February 4, 2022 IJJC Compliance Committee Meeting

Audience

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

Date/Time

• February 4, 2022
• Time: 10:00am - 11:30am

Location

Video Conference Information:

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83084441474?pwd=RXJxSWFSVjN3S2p5NDdoaGh6SDkrUT09

Agenda

1. Welcome, Introductions & Roll Call
2. Overview of Compliance/Monitoring Requirements from OJJDP
3. Areas of Priority in Illinois
4. Strategies and Next Steps
5. New Business
6. Public Comment
7. Adjourn

Minutes

1. Welcome, Introductions & Roll Call
   Chairman Rick Velasquez called the meeting to order at 10 AM and invited Executive Director Andrea Hall to call roll.
   Roll Call: Demetrius Anderson (Romeoville Police Department), Julie Biehl (Northwestern University), Bob Bowen (Manager of Jail and Detention Standards Unit), Jason Hall (Chief Compliance Office, IL Department of Corrections), Lisa Jacobs (Loyola University), Tobara Richardson (Council to the Attorney General on Social Justice and Equity), Peg Robertson (CPRD), Honorable Stephen Sawyer, Rick Velasquez (IJJC), Richard Walsh (IJJC Compliance Monitor), Anita Weinberg (Loyola Child Law Center)
   Staff: Maribel Gonzalez, Esther Kaplan, Andrea Hall
   Guests: Hannah Amundsen (Loyola University)
   Motion: Andrea Hall called for a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting on December 8, 2021. Honorable Stephen Sawyer moved approval. Co-chair Lisa Jacobs seconded the motion. No abstentions. No opposition. Motion carried.
   Rick Velasquez recapped the committee's initial meeting in December, which served as an introduction to addressing the work that needs to be done in order to ensure compliance with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 (JJRA). The JJRA has produced new areas that each state must examine in terms of compliance. OJJDP released an annotated outline that explains how a new compliance manual should be established. The committee is partnering with Loyola University to examine the Commission's current manual.
2. Overview of Compliance/Monitoring Requirements from OJJDP
   Rick Velasquez invited Lisa Jacobs to begin this conversation. There are three issues for the state of Illinois to address before the beginning of June. OJJDP is requiring a completely new compliance manual from the Commission with new content and a new format. The Commission's monitoring universe has been expanded, which has led to changes in definitions and requirements to maintain compliance.
3. Areas of Priority in Illinois
   Lisa Jacobs shared information regarding the three issues that are priorities for the state of Illinois. Firstly, Illinois law precludes the holding of any juvenile in a DOC facility, but the Commission is now responsible for monitoring compliance with this. Secondly, OJJDP has expanded the definition of a jail or lockup to include court holding facilities. Two aspects of these court holding facilities must be monitored: the six-hour time limit for jail removal and Site and Sound Separation from adults in custody. Additionally, Scared Straight programming ordered by a court or as a condition of probation is now considered a Site and Sound violation of the JJDPA. The Commission must develop a strategy to monitor this in lockups, jails and prisons.
   Lastly, the state is currently facing the issue of noncompliance with jail removal, which is based on two factors. Firstly, OJJDP has heightened its standards and lowered the de minimis threshold. Secondly, there has been a shift in pattern and practice, particularly in Chicago where youth are being held for longer periods of time. Under federal statute, there is a six-hour limit for holding a youth in custody for identification, investigation and processing in an adult facility or any police lockup or jail. Illinois law permits longer holding periods, which may present challenges for re-establishing compliance. If the state is deemed out of compliance, Illinois faces a loss of federal funding.
   Lisa Jacobs opened the space for questions and concerns.
   In response to a question from Rick Velasquez about whether compliance with Site and Sound Separation and jail removal includes municipal courts, Lisa Jacobs shared that if a youth is in custody, it should be assumed that the youth is within the Commission's purview. Court holding facilities likely require collaboration with the judiciary branch, sheriffs who maintain court security, probation departments, and detention centers. In relation to Scared Straight programming in St. Clair County, Andrea Hall shared that she reached out to their State's Attorney's office and the Deputy Sherriff who both confirmed that the program has been halted throughout the pandemic but may return in the future. Bob Bowen will reach out to the jail administrator of St. Clair County to follow up on this. In response to a question from Judge Sawyer, Andrea Hall confirmed that the Commission is responsible for educating counties on the counter-productiveness of this type of programming.
   Rick Velasquez shared that the state of Illinois has had compliance issues on jail removal for almost two years. In response to a question about the data available for these violations, Lisa Jacobs confirmed that the Loyola team has the data for 2021, but not for 2020. Bob Bowen expressed the need for ongoing education in smaller communities surrounding policy expectations. Lisa Jacobs agreed that with collaboration and partnership, the Commission can help to bridge the gap between state and federal law. A draft of the data analysis that the Loyola team is working on indicates that fifty to seventy percent of Illinois' jail removal violations for fiscal year 2021 are from Chicago. Rick Velasquez clarified that most of the violations were for youth waiting to be released from detention, which has been a trend in many large urban areas. In response to a question from Bob Bowen about whether these delays have to do with a lack of staffing in county jails and detention centers due to COVID-19, Demetrius Anderson shared that youth are sometimes waiting for longer periods due to how busy facilities get on the weekends.
   Rick Velasquez asked for clarification on how data is collected for youth being held. Bob Bowen explained that typically, the inspector visits a facility with the instrument that covers all questions that will be asked. A copy of the answers gets returned to the Jail and Detention Standards Units and a copy goes to Richard Walsh. Richard Walsh expressed concern with the capacity required to inspect at least eighty-five percent of facilities. He clarified that the monitoring universe must be re-defined every year, with an exemption for fiscal year 2020 due to COVID-19. Over the years, the compliance team has physically visited every facility throughout the state. For facilities that are not considered to be locked, the team must return every three years to make sure nothing has changed. However, only the Department of Corrections has the authority to inspect a police facility or jail.
4. Strategies and Next Steps
   Lisa Jacobs moved the conversation towards establishing the next steps and assigning committee members to focus areas. The first group will focus on the research required to build a new manual that complies with OJJDP's template. This research will involve the comparison of statutory definitions, as well as legal research. The second group will focus on jail removal noncompliance. Through examining the data from 2020 to 2022 that was provided to the Loyola team, this group will develop strategies around education and collaboration to bring the state back into compliance. The third group will focus on court holding facilities and Scared Straight programming. The fourth and final group will focus on monitoring strategies related to the expansion of definitions and the intricacies of these definitions that will expand the state's monitoring responsibilities. Each workgroup should examine what OJJDP has put in writing.
   Groups should plan to report back to the committee on these efforts at the April meeting.
5. New Business
   Rick Velasquez invited the committee to share new business updates. Bob Bowen shared that the Illinois Sherriff Association is hosting a conference in the Spring, as well as a Youth Officers Conference in June. Both of these could be great opportunities for the Commission to provide education and training surrounding compliance.
6. Public Comment
   No public comment.
7. Adjourn
   Rick Velasquez moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:30 AM. Motion carried.