January 26, 2022 Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission IL Racial Justice and Equity Committee Meeting

Audience

Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission IL Racial Justice & Equity Committee Members and Staff. The public is welcome to attend.

Date/Time

January 26, 2022

2:30pm -4:00pm

Location

Virtual/401 S Clinton
Join Zoom Meeting: 

https://zoom.us/j/94126531534?pwd=anhkOVdpZlZKaDh5NFRzMWRycGNOUT09

Agenda

  1. Welcome & Roll Call
  2. Approval of Minutes
    October 27, 2021 meeting minutes
  3. Review Group Norms
  4. Recap and Recharge
  5. Workgroup Report Out and Next Steps
    1. Quantitative
    2. Qualitative
  6. New Business
  7. Public Comment
  8. Adjourn

Minutes

  1. Welcome & Roll Call
    Executive Director Andrea Hall called the meeting to order at 2:30pm and invited Maribel Gonzalez to call roll.
    Roll Call: Jacqueline Bullard, Ebonie Epinger, Haley Hopkins, Omar Jamil, Era Laudermilk, Karen Levi, Korynna Lopez, Jourdan Martinez, Tamela Meehan, Peg Robertson, Julia Schick, Tashiana Stafford, Tamara Vaughn-Walker, Dana Weiner.
    Staff: Maribel Gonzalez, Andrea Hall, Esther Kaplan, Moises Prospero.
    Guests: Colton Currah.
    Andrea Hall welcomed Julia Schick as the committee's new Co-chair.
  2. Approval of October 27, 2021 meeting minutes
    The Committee unanimously approved the minutes but there was no roll call. This will be revisited at the next committee meeting.
  3. Review Group Norms
    Andrea Hall invited Co-chair Julia Schick to review the group norms. No updates were made.
  4. Recap and Recharge
    Julia Schick invited Andrea Hall to share reflections on the committee's work throughout 2021. In 2021, the committee created and submitted a Racial and Ethnic Disparities plan for the next three years to OJJDP, updated its name, and welcomed ten new external stakeholders.
    Andrea Hall asked the group to reflect on what has worked well throughout 2021. Committee members shared a variety of successes including the opportunity to expand the committee's effectiveness with new external stakeholders; the inclusion of statewide perspectives in meetings; fruitful discussions around data; education opportunities for members; and the thoughtfulness that members have brought to discussions.
    In terms of opportunities for growth, committee members shared a variety of reflections including the implementation of presentations for Juvenile Justice Councils across the state; development of strategies to address disparities that the group has already identified; and getting those who are resistant to the committee's work involved. Jacqueline Bullard shared information on the Juvenile Defender Resource Center, which is an approved CLE provider for attorneys. JDRC can provide free training and CLE to attorneys and other stakeholders with continuing education credits.
    In the coming year, members shared that they hope to create a timeline of speakers that will present on varying topics, provide a Racial Equity Impact Assessment training in March, implement more education around the decision points, and solidify an agenda for the year that incorporates OJJDP requirements. Peg Robertson suggested that the committee consider creating a framework for technical assistance offered to counties. The committee will have a conversation with CCAS about offering additional support with the Juvenile Justice Council guidebook.
    In terms of what committee members feel excited about for the coming year, members are looking forward to sending out one-pagers with 2019 data to counties, spreading knowledge gained in the committee to other spaces, and Juvenile Justice Council Coordinators getting the chance to share what is being done in their communities.
    Committee members are committed to doing whatever it takes to address disparities throughout the state of Illinois. Andrea Hall asked committee members to reach out to her if they have any more feedback for the coming year.
  5. Workgroup Report Out and Next Steps
    Andrea Hall invited the workgroups to share what they have each been working on in their last three meetings.
    1. Quantitative
      Peg Robertson shared that the quantitative workgroup is currently examining the 2019 data submitted by sixty-two counties. ICIJIA is creating one-page summaries of the data, including numbers and percentages, which will be sent out in the next couple of months. This will ensure that it is simple for counties to look at their youth population with racial and ethnic breakdowns at the five decision points. ICIJIA will not be providing analysis of the data, but will provide an overview of what the data represents through a brief PowerPoint. In relation to this, the Commission will draft a letter to be sent out with the one-pagers offering technical assistance with the data findings. Next year, the decision points and diversion data will be collected through the Administrative Office of the Court (AOIC). In the future, the workgroup plans to have this data published and transparent.
      Peg Robertson opened the space for questions. In response to a question from Julia Schick about providing education resources for stakeholders with biases, Dana Weiner suggested developing talking points for counties that could help to ease their discussions. Julie Biehl proposed hosting a Zoom event where stakeholders and counties can receive a uniform message about how to interpret and discuss the one-pagers. Moises Prospero from CCAS will follow up on a question posed by Peg Robertson about how disparity and disproportionality indexes are impacted if all youth sent through the system in a county are not white.
    2. Qualitative
      Jourdan Martinez shared the qualitative workgroup updates. In the group's December meeting, members were assigned specific counties to examine best practices and policies surrounding Racial and Ethnic Disparities. The group created a Google document where members can share their findings around target issues, decision points, actions, outcomes, and barriers. The workgroup will follow up on everyone's findings at the next meeting. The qualitative workgroup will be helpful in guiding counties in their next steps after receiving one-pagers with 2019 data.
      The workgroup includes a handful of Chicago United for Equity (CUE) fellows who are working on the Racial Equity Impact Analysis (REIA). The REIA is a set of questions that looks at the benefits and burdens of all best practices, which help to hold counties accountable. Over the next month, these fellows will be developing a training for the whole committee to be shared in March.
  6. New Business
    Julia Schick introduced a discussion on meeting structure for the committee for the coming year. Through a poll, members voted to have full committee meetings on a monthly basis, with workgroup meetings as needed. Workgroup meetings will be scheduled through Doodle polls.
  7. Public Comment
    Andrea Hall announced IDHS funding for Firearm Violence Prevention. Committee members should check the IDHS and ICJIA websites for funding opportunities.
  8. Adjourn
    Julia Schick called for a motion to adjourn at 1:26pm.