MAINE

MAINE JUVENILE JUSTICE ADVISORY GROUP The mission of the Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group is to advise and make recommendations to state policy makers and to promote effective system level responses that further the goals of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act MINUTES September 27, 2006 The JJAG held the September 2006 meeting on September 27, 2006 at MCJA, Paul Vestal, Jr., Chair, presiding. I. Roll Call: Present: Mark, Boger, Ned Chester, Linda Frazier, Dana Hamilton, Alan Hammond, Margaret Longsworth, Cathy McLoy, Carole Martin, James Morse, Breanne Petrini, Shelley Reed, Hugh Sipowitz, Barry Stoodley, Paul Vestal Absent: Richard Brown, Leslie Anne Chatfield, Barry DeLong, Carla Fearon, Denise Giles, Jamie Johnson, Joan McDonald, Phillipe McLoy, Christine Thibeault, Jim Foss Staff: II. Minutes Kathryn McGloin, Norma Loud, David Brown Paul opened the meeting at 9:10 AM. The June minutes were ratified by electronic vote this summer. III. Chair Report Paul Vestal introduced our guest presenter Lawrence Fiedler. Larry our State Relations and Assistance Division representative from the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in Washington, D. C. and will be speaking to the group later in the meeting. Paul reported that Leslie Anne Chatfield will be missing a few meetings due to the illness of her mother. The JJAG wishes her well. Paul reminded members of the elections coming up at October’s monthly meeting. A portion of that meeting will be spent discussing the JJAG grant process. Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (Tel.) 207/287-4371 * (Fax.) 207/287-4518 1 Paul stated he will be meeting later today with Joe Boucher of the Governor’s Office, to talk about the appointment and reappointment of members to the Group. IV. Juvenile Justice Specialist Report At the last meeting of the JJAG on June 28, 2006 Norma Loud and Kathryn collected JJAG Procedures Manuals. Norma has updated the Manuals and returned them to members. She reminds folks who did not return the old binders to do so at the October meeting. Kathryn reported on the recently submitted RFP’s. She stated the JJAG had given out $30,000 each for Alternatives to Detention and Alternatives to School Suspension and Expulsion to Back on Track, Inc. The JJAG also gave out approximately $130,394.00 to Communities for Children and Youth and Riverview Foundation for Alternatives to Delinquency Prevention. Kathryn stated the JJAG has re-released an almost identical, Alternatives to Delinquency Prevention RFP for $199,000.00. Responses to this RFP are due at the Bureau of Purchases by 2:00 p.m. on October 17, 2006. Jim Morse will join the Grants committee in reviewing proposals. The Title V Request for Proposals is still being crafted. This Collaborative Problem Solving 2 year pilot project has received a promise of funding from the Children’s Behavioral Health Services and the Children’s Cabinet. She reported needing guidance from the Bureau of Purchases on logistics of the RFP. Talks are underway on the evaluation of the project. Kathryn reported on the CJJ and OJJDP Regional Training Conferences in New Orleans. Robin Jenkins is the new chair of CJJ. The CJJ is searching for an Executive Director after the resignation of David Doi last year. The hope is to have one in place by the first of the year. Maine is a member of the Northeast CJJ and as such is asked for input into the idea of a Regional Conference. The NECJJ includes NY, NJ, MD, CT, MA, VT, NH, RI and ME. Newly elected officers are Rev. Jim Kirk, NH and Mike Daly, NY. CJJ is working on reauthorization of the JJDP Act for 2007. The OJJDP Regional Training was on disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) and was very educational and helpful. She noted the quote, “we should emphasis equal rights for all and deemphasize race.” Kathryn raised the question of cultural training for agencies that work with the JJAG and noted that cultural training should be embedded in all training; in fact in everything we do. OJJDP has a new DMS website: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/dmc/ . Diane Friese of the Muskie School and our DMC project reports that the basic curriculum content for the Race & Ethnicity Training for JJCO's, RC's and RCAs has been developed. A separate, shorter training for all regional clerks is in process of being created. Considerable time has been spent over the summer working with federal advisors on data collection parameters and definitions and making further improvements on the Family Information Questionnaire (FIQ). Use of the FIQ form and how the data will be entered into CORIS will be key components of the Training. It is anticipated that training will be done in person by project staff at each of the region's central offices and at each facility sometime during the Dec/Jan. timeframe. A training schedule is being created. Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (Tel.) 207/287-4371 * (Fax.) 207/287-4518 2 Kathryn spoke of the need for JJAG committees to reconvene. The Communication committee might look at designing a Detention Screening Card for attorneys. The Native American Committee needs to determine how best to use the $30,000.00 in Pass Through funds. The DMC committee needs to reconvene to provide an update to those members who are not of the JJAG. She stands ready to support the committees. There was discussion on where our grant funding for 2007 stands. The following is a table from Nancy Gannon at CJJ. This and more information is available at the end of the minutes. JJ Approps. rounded, in millions Title II State Formula Grants Title V Local Delin. Prev. JABG $250 OJJDP $7 Mentoring $16 $16 --0-$15 $10 $7 $4 $3 $1 $189 $59 $55 $50 Final FY 02 Final FY 03 Final FY 04 Final FY 05 Final FY 06 Pres. FY07 Proposal House Approps Committee FY 07 Senate CJS Subcom m FY 07 $89 $83 $83 $83 $79 $93 $75 $73* $94 $46 $79 $79 $64 $32 $65 $65** --0-$1 --0-- $49 $1 --0-- $50 $1 $5 Paul Vestal noted that the House and Senate are not that far apart regarding the money. Kathryn passed around a letter from Dr. Kirsten W. Milliken, Back on Track, Inc, thanking the JJAG for their support for her Alternatives to Detention and Alternatives to School Suspension and Expulsion award. As well “Winthrop After School Program” wrote to inform the JJAG that they are fully funded by the school and community and have graduates of the program now mentoring new kids. The director, Deb Barnett asked if JJAG members knew of a KID ID Kit. Alan Hammond produced a flyer with a location to purchase the Kits. Dana Hamilton suggested the Mason’s and Lion’s Clubs do something like this as well. Kathryn will pass the information along. V. Compliance Monitor Report David has visited 85% of the Court holdings in the state ruled them either secure or nonsecure. The Department is introducing legislation to identify court holding as meeting the requirements of sight and sound separation. Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (Tel.) 207/287-4371 * (Fax.) 207/287-4518 3 David said we are in better shape as far as violations go. He said the problem at Aroostook and Washington County Jails with kids being detained on Friday pending a court appearance and then being released to parents on Sunday has stopped. David reports Biddeford was had another violation of DSO this past weekend with the lock up a status offender. Ned Chester will investigate. Paul asked Ned to let us know what the JJAG should do. Diane Sleek, MDOC counsel, is looking into this illegal confinement. David also mentioned about the Family Information Questionnaire (FIQ) form. The FIQ committee met yesterday, September 26, 2006, and made some changes to the form. VI. Committee Reports 1. Communications – Cathy Ashland, Chair - No Report. Disproportionate Minority Contact – Ned Chester, Christine Thibeault, Co-Chairs Ned reminded members of the DMC project. (See the JJS Report) Ned is the JJAGs representative to the Federal Advisory Juvenile Justice Commission (FACJJ) who will meet again in late October. He reports that FACJJ has asked the President and Congress to authorize funds to develop a data gathering system. At present the FACJJ is gathering information from individual sites on what they believe are the most pressing issues for states and the nation in juvenile justice. Ned, Jim Morse and Kathryn will teleconference to record this information. Questions were asked regarding the Coordinating Council and what it is. What is their relationship to FACJJ? Ned will report back. Ned reported that the Juvenile Defender Training funded by the JJAG and coordinated by the Maine Bar Association was going very well. The Portland training had an attendance of 100 and the Bangor training 50. The trainings have been attended by attorneys, prosecutors and social workers. The Bangor training featured Adolescent Brain Development with Dr. Abigail Baird and panel discussion on Managed Care and Ethics in Juvenile Justice. Ned reports further Juvenile Defender Training will occur in Augusta in the spring and hopes to provide the trainings in Machias and Fort Kent. 3. Legislative – Christine Thibeault, Chair –The Chair was unable to attend this meeting. 4. Jail Monitoring – Jim Foss, Chair – No Report. The Chair was unable to attend this meeting. 5. Grants – Joan McDonald, Alan Hammond, Co-Chairs – Alan noted issues that came up during the last review of proposals. Discussion of these issues will take place at the October meeting. Awards were made as follows: Alternatives to Detention –September 1, 2006- August 31, 2007 Kirsten W. Milliken, Ph.D. Skills for Responsible Thinking Department of Corrections $30,000.00 Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (Tel.) 207/287-4371 * (Fax.) 207/287-4518 4 Sub-recipient will offer 8 groups of 12 youth (86) Skills for Responsible Thinking, a 17session/8 week treatment program. Alternatives to School Suspension & Expulsion – September 15, 2006- July 15, 2007 Kirsten W. Milliken, Ph.D. Skills for Responsible Thinking $30,000.00 Involving students at Gorham High School Back on Track, Inc. will provide to Gorham High School at least 4 groups of up to 12 youth (40) Skills for Responsible Thinking; at least one two-hour Community Orientation session for parents, school staff and providers and one monthly booster session for graduates. Delinquency Prevention - September 1, 2006- August 31, 2007 Susan Savell Communities for Children and Youth College/Community Mentoring Project $74, 674.00 Sub-recipient will dedicate staff time of the C4CY Executive Director and Administrative Assistant, as well as central office space and technology support; colleges community coalitions and participating schools will dedicate the staff time of their volunteer offices, teachers and the community volunteers in the local C4CY and mentoring partnerships; recruit, train, supervise and evaluate 50 new mentoring matches in each of 4 college communities; train 8 new trainers in the Developmental Asset Approach; provide training for 20 mentor matches in the outdoor leadership and martial arts curriculum of the Riverview Foundation. Hester Mishkin Riverview Foundation Leadership and Resiliency Program $55,720.00 Sub-recipient will establish a twenty-five week, five-session weekly, Leadership and Resiliency Program for 25 high school students most at risk for delinquency and enrolled in non-traditional school programs at Brunswick, South Portland and MSAD #75 for a total of 100 to 125 participants. Included are monthly all-day outdoor adventure field trips and community service days as well as 6 extended outdoor programs. 6. Mental Health – Richard Brown, Chair – Mark Boger spoke for Richard Brown He reports MDOC has worked with Dr. Hecker of the University of Maine to work the bugs out of the Maysi-2 Project and would start administering the Maysi in a couple of weeks. Laptops have all been given out. One (1) JCCO from Region 3 and one from Region 4 have been selected to start administering the Project. They will review the results at the end of the month-long demi-project. Jim Morse asked if Cheryl McKenney, the JCCO from Region 3 could attend one of the JJAG meetings and talk about how the Maysi works. Mark said he would look into that. 7. Native American – Carla Fearon, Chair – No Report. VII. Department Reports Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (Tel.) 207/287-4371 * (Fax.) 207/287-4518 5 1. Department of Corrections: Barry Stoodley spoke of the Community Resolution Teams Training program and that it has never really taken hold. It was to have been a community project. The problem is process under the statute whereby the child has to admit guilt before the CRT could be used. This process just isn’t working. He stated that the Department is re-writing legislation to bring it to the community as intended. In answer to the question of Juvenile Sex Offender legislation in this session Barry said none is expected, but could bubble up at any time. Barry reported about the McArthur Foundation Conference he attended. There were 4 different states and jurisdictions represented. Overall recidivism rates were 57% across the country. Maine’s was only 17%. They also talked about Substance Abuse and what makes a difference in a child’s success. In Philadelphia and Phoenix, kids who come in to the system as low risk generally stay low risk. A kid who comes in at mid-level sometimes goes down to low, but the kids who come in at the high level persist into the adult system. What was found to be at issue was a continued high level of substance abuse. Kids who addressed substance abuse are better able to cope with things thus making them more successful. The Center for Juvenile Justice with Spurwink and DOC collaboration is doing a stakeholders conference on substance abuse in the spring. This will be the third conference put on by CJJ. The first was What Works with Dr. Latessa of the University of Cincinnati. The second was Vandenberg Practices and this spring will be Substance Abuse. Barry reports the juvenile facilities have accreditation with ACA and the Department is looking to get the community side accredited now. The Department is putting together a reorganization plan as part of this process and will report more details at a later date. 2. Department of Education: Shelley Reed thanked DOC for their help in the Keeping Maine’s Children Connected Initiative Trainings. There are 4 groups of kids and this has become a Children’s Cabinet Initiative. Some websites to check out for further information and liaisons: Keeping Maine’s Children Connected database www.maine.gov/education/speced/kmcc/index.htm; Homeless Youth Education – www.maine.gov/education/homeless_ed/index.htm; Truancy, Dropout, Alternative Education – www.maine.gov/education/tdae/index.htm. Shelley reports the Governor’s Task Force to Engage Maine’s Youth is submitting statutory work to make sure kids who earn credits keep them no matter their placement. She said education in non traditional settings must be supported. Barry Stoodley gave Shelley a Thank You for what she has does for children of the State of Maine saying he mentioned the Quarter Credit Idea and Maine Learning Results Diploma at the McArthur Conference where it was very well received. 3. Department of Health and Human Services: Hugh Sipowitz reported on the National Youth in Transition Database. This database will collect data on youth who are receiving independent living services and the report outcomes of certain youth who are in foster care or who age out of foster care. This is a self-report survey of 17, 19 and 21 year olds. There is a voluntary extended care program in Maine for up to 21 year olds so Hug feel the data collection should be easier for Maine. Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (Tel.) 207/287-4371 * (Fax.) 207/287-4518 6 Hugh reports 107 foster care children in higher education this year. This shows good long term outcomes for Maine’s young people. 4. Office of Substance Abuse: Linda Frazier OSA is wrapping up the three drug court enhancement grants from BJA which are now all completed. Drug Court Evaluation and JDTC Training Grant ended 8/31/06. The Drug Court MIS Grant ended 9/30/06. Linda reports the JJAG support given to the Juvenile Drug Court helped greatly. A Drug Court Conference on October 31 (Halloween) will be held at the new Public Safety Building. 5. Office of Public Safety: Alan Hammond – No report from the Chair. VIII. Presentation: Paul introduced Lawrence Fiedler, our guest presenter for this meeting. The meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM. Coalition for Juvenile Justice News from the Hill: July 2006 SMALL, HARD-WON VICTORIES ON FEDERAL JJ APPROPRIATIONS Many thanks to members of State Advisory Groups (SAGs) and juvenile justice leaders who continue to make calls and send letters in support of restored federal juvenile justice appropriations for fiscal year 2007 (FY 07). The mandates and programs under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) become far less effective in the absence of sufficient funds to ensure that they can be well implemented. In recent years, state and national juvenile justice leaders have had to be ever vocal and vigilant to keep the most basic of funds to the states intact. Yet, your tireless efforts and calls for improved appropriations have not gone unnoticed. The House and the Senate appropriations subcommittees have taken some positive action in response to your calls and those of many others promoting effective delinquency prevention and juvenile justice policies and programs for at risk and adjudicated youth and their families. Restoring $50 million to the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Program is a significant victory after it was zeroed out in the President’s proposal, especially given the pressures on the budget and deep cuts to many domestic programs. Here are the juvenile justice numbers (rounded) following yesterday’s mark-up by the Senate CJS Subcommittee to Appropriations, courtesy of Miriam Rollin, Fight Crime Invest in Kids. The full Senate appropriations committee votes tomorrow: July 13. JJ Approps. rounded, in millions Title II State Formula Grants Title V Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (Tel.) 207/287-4371 * (Fax.) 207/287-4518 7 Final FY 02 Final FY 03 Final FY 04 Final FY 05 Final FY 06 Pres. FY07 Proposal House Approps Committee FY 07 Senate CJS Subcom m FY 07 $89 $83 $83 $83 $79 $93 $75 $73* Local Delin. Prev. JABG $94 $46 $79 $79 $64 $32 $65 $65** $250 OJJDP $7 Mentoring $189 $59 $55 $50 --0-$1 $49 $1 --0-- $50 $1 $5 $7 $4 $3 $1 $16 $16 --0-$15 $10 --0-No funds have been appropriated for State Challenge Grants in the past four years. * Formula Funds/Title II in the Senate CJS Subcommittee Mark-up includes a $9 million earmark for assisting small nonprofits with federal grant applications. ** Title V in the Senate CJS Subcommittee Mark-up includes $60 million (of the $65 million) in earmarks, including $10 million for tribal youth programs, $20 million for GREAT (gang resistance education and training), $25 million for grants to enforce state laws prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors, $5 million for Big Brothers & Big Sisters. Justice programs mark-up— SAGs and state juvenile justice programs may blend funding across streams of federal justice funding. Here are some of the numbers (in millions) for other justice appropriations after the CJS Subcommittee to Appropriations Mark-up yesterday, courtesy of Ann Yom at the National Sheriffs Association. Overall, the Office of Justice Programs took a 14% decrease from FY 06, but JAG saw an increase. Byrne-JAG Formula: $470; House passed $444; FY 06 was $321 Byrne Discretionary: $125 Boys and Girls Clubs: $85 Drug Courts $15 Meth Hot Spots $85 Looking Ahead to Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA): In the upcoming 12-24 months, JJDPA as well as other major legislation affecting youth, including No Child Left Behind and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, will be considered for reauthorization by the Congress. CJJ and close colleagues from other national organizations have begun the process of educating about the value of the JJDPA and its reauthorization. Later this summer, look for surveys to the field and a dedicated Web site, as two elements of the larger effort. In the past few weeks, Nancy Gannon Hornberger from CJJ in collaboration with Mark Ferrante, the National Juvenile Justice Specialist Representative, Neelum Arya of the Center for Children’s Law and Policy, and Liz Ryan of the Campaign 4 Youth Justice, convened a conference call discussion series on the JJDPA. We have ―asked the experts‖ about experiences implementing the JJDPA in the states by inviting juvenile justice specialists and DMC (disproportionate minority contact) coordinators to participate in the first series of calls. In October, CJJ and its partners will convene another identical conference call series on the JJDPA—open to all by RSVP—devoting a one hour call each week to each of the following focus topics: I. Federal assistance to states: Does the Act provide for sufficient federal assistance for state and local JJDP programs in terms of guidance and support given to states (e.g., funding and technical assistance) and demands placed on the states (state plans, specific use of funds)? Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (Tel.) 207/287-4371 * (Fax.) 207/287-4518 8 II. SAGs and State Plans: Is the way the Act defines the composition and function of the State Advisory Groups effective? What more could be done (if anything) to strengthen the effectiveness of State Advisory Groups? How beneficial are state plans to the process of improving juvenile justice and coordination of state efforts? III. Research and Evaluation: Does the Act provide for adequate development and dissemination of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention research and evaluation? What is of greatest value for state and local efforts? What more could be done? IV. Core Requirements: What is your sense of the value of the core requirements in the Act, regarding DMC, DSO, jail removal, separation? Do they create meaningful accountabilities, compliance standards and receive appropriate focus in your state? What more could be done to improve the effectiveness of the core requirements? Get involved! If you are interested in participating in the September-October call series on the JJDPA—please send an email message to Nancy Gannon Hornberger at gannon@juvjustice.org If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the CJJ Government Relations Committee or Government Relations Program, please contact Linda Hayes (lhayes@harnettlaw.com), committee chair, or Nancy Gannon Hornberger (gannon@juvjustice.org and 202-467-0864, ext. 111), CJJ acting executive director. Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group 111 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 (Tel.) 207/287-4371 * (Fax.) 207/287-4518 9