September 14, 2016 Planning and Grants Committee Meeting

Audience

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

Date/Time

September 14, 2016, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Location

  • 401 S Clinton
    1st Floor
    Chicago, IL
  • 823 E Monroe
    Springfield, IL
  • Call In:  888-494-4032
    Code:  5329547331#

Agenda

  1. Call to Order
  2. Roll Call
  3. Approval of Minutes
  4. Fiscal Updates
  5. Program Updates
    1. Current Grants/Projects
    2. Title II Application Update
    3. Restorative Justice for Youth and Communities in Illinois:
      Report Overview & Methodology
  6. OJJDP Reauthorization Update
  7. Other
  8. New Business
  9. Public Comment
  10. Next Meeting
    October 12, 2016
  11. Adjournment

Minutes

  1. Call to Order
    Meeting called to order at 9:10am.
  2. Roll Call
    Chairperson Lisa Jacobs, IJJC Chairman George Timberlake, Julie Biehl, Esther Franco-Payne and George Hill. Quorum established at 9:19am. Guests: Susan Witkin. Staff: Karima Douglas, Ron Smith and Julie Stremlau.
  3. Approval of Minutes
    IJJC Chairman Timberlake motioned to approve the minutes. Commissioner Franco-Payne seconded the motion. Minutes approved.
  4. Fiscal Updates
    The group reviewed the current spending. Due to the FY16 funds being finalized and the de-obligation process there has been minimal expenditures of FY17 funds. Budgets and general DHS requirements are being addressed.
  5. OJJDP Reauthorization Update
    The group discussed the proposed revised regulations for JJDP Act compliance. Following detailed discussion, committee members agreed to recommend that the full Commission convey comments that indicate support for efforts to strengthen compliance with the JJDP Act's core requirements and to improve the care and treatment of youth in the juvenile justice system. At the same time, committee members noted, the feedback needs to convey concerns about redefining secure detention in a way that requires states to expend unnecessary resources on formulaic compliance monitoring and about moving toward a "zero tolerance" approach to instances of non-compliance. Committee members discussed concerns that making meaningful compliance out of reach for states could result in withdrawal from JJDPA participation, which could leave youth in those states without any of the Act's protections. Additionally, committee members discussed concerns that the proposed DMC regulations may not go far enough in pushing states to address racial and ethnic disparities. Karima Douglas was asked to draft a letter on behalf of the Commission for review and submission to OJJDP.
  6. Other
    Chairman Timberlake briefed the committee on the status of the Council for Juvenile Justice (CJJ). He reported that the CJJ board and staff had discovered fiscal irregularities and shortfalls. As a result, all staff have been or will be laid off. Judge Timberlake reported that a forensic audit will be conducted and a public statement will be made. Chairman Timberlake asked the committee to consider making a contribution to CJJ, as the Maryland SAG has done. A lengthy discussion of CJJ's strong positive contributions to the field of juvenile justice and justice system reforms and questions regarding the Commission's authority to support CJJ and whether such support could make a significant difference for the organizations survival did not produce consensus. Commissioners agreed that the full Commission would need to consider the possibility of assisting CJJ.
  7. New Business
    Expungement: Commissioner Biehl reported on dialogue and analysis taking place following release of the Commission's expungement report this spring. There has been a strong response from a variety of stakeholders and community members, largely in support of strengthening confidentiality of juvenile records and expanding meaningful expungement options. She and Commissioner Jacobs reported that they have met with ICJIA researchers to explore collaboration on research to determine data system opportunities and barriers for "automatic" expungements of records in Illinois. ICJIA's knowledge of Illinois criminal justice data systems is expected to be helpful in understanding and communicating these issues to policy makers.
    JSO Issues: Commissioner Jacobs reported that ICJIA was making progress in providing updated data, as the Commission had requested as a SFY16 grant deliverable, on youth involved the juvenile justice system for sexual offenses. The Commission has provided feedback on ICJIA's draft report and ICJIA is in the process of incorporating and responding to that feedback, with the goal of finalizing an updated data report in October.
    Detention: Commissioner Bullard raised the recent DCFS Audit, which indicated that wards were being detained and held in secure detention centers longer than necessary or allowed. She suggested that the Commission look more carefully into this issue. Commissioners also discussed the federal lawsuit filed in September 2016 regarding the lack of weekend / timely detention hearings for youth and agreed that the Commission needs to closely follow detention developments in the coming weeks. Staffing: Chairman Timberlake announced that Wendy Nussbaum will be the new Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission Executive Director. She will begin on October 3rd. Commissioner Jacobs noted Wendy's extensive experience providing and managing service to youth and families and her knowledge of front-end diversion and crisis response strategies.
    Miscellaneous: There is a meeting of the Illinois Associations of Circuit Clerks on September 21st in Rock Island, which provides an opportunity for the Clerks and the Commission to work on the process to collect and report data on youth transferred to adult court. Chairman Timberlake asked for a volunteer to attend in his place as this is the same date of the IJJC meeting.
  8. Public Comment
    None
  9. Next Meeting
    October 12, 2016
  10. Adjournment
    Chairman Timberlake motioned to adjourn. Commissioner Biehl seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 11:11am.