tailor a meeting with CPS to discuss the recommendations put forth by community members during the July Forum. Olivia Wilks also reported that she reached out to officer Wesley from Bridging the Divide, regarding a potential partnership going forward. Olivia Wilks will keep everyone in the commission updated on that project.
         Olivia Wilks indicated that ICOY put in a formal request for technical assistance for OJJDP. In building data capacity around DMC compliance, Olivia Wilks reported that ICOY has reached out to solutions specialists.
         Olivia Wilks reported that she has been familiarizing herself with work surrounding a statewide DMC focus. She highlighted the importance of building data at the local level as well as education regarding DMC. Olivia also indicated that we will continue to work in the assessment phase of the DMC reduction model as we have a 3 reliable data points that will allow us to take a closer look on the local level to determine why DMC is occurring.
         Olivia briefly discussed the efforts she and Redeploy staff have been taking to build collaboration. Olivia indicated she has been attending Redeploy data work groups which has been discussing Redeploy eligibility and general site support. Olivia reported on her participation in Redeploy site visits to Peoria and Macon County and reported the value in visiting to better understand the varied data collection capacities of each site, but also to learn more about the profound impact of the budget impasse on localities. Olivia Wilks indicated that Redeploy has asked each site to put together a DMC plan by the end of the year. Olivia suggested that she and Redeploy would like to create a newsletter that highlighted local successes of both JJ councils and Redeploy sites to build collaboration, highlighting best practices, and potentially softening folks to engagement.
         Commissioner Jacobs inquired what overlap exists between JJ Councils and Redeploy sites. The Commission discussed that DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, and Morgan are not Redeploy sites while St. Clair and Wabash are. Wendy Nussbaum asked if anyone had ideas about how to build a coordinated effort. Commissioner Jacobs reported that they attempted to do a similar thing in JJ Councils, but it did not happen because sites struggled. She stated that it is important to see how it unfolds with direct supports. Olivia Wilks recommended presenting the data to councils and asking for insight, and then creating an implementation plan from there. Chairperson Timberlake reported that a statewide assessment in was done in 2014, so there is a body of information that can be used.
         Commissioner Jacobs reported that trying various strategies has continued to demonstrate and confirm the following: it is very difficult for sites as a group to have a political will; for various reasons, sites struggle to gather their own data, somewhat due to political will and somewhat due to capacity; even when sites have their own data, they struggle with diagnosing the problem; we have not even reached the third step of designing solutions to address what has been diagnosed. Commissioner Hill reported that the DMC issue in Macon is the fact that school districts expel and suspend black kids from school districts and they never come back.
         Commissioner Jacobs stated that today's description is the modern DMC story, which has changed from past DMC issues and approaches. In the past, DMC addressed age cutoffs, automatic transfers, etc. Thus, it is important to think of lessons and past vs. present theory of change. Otherwise, it is difficult to see the results. Chairperson Timberlake agreed and suggested to be concrete with sites and have a conversation around schools and policing and how they affect disproportionality. It was once thought that Zone 5 (a predominantly black area where a lot of policing was happening) had the most arrests and most crime until research was done and found the most crime to be in Zone 4 (a predominantly white area). Now, it's at the point where a solution must be found. Commissioner Jacobs added that it is important to acknowledge things that have been done, like with expungement, while also recognizing that there are still inequities.
   2. JDAI
   3. JJ Councils
   4. Compliance Monitoring
      Olivia Wilks reported that jail removal violation is the most vulnerable spot in regard to compliance monitoring. She stated that the projected FY17 number of jail removal violations may be more than 282, the FY16 allowable number. However, OJJDP has yet to release the de minimis for FY17 so it is a challenge to know if we are in compliance. She added that there will be more visits to high violation sites (November 5th/6th), which sometimes leads to a decrease in numbers. Olivia Wilks added that some data (i.e. September) is missing. The Committee had a brief discussion about increases in violations and potential rationales. Commissioner Jacobs indicated that 17-year-olds with felonies are the most likely to be held in jail longer than the permitted period. Commissioner Jacobs indicated that de minimis numbers are calculated at end of year based on statistical analysis of population, geography, caseloads, and number of violations the previous year.
6. Project Updates
   1. Training and Technical Assistance to JJ Councils
   2. Transfer Data Reporting
      Susan Witkin reported that she is collecting data around transfer of youth and currently has about 18 months of reports and questions about the accuracy of this data, particularly from Cook. Ready to do quality assurance process. Wendy Nussbaum reported that she is sending data that has already been reported back out to confirm it, which will then allow for the development of a public report to county legislatures and subsequently the general public. Also significant are OJJDP and DMC compliance; data for determining this will be available this time. Commissioner Jacobs reported that the biggest challenge is grappling with the fact that we have very small numbers and thus must give good information while also protecting youth confidentiality. Chairperson Timberlake added that the research protocol is that if it is possible to identify human subjects from other information, it cannot be done that way.
   3. Girls Grant (Adolescent Domestic Battery Model Arrest Protocol)
      Commissioner Jacobs reported that there are three subcommittees: system mapping around each key decision point, with special attention given to how domestic battery is defined in law and how this affects the defining of protocols; systemic responses once a child is in the JJ system; and clinical interventions.
7. New Business
   1. IJOA Conference
      Commissioner Velasquez reported that he spoke with a TA person in Oklahoma regarding concerns in doing this type of conference. He felt it would be informative to do something related to an introduction to problematic sexual behavior. Specifically, Commissioner Velasquez highlighted the importance of being aware of language, shifting dialogue from "juvenile sex offenders" to setting groundwork for police and law enforcement to have an understanding for what is emerging. It is important to be able to identify the elements or conditions that can be effective service response for many families and thus seek out services even without specialty of an intensive treatment model. Commissioner Jacobs suggested that, especially for police officers, it is important to have an understanding of how Illinois' system is set up; they need to see how misaligned our justice system is with approaches that have been demonstrated to protect victims and families and improve youth outcomes. Chairperson Timberlake highlighted that a hidden asset is Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) because they must work with police agencies. The danger is that they are each unique and it depends upon who is the director in each of those. When a case is presented and there is no allegation against a caregiver, DCFSis not required to respond so there may be no response for these families because they fit neither the prosecution nor child welfare path. Thus, it can be helpful to engage CACs and law enforcement.
      Wendy Nussbaum stated that she will determine the title and structure (breakouts vs. plenary) of the session for the conference in June. The slot for the session will be 3:30-5:00 p.m., which is the last slot of the day, on the Wednesday of the conference. IJJC panel presentation. Wendy Nussbaum reported that they are willing to accept this without funding. She added that they are a nonprofit, so falls within 66 and two thirds percent of assurances.
   2. DHS New Hire
      Edna Metcalf introduced herself and stated that her current focus is on understanding the underlying issues of violent encounters with young African American men and the police.
   3. Board Members
      Commissioner Jacobs reported that Commission membership is in compliance. The OJJDP grant is contingent upon having the appropriate board members. The police member has not been present for years. The Board requires at least two more juvenile youth members in addition to the current two. The governor's office has received applications from both youth and adults, but there has not been any movement. There are existing members that are due for updates, which are not happening. The goal is to fill those youth spots as soon as possible. However, while participation could be improved, the quality of members is positive.
   4. Three Year Plan/28 assurances
8. Legislative Updates
9. Public Comment
10. Next Meeting
    November 8, 2018
11. Adjourn
    Commissioner Jacobs made a motion to adjourn. Chairperson Timberlake seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 11:08am.