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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJCPC Minutes 020119Orange County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council Meeting Friday, February 1, 2019 (12:00noon – 2:00pm) Hillsborough Commons – 113 Mayo Street Hillsborough, NC Proposed Minutes Attendees: Bernard Miles, Amanda Farris, Peggy Hamlett, Penny Rich, Donna King, Megan Johnson, Tina Sykes, Carol McClelland, Gayane Chambless, Stephanie Jones, Jay Cole, Maren Hardin, Judge Beverly Scarlett, Sharron Hinton, Kysha Thompson, Caraina Garris, Valoree Hanson, Lia Kaz, Lindo Boldin, Raquelle Hawkins, Susan Worley, Patricia Cardoso, Amy Kirshner, Tami Pfeifer, Jamie Jacobs, Denise Briggs, Rebekah Rapoza (*Members in bold) Absent: Charlos Banks, Jaime Lescinski, Dana Graves, Nick Allen Excused: Sherita Cobb, Matthew Hinton, Lee Barnes, Meg McGurk Welcome The meeting opened with a welcome from Chair, Bernard Miles, and introductions. Minutes Review and Approval The Council reviewed the minutes from December 2018. Donna King motioned for minutes to be approved and was seconded by Carol McClelland. Motion carried unanimously. JCPC Business Risk & Needs Committee – Subcommittee met, reviewed juvenile justice data for FY 17-18, and identified recommended program funding priorities for FY19-20. RFP Review & Vote – RFP FY date needs to be updated from 2018-19 to 2019-20 (Denise will correct and send to Rebekah). The anticipated county allotment is $277,731 with a 30% local/county match and projected advertisement date of February 4, 2019 and deadline of March 11, 2019. As you look down the announcement, the targeted program types are identified, and a supplemental sheet with program descriptions are attached. The county allocation amount remains the same as previous years. Any funding for Raise the Age (JCPC Tier II) expansion will be outside this RFP and county allocation. Amanda Farris motioned for the RFP to be adopted with one identified correction (update FY to 2019-20) and was seconded by Donna King. Motion carried unanimously with Carol McClelland and Stephanie Jones abstaining from the vote). “Raise the Age” – Every JCPC must submit an Annual Plan to their County Commissioners that addresses specific work of the council (Risk & Needs, Funding, etc.) and some of the documents that Denise will review are part of the Annual Plan. The “Continuum of Services – At a Glance” provides an overview of services available within Orange County for all youth, from at-risk to post-release youth. Please review the Continuum and bring updates/suggestions to the next meeting. The “Orange County Plan Addendum” is new this year to help each county start thinking about how “Raise the Age” will impact their community and programming. Counties and programs are encouraged to start thinking about where gaps in services may be and what the needs of this new population are. The addendum will serve as a “wish list” to help the Council identify where expansion should happen. When counties receive the Tier II (aka “Raise the Age”) funds, they can either expand programs that are currently funded under the RFP or they can go through another RFP process. With North Carolina being the last state to raise the age, we have learned a lot from the others and are hearing that restorative justice (mediation, community service/restitution, and Teen Court) programs are where they saw the greatest increase in youth. Another lesson learned from other states was that the numbers of 16-17 year olds didn’t explode like they thought/expected. After December 1, only 16-17 year olds who have never been to district court and who have an eligible charge will be seen in juvenile court. Conversation around diversionary options for 16-17 year olds now that Misdemeanor Diversion Program will be raising their minimum age to 18 when “Raise the Age” takes effect. While Juvenile Justice can only refer a youth to Teen Court if they have never been, they are also able to place them on a diversion plan which could include ensuring they are accessing/attending specified services. Additionally, SROs are able to refer a youth to Teen Court multiple times (up to two times) if it would be appropriate to do so (for example, it’s been months or years in between and the offense is minor). Others have raised concern about structuring a “scheme” that would help keep a youth out of court, especially if it would reinforce in the youth’s mind that they can keep behaving/acting in a certain way without consequences. Eventually they will age out of juvenile court, and if they keep behaving the same way they will rack up charges and points. While we want to help, we need to be careful about what we do and how we do it so that we don’t create an illusion and we don’t cripple. Val reminded the group that she can work in tandem with other programs to help youth with restorative practices and/or accountability for their actions. Reviewed handout on “Total Number of Acts” committed on school property broken down by each school in Orange, Alamance, and Chatham counties so we can see how we compare within our district. Reviewed two other handouts that include risk and needs data for Orange County for FY 17-18 for 16-17 year olds who are currently in juvenile court. This will help when brainstorming for expected needs. This is the same type of data that is used in the normal risk and needs process that drives the regular (Tier I) JCPC RFP. The risk assessment helps the court counselors identify what risk factors may be present in a juvenile’s life that could cause them to reoffend and the needs assessment helps determine which types of programming the youth could benefit from. Conversation around the number of youth with identified substance use issues and what treatment options are available and whether or not they are being utilized. Data supports the conclusion that there is a substance use problem among youth; however, while treatment options are available, youth and/or parents are not making use of those services. Some possible reasons for this may include a lack of accessibility and/or a belief that treatment isn’t necessary. There also needs to be a focus on the family when addressing substance use because it isn’t just an individual problem. Between now and the April meeting, program providers need to think about how “Raise the Age” is going to impact service delivery and/or budget and JCPC members need to begin thinking about whether there are any additional program types that may need to be funded in order to address the needs of the 16-17 year olds. At the April meeting we will review/update the Continuum of Services chart and complete the “Raise the Age” Addendum for the Annual Plan. As program providers begin to complete their FY19-20 applications they should consider addressing the impact of “Raise the Age” and keep in mind that the regular JCPC allocation has not increased; if additional funds are requested in preparation for serving the expanded population, those funds will need to be taken from another program. Also, programs should remember that most have been reporting that referrals continue to be low and while there may be an increase with the new population coming in, those new youth may make up the difference and programs may be back at normal capacity. It is also important to remember that JCPC funds are not meant to fix all problems and the Department is very specific in the types of programs and evidence-based curriculums that they will fund. Agency Roundtable DJJ Data – December: 7 distinct juveniles, 10 complaints, 3 juveniles approved for court, 5 juveniles diverted, 0 juveniles in detention, 1 juvenile admitted to Wrenn House for 11 days, 0 electronic monitoring activations, and 0 admitted to YDC. January: 8 distinct juveniles, 10 complaints, 5 juveniles approved for court, 1 juvenile diverted, 0 juveniles in detention, 1 juvenile admitted to Wrenn House for 23 days, 0 electronic monitoring activations, and 0 admitted to YDC. Dispute Settlement Center – Youth circles are meeting at Stanback Middle School the second and third Wednesdays of the month from 6-8pm (dinner is provided) and there are still slots available so please send referrals. They try not to mix middle and high school youth, so in March they will be trying a middle school circle. Boomerang – They are not receiving referrals from Orange County Schools and feel that they are way underserving the youth in the northern part of the county that need the services. Transportation continues to be the greatest barrier, but there are also some new administrators in some schools and they have to build those relationships back up. They have talked about having another site but it would be a huge undertaking. Freedom House – There are spots available in the Child & Adolescent Outpatient program. FAN has received funding from a Duke grant to offer another men’s only parenting course. Bonnie Farrell will be coming March 22-23 to do co-parenting and communication education. Hot Topics Transportation for northern Orange County youth to services continues to be an issue. Getting services in the schools could be a great solution to being able to deliver the needed services that are convenient while also being delivered within a healthy environment. Youth Risk Behaviors Surveys (YRBS) are a great tool to help identify the needs but there have been huge challenges to even getting them completed in the schools because hard (active) parental consent is required. There have been problems/concerns that were disclosed on the YRBS a few years ago that then resulted in school incidents that could have been addressed/avoided if they had been shared with the school board. But if a YRBS can’t be completed and there are no school board representatives coming to meetings, it will be tough to get services into the schools. Consultant Update RFP will be advertised next week and program providers are encouraged to start working on them immediately and not wait until the last minute in case something happens or there are questions. Announcements Orange County Parks & Recreation summer camp registration opens Saturday. The Town of Chapel Hill just hired two new crisis counselors and will now have someone available until 11pm. They are also advertising for another position that will work 10am-7pm, Master’s degree is required but not licensure. CAY will be hosting some upcoming workshops around “Raise the Age”. On March 27, the Orange County Collaborative will be hosting Ana Marshall, Community Engagement Representative, because Cardinal will be restructuring their governance body in a way to where the community partners meeting is going to be more of an advisory board. The new advisory board will inform the decisions for local government and then that will be how mental health funding will be awarded. The new model will be presented and will be more grass-roots focused.