January 19, 2022 Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission Meeting

Audience

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

Date/Time

January 19, 2022, 10:30am

Location

Virtual/401 S Clinton

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84576815258?pwd=RUpuMnNXTWdoUFJCa3plc08zSnBWZz09 

Agenda

1. Welcome & Roll Call
2. Approval of October 20, 2021 meeting minutes
3. Executive Director Report
   1. Financial Report
   2. Administration Updates
4. Committee and Work Group Status Updates
   1. Executive
      1. Action Item: Vote to approve IJOA grant proposal
   2. Youth Engagement
      1. Introduction and Youth Advisory Board Update
      2. YAB Partner, Joshua Brooks, Adler University
   3. Illinois Racial Justice & Equity Committee
   4. Planning & Grants
   5. Compliance Committee
5. New Business
6. Public Comment
7. Adjourn

Minutes

1. Welcome & Roll Call
   Chairman Rick Velasquez called the meeting to order at 10:35 AM. Executive Director Andrea Hall began roll call.
   Roll Call: Julie Biehl, Jacqueline Bullard, Savannah Felix (joined late), Jelani Floyd, Esther Franco Payne, Arnetra Jackson (left at 11AM), Lisa Jacobs, Amanda Klonsky (left at 11AM), Era Laudermilk (joined late), Michelle Mbekeani, Briana Payton, Honorable Ben Roe, Keyria Rogers, Honorable Stephen Sawyer, Rick Velasquez.
   Staff: Maribel Gonzalez, Andrea Hall, Esther Kaplan.
   Guests: Joshua Brooks, Karima Douglas, Ebonie Epinger, Cliff Nellis, Reg Robertson, Saranya Tonmat.
2. Approval of October 20, 2021 meeting minutes
   Motion: Rick Velasquez called for a motion to approve the meeting minutes from October 20, 2021. Michelle Mbekeani moved approval of the minutes. Honorable Stephen Sawyer seconded the motion. Motion carried. No abstentions. No opposition.
3. Executive Director Report
   Rick Velasquez invited Andrea Hall to share updates.
   1. Financial Report
      Andrea Hall shared that the financial report is formatted differently this year due to the large amount of grantees. The Commission allocated $1.6 million in grant funding this year and spending is currently down, at $345,000. When grantees have spent 1% or less of their funds, there is usually an issue occurring that is causing the work to be stalled. Alternatively, when spending is down for new grantees, they may still be planning and implementing their program. Staff changes have also impacted funding. All payments to grantees should be up-to-date. In response to a question from Rick Velasquez about ICOY's additional funds, Andrea Hall explained that this will be reflected in the January or February budget due to IDHS delays.
   2. Administration Updates
      Andrea Hall shared that OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) is asking all states to revise their compliance manuals. The Commission's manual is nearly 20 years old and will be revised over the next three months. Once this is complete, the Commission will get the Title II allocation for FY21 from OJJDP. Rick Velasquez added that this allocation will not impact the current revenue that the Commission has available for FY20. If the Commission is penalized for violations to compliance, there is flexibility within the budget, but it will be important to be strategic about these funds.
      Andrea Hall encouraged Commissioners to take a look at upcoming trainings and conferences, specifically the CJJ conference which will include a lobbying day in Washington, D.C. Commissioners are encouraged to submit proposals for the conference and should notify the co-chairs with intent to present. Additionally, Commissioners serving a one or two year term should be expecting to hear from the Lieutenant Governor's office about reappointments. Andrea Hall also shared that 90% of Commissioners have completed the state mandated trainings.
4. Committee and Work Group Status Updates
   1. Executive
      1. Action Item: Vote to approve IJOA grant proposal
         Rick Velasquez shared that the Executive Committee's most recent meeting was January 12th. The Commission received a grant request from the Illinois Juvenile Officers Association. Rick Velasquez invited Andrea Hall to share the conditions of the grant.
         The Illinois Juvenile Officers Association and the Illinois DARE Association partner with each other every year to provide quality training for law enforcement, probation, schools, and social service agencies. They are requesting $5,500 to bring in speakers and trainers for their annual conference. The Commission's money will go towards speaker fees, supplies and any printing costs. The Commission will get the chance to start off the conference with an hour long presentation. This funding opportunity will give the Commission the chance to explore better collaborations with local police and service providers surrounding the issues of deflection and diversion.
         Motion: Rick Velasquez called for a motion to approve a $5,500 grant to the Illinois Juvenile Officers Association for their annual conference in Spring 2022. Judge Stephen Sawyer moved approval. Keyria Rogers seconded. Motion carried with one abstention.
   2. Youth Engagement
      1. Introduction and Youth Advisory Board Update
         Rick Velasquez invited committee Co-chair Briana Payton to share updates. Since last year, the Youth Engagement Committee has been planning for the launch of a Youth Advisory Board (YAB). The goal of the YAB is to bring the voices of youth, especially the voices of directly impacted youth into the Commission's work. The committee knew that in order for the YAB to be sustainable, it would be crucial to work with a community partner. Joshua Brooks from Adler University was selected to facilitate the YAB. There have been three meetings so far. Briana Payton invited Joshua Brooks to introduce himself.
      2. YAB Partner, Joshua Brooks, Adler University
         Joshua Brooks shared that young people have been involved in every step of the process of establishing the YAB. A young person from the Restorative Justice Hub meeting circle helped to establish rules and guidelines for the Board, which will be revisited monthly. Right now, the Board is focusing on building relationships with each other, discussing the Commission and the Juvenile Justice system, and introducing the values of restorative justice. The YAB is made up of a spectrum of young people from various circumstances, including young people that have been directly impacted by the Juvenile Justice system. The young people on the YAB are excited to engage with Commissioners.
         Briana Payton shared a survey for Commissioners to indicate interest in working with the YAB.
         Rick Velasquez invited Julie Biehl to share an update related to collaboration with the YAB. Julie Biehl brought the work of the Illinois Blueprint for Peace Coalition to Commissioners' attention and shared aspirations of a youth cohort. There will be a state-wide art exhibition led by youth surrounding the topics of guns and safety, which could serve as an opportunity for some sort of collaboration between the Coalition and the YAB.
   3. Illinois Racial Justice & Equity Committee
      Rick Velasquez invited committee Co-chair Michelle Mbekeani to share updates. The last meeting was October 27th, 2021. At this meeting, it was decided that the committee's new name will be the Illinois Racial Justice and Equity Committee. The committee decided not to meet in November or December to allow the Qualitative and Quantitative workgroups to meet individually. Last February, new co-chairs were welcomed into the committee, along with over 10 new external partners. CCAS with OJJDP has been providing training and technical assistance to improve our data collection process.
      Rick Velasquez invited Andrea Hall to share more committee updates. Andrea Hall shared that the committee has been working with ICJIA to create one-pagers of the 2019 Racial and Ethnic Disparities data. This data is used to submit the Commission's Racial and Ethnic Disparities plan to OJJDP. The one-pagers will be created by ICJIA for each county that submitted their 2019 data. ICJIA will host a webinar with a breakdown of each county's data and the Commission may supplement with a more in-depth presentation. The Commission Co-chairs will create a letter that will go out to all participating counties thanking them for submitting their data. The goal is to move towards publishing more broadly distributed and annualized reports.
      Co-chair Lisa Jacobs shared that the Commission received a request from the Illinois Office of the Supreme Court to provide Racial and Ethnic Disparities detention data for their Biennial Juvenile Justice Conference. The conference this year will focus on Racial and Ethnic Disparities and what the judicial branch can be doing to address those disparities. CPRD is working on fulfilling their request for data.
   4. Planning & Grants

      Rick Velasquez invited Lisa Jacobs to share updates. The committee is currently focusing on what can be learned from site visits, what site visits reveal about the impact of funding strategies, and possible policy implications. If Commissioners have not yet signed up for a site visit, they are encouraged to do so, especially for site visits in Central and Southern Illinois. The committee is beginning to think about funding strategies for the next fiscal year and is taking into account the state procurement code which the Commission is mandated to follow. Lisa Jacobs invited Andrea Hall to share more about IDHA funding processes this year.

      Andrea Hall shared that last year, all of the Commission's grants were shared competitively through NOFOs (Notice of Funding Opportunity). The NOFO included an option for renewal for two consecutive years, although grant renewals are not automatic. The committee will read all grantees' executive summaries and grantees will update the Commission on their progress and goals. It is important to be strategic about renewals due to the fact that funding could be impacted for FY24 if the Commission is deemed out of compliance.

   5. Compliance Committee
      Rick Velasquez invited Andrea Hall to share updates. The committee's first meeting was in December 2021 and its first job is to edit the compliance manual by June 2022. The committee is looking at the three areas of compliance outside of Racial and Ethnic Disparities, including Jail Removal, Site & Sound, and Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders. Committee members are made up of a combination of Commissioners and external partners, including AOIC, IDOC and the Attorney General's Office. The next meeting will be in February 2022.
5. New Business
   Rick Velasquez invited Commissioners to share any announcements.
   Julie Biehl shared that there was a report produced for the Commission on Sexual Offender Behavior in 2014. A summit was hosted in the last two years to raise awareness about the fact that the sex offender registry still exists for juveniles in Illinois, but there has not been any movement on this issue. The Commission on Sexual Offender Behavior was recently renewed, with involvement from Kadeem Bennett from the ACLU, and the group is now meeting as a coalition. The coalition's strategy for 2020 is to have one-on-one meetings with legislators to provide education on the research regarding the lack of public safety that the registry provides. As of today, none of the 100 young people that were previously removed from the registry have sexually reoffended. Commissioners are welcome to join in on this effort.
   Michelle Mbekeani invited Commissioners to an event on January 20th which will explore the intersection of the criminal justice system and the education system. On the discussion panel with Michelle Mbekeani is the Chicago Teacher's Union Vice President, students, professors, the founder of Every Black Girl, and Dana Butler from the Illinois Principal's Association.
   Andrea Hall shared that the Commission has a new website. Maribel Gonzalez and Andrea Hall will be reaching out to Commissioners for headshots for the website, although this is not a requirement.
   Savannah Felix shared that she has accepted a new position with the Office of Public Defenders and will serve as the Director of Legislative Affairs focusing on Juvenile Justice.
   Honorable Ben Roe shared that he was appointed as the Chairperson of the Supreme Court Committee for Juvenile Courts. The committee is very active.
   Jacqueline Bullard shared that JDRC is partnering with Equip for Equality for a defender training on school related offenses in February. There will be laminated information cards that will eventually be sent out to 600 defense attorneys across Illinois.
   Karima Douglas, with the Department of Juvenile Justice, introduced herself and wants to get up to date with the Commission's work.
   Cliff Nellis, the Founder and Executive Director of the Lawndale Christian Legal Center, introduced himself. He shared that the westside community center focuses on representing people who are under twenty-five and are accused of committing a crime. In 2021, the center launched a project called Justice Rising and expanded into three new communities on the westside. The organization prioritizes being community-led and community-based. Justice Rising aims to implement a holistic model of representation into these communities through case management, outreach, and wraparound supports that meet the legal and social needs of the young people being represented. Nellis hopes to return to a Commission meeting to provide a fuller presentation on the mission of Justice Rising.
6. Public Comment
   There was no public comment.
7. Adjourn
   Rick Velasquez motioned to adjourn the meeting at 11:59 AM. Jacqueline Bullard moved approval. Lisa Jacobs seconded. Motion carried.