August 18, 2016 JDAI Committee Meeting

Audience

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

Date/Time

August 18, 2016
9:30a.m. to 11:00a.m.

Location

401 S Clinton
5th Floor, OIG Conference Room
Chicago, IL
523 E Monroe
Springfield, IL
Call in: 888-494-4032
Code: 5329547331#

Agenda

Call to Order
Roll Call
Approval of Minutes
Chair's Comments
Detention/Detention Alternatives
1. Project Updates
2. Data Reports
Uniform Detention Risk Screening Instrument
JDAI State Leadership Team Memorandum of Understanding
Development of Work Plan for Statewide Expansion
JDAI National Inter-Site Conference
Next Meeting
September 6, 2016
New Business
Adjourn

Minutes

Call to Order
Meeting was called to order at 9:32am.
Roll Call
Chairman Rick Velasquez, Honorable Ben Roe, Jacqueline Bullard and Rodney Ahitow. Quorum present. Staff: Julie Stremlau, Karima Douglas and Angelica Jimenez. Guests: Stephanie Vetter, Peg Robertson, Kristen Garfield-Gentile, Tamela Meehan and Susan Witkin.
Approval of Minutes
Commissioner Ahitow motioned to approve the minutes from the May 23, 2016 meeting. Commissioner Bullard seconded the motion. Minutes from May 23, 2016 meeting approved.
Chair's Comments
Detention/Detention Alternatives
1. Project Updates-Karima Douglas, DMC Coordinator, noted that as a result of the state budget impasse, much of the JDAI work done by the sites has been put on hold. Chairman Velasquez informed committee members that IDHS is going through a process of de-obligating contracts with counties and providers and initiated the contracting process all over again. IDHS is notifying grantees that they should expect payments but have not received a specific timeframe. It remains uncertain the amount grantees should receive and whether it will be enough to cover grantees for fiscal year 2016 and the first half of fiscal year 2017.
2. Reports-New JDAI Graphical Reports by County July through December 2015
  Susan Witkin provided an updated example of the report to members. Susan noted that she and the JDAI Coordinators plan to follow up with the individual sites after distributing the report. The report outlines for each individual county the detention admissions of minors categorized by Uniform Crime Report (UCR) offense, average length of stay (ALOS) and average daily population (ADP). There is also a demographical breakdown of the youth in detention by gender, race and ethnicity. Susan explained how the reports are generated and how ALOS and ADP are defined. Committee members raised questions regarding duplication, detention stay caps, and implications of legislation such as 'Raise the Age' and whether such information can be captured on the reports. Commissioner Bullard said that in the follow up discussions with sites, these topics should be part of the dialogue especially if it is not able to be tracked by the data submitted. Susan Witkin and the JDAI Coordinators will also solicit feedback from the sites regarding the reports to help ensure that the reports are useful in their efforts moving forward.
Uniform Detention Risk Screening Instrument
Chairman Velasquez provided context of previous efforts to develop a uniform screening instrument. Chairman Velasquez and IJJC Chairman Timberlake met with the AOIC to discuss this issue. At the time, the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission was willing to provide financial support for the plan. However, financial resources are limited at this time. It was noted there had been an interest from AOIC and detention centers. Stephanie Vetter discussed her involvement with South Dakota and Mississippi in driving movement towards drafting a screening instrument and engaging key stakeholders in a process that she lead.
Stephanie offered to assist Illinois in shaping a process and methodology. Illinois juvenile detention centers currently have their own screening instruments. Stephanie suggested bringing in experts to analyze all the screening instruments currently used and comparing those to other models. She noted that the Casey Foundation has those resources and can assist at no cost. She added that there needs to be a commitment from those key stakeholders in Illinois. Stephanie offered to send a 2-page document to the committee of a proposed screening instrument.
Chairman Velasquez asked the Committee to provide their feedback of the readiness to embark on this path. Kristen Garfield-Gentile said that the number of youth in detention is decreasing, so the AOIC will likely ask why an analysis of detention screening instruments is needed. Peg Robertson said that in 2008, Jason Steele examined the screening instruments. At that time, he noticed vast discrepancies in scoring. Peg Robertson pointed to the need for basic fairness. Karima Douglas said that the sites have voiced their willingness to engage in such a process and noted that on the federal level, there have been obstacles over the lack of a statewide data infrastructure.
JDAI State Leadership Team Memorandum of Understanding
Chairman Velasquez suggested that the committee table this discussion until such time there is an update.
Development of Work Plan for Statewide Expansion
Karima Douglas and Angelica Jimenez developed a draft plan for the year and distributed it to the committee members. Based on the discussion regarding the uniform detention screening instrument, Chairman Velasquez suggested that the draft work plan be revised to include the convening of a group of JDAI sites to participate in a comparative analysis of their screening instruments and obtaining external expert feedback.
JDAI National Inter-Site Conference
Stephanie Vetter announced the JDAI Conference is scheduled for April 17-19, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. Illinois has six slots for the conference. The agenda will be released closer to the end of this year.
New Business
None Noted.
Next Meeting
September 13, 2016 from 10:30am to 11:30am.
Adjourn
Commissioner Hill motioned to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Roe. Meeting adjourned at 11 a.m.