October 15, 2021 Redeploy Illinois Oversight Board Meeting

Audience

Redeploy Illinois Oversight Board Members and Staff. The public is welcome to attend.

Date/Time

Friday, October 15, 2021

9:30am to 11:30am

Location

Meetings are held via Zoom: https://goo-gl.ru.com/sV9

Agenda

1. Call to order/Roll call
2. DHS Updates
3. Approval of Minutes
   1. August 20, 2021 RIOB Meeting
4. FY22 Program and Expenditures updates
   1. Redeploy Program expenditures and commitments/number served
   2. ICOY activity update and expenditures
5. Madison County Commitments for FY21 - Penalty Discussion/Decision
6. Lake County Planning Grant Discussion/Decision
7. Redeploy Planning Grant Funding Notice Update
8. ORBIS Contract Update
9. Ad Hoc RIOB Data Workgroup Update
10. Ad Hoc RIOB Membership Work Group Update
11. Ad Hoc RIOB Communications Workgroup Update
12. RIOB Training Update
13. Adjourn

Upcoming meetings/events:

• Executive Committee Meeting: Friday, November 19th, 2021
• Full Board Meeting: Friday, December 17th, 2021

Minutes

1. Call to order/Roll call
   Anne Studzinski, Vice-Chair, called the meeting to order at 9:39am and invited Kristen Marshall to call roll. Secretary Grace Hou was absent from this meeting.
   Roll Call: Ryan Croke (representing of Secretary Grace Hou), MaryAnn Dyar (representing Delrice Adams), Janet Ahern, Honorable Walter Brandon, Betsy Clarke, Avik Das, Krish Mohip, Heidi Mueller, Peter Perry, John Johnson, John Rekowski, Anne Studzinski, Rick Velasquez, Paula Wolff
   Staff: Katy Culleeny, Maribel Gonzalez, Erica Hughes, Esther Kaplan, Kristen Marshall
   Guests: James Edwards, Garien Gatewood, Omar Jamil (representing Heidi Mueller), Luis Klein, Honorable Colleen Sheehan
2. DHS Updates
   Ryan Croke explained that Secretary Hou had been called by Governor Pritzker to support his staff during the maternity leave of Deputy Governor Sol Flores. He announced that DHS had established a Division of Early Childhood. Additionally, that the Governor had signed the Reimagine Public Safety Act and Chris Patterson was named DHS Assistant Secretary for Firearm Violence Prevention.
3. Approval of Minutes of 08/20/21 RIOB Meeting
   Ms. Studzinski called for a motion to approve the minutes from the August meeting. Paula Wolff moved approval with the correction of her attendance record. Judge Walter Brandon seconded the motion.
   The minutes were unanimously approved as amended with no abstentions.
4. FY22 Program and Expenditures updates
   1. Redeploy Program expenditures and commitments/number served
      Ms. Studzinski invited Erica Hughes to share updates. She reminded the members that projected costs exceeded the FY22 appropriation by approximately $300,000. She continued that if the planning grants do not use their full allotted amount, funds could be de-obligated and reallocated starting in the second quarter. In response to a question from Rick Velasquez, Ms. Hughes explained that most sites built their budgets based on the number of youths they hoped to serve. Sites that are currently underspending, they are working on increasing referrals. She assured the board that providers are aware that their spending is being followed closely. MaryAnn Dyar pointed out that the current workforce shortage could be a contributing factor to under-spending. Mr. Croke assured the Board that DHS is working to address this issue.
   2. ICOY activity update and expenditures
      Ms. Studzinski invited Katy Culleeny to share ICOY's updates. She told the members that the Redeploy website needs to be updated, with minimum spending projected to be anywhere between $6,000-$10,000. She said that ICOY will create a task list for the update, including analytics from the current website. She announced that CBAT-O assessments, which assess whether Redeploy sites and providers are trauma informed are underway. ICOY is working to adapt the CBAT-O to be more accommodating to the unique organizational structure of Redeploy sites.
5. Madison County Commitments for FY21 - Penalty Discussion/Decision
   Ms. Studzinski invited Ms. Hughes to remind members of the issues. Madison County exceeded their baseline (6) of commitments to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) by one, a violation of their agreement and jeopardizing their status as an established site. Madison County provided the board with detailed information on each minor that was committed to IDJJ. She laid out the following options for board action:
   (1) The Board could recognize that extenuating circumstances caused a higher level of commitment and Madison County can continue as an established site.
   (2) Although the county's commitments exceeded the baseline, they remain in line with their three-year average and the Board could determine that no corrective action is required.
   (3) The county could maintain their designation as an established site only after implementing a corrective action plan.
   Board members discussed the impact plea bargaining has on youth eligibility for Redeploy. In one of the cases in the Madison County data, a youth had originally been charged with an offense ineligible for Redeploy. As part of a plea agreement, the offense was reduced to a charge that was Redeploy eligible but the agreement still included commitment to IDJJ. John Rekowski explained the role and responsibilities of the defense bar in negotiating plea agreements. Board members agreed that they needed to further understand and discuss the impact of plea agreements on site compliance. During their discussion, Board members agreed that while the sites should know that this issue is serious, repercussions should not be overly punitive.
   Motion: Ms. Studzinski called for a motion to approve one of the proposed responses. Mr. Rekowski moved approval of option two, with the amendment that the Board expects Madison County to report back before the next RIOB meeting with suggested remediations and what progress has been made on those remediations. Judge Walter Brandon seconded the motion. No abstentions. No opposition. Motion carried.
6. Lake County Planning Grant Discussion/Decision
   Ms. Studzinski invited Ms. Marshall to review the Lake County application. Lake County proposed a purchase service model, serving 35 youth annually with a daily population of 15 to 20. They anticipated youth will spend 6-9 months in the program. Some of the county's referrals are coming from Face It, a residential treatment program for youth and families.
   Board members expressed concerns that youth residing in Cook County who committed offenses in Lake County were being committed to DJJ. They asked for assurances that youth from Cook County, prosecuted in Lake County would be eligible for and receive services as part of the Lake County Redeploy program. IDJJ Director Heidi Mueller clarified that youth from Cook County who are on probation must be monitored in Cook County, even if they are adjudicated in Lake County. In other words that once adjudicated, the case transfers back to the youth's county of residence. The Lake County proposal indicated that funds would not be spent on youth from other counties.
   Motion: Ms. Studzinski called for a motion to approve Lake County's application. Paula Wolff moved approval of the application with the condition that staff work with Lake and Cook Counties to clarify eligibility of Cook youth for the Lake County Redeploy program and that those counties will establish an agreement on who will count those youth. Betsy Clarke seconded the motion. No abstentions. No opposition. Motion carried.
7. Redeploy Planning Grant Funding Notice Update
   Ms. Studzinski asked Ms. Hughes to share updates. Both Peoria and Champaign County have submitted letters of intent and Peoria County has also drafted a budget. IDJJ Director Mueller requested a future conversation regarding Peoria County. Representative Gordon Booth is setting up a meeting with stakeholders in Lake County and Redeploy Illinois should be included in the conversation.
   Peter Perry provided updates from Cook County. Their data workgroup has amassed 250 social investigations of DJJ commitments from four courtrooms between 2017 and 2019, charting risk factors and strengths. University of Chicago's Crime Lab will review the data and make recommendations for appropriate services. A letter of intent is expected by November and action is expected by December.
   In response to a question, Erica Hughes shared Rock Island and Vermillion are the two remaining eligible counties. Board members expressed an interested in stakeholder outreach in those counties.
   Motion: Ms. Studzinski called for a motion to approve $25,000 for both Peoria and Champaign County. Paula Wolff moved approval. Heidi Mueller seconded the motion. No abstentions. No opposition. Motion carried.
8. ORBIS Contract Update
   Ms. Studzinski invited Ms. Marshall to provide updates. Ms. Marshall informed the Board that ORBIS had submitted a contract proposal to IDHS in the last week. This contract is being reviewed and IDHS will communicate with ORBIS regarding the contract.
9. Ad Hoc RIOB Data Workgroup Update
   Ms. Studzinski provided updates. The Data workgroup has undertaken adding detail to the positive youth outcomes in the Core Service Area Matrix. She said that service providers from both Redeploy and Comprehensive Community Based Youth Services (CCBYS) sites have joined the group to provide their perspective. Board members discussed how to best balance getting input from CCBYS providers without slowing down the process overall. Ms. Studzinski committed to working with DHS staff to determine how the ORBIS contract to assure that the detailed outcomes do not disrupt Orbis' work.
10. Ad Hoc RIOB Membership Workgroup Update
    Rick Velasquez shared that the group has discussed leveraging relationships in all jurisdictions to build membership on a broader basis when considering recommendations for appointments to the board by the Secretary. It was decided to reach out to the Secretary about this approach when she returns to IDHS.
11. Ad Hoc RIOB Communications Workgroup Update
    John Rekowski expressed interest in joining the group. He said that he had noticed a lack of success in selling Redeploy to the attorneys and judges at the consumer level.
12. RIOB Training Update
    The Board did not address this item.
13. Adjourn
    At 11:30 AM, Rick Velasquez moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried.