Feb 10, 2012

Dear DJJ Team Members:

Welcome to my weekly letter. Please allow me to share some news and announcements.

PROBATION KUDOS: Congratulations and best wishes to the following new juvenile probation officers graduating today from the JPO Academy:

Melissa Ahern, Circuit 5, Unit 401
Jared Hendry, Circuit 5, Unit 402
William James, Circuit 20, Unit 301
Glenn Loften, Circuit 9, Unit 201
Clifford Maker, Circuit 10, Unit 101
Madeline Miller, Circuit 1, Unit 102
Jefferson Mimy, Circuit 9, Unit 201
Cornelius Minafield, Circuit 8, Unit 101
Clinton Seville, Circuit 15, Unit 102
Gregory Shahood, Circuit 19, Unit 201
Neil Stier, Circuit 1, Unit 102
Donald Wilson, Circuit 2, Unit 101

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: February is Black History Month and Florida is celebrating its diverse and dynamic African-American heritage in various ways. This special time of year celebrates African-American heritage, accomplishments and aspirations. African-Americans play a significant role in the lives of the children we serve by collaborating with community stakeholders to strengthen the foundation for future generations. Here at DJJ, Assistant Secretary for Prevention and Victim Services Wanda Finnie will be honored on Feb. 17 at a special program in Tallahassee hosted by the Florida Department of Children and Families to celebrate Black History Month. Wanda and other African-American leaders will recognized for their outstanding contributions to our community and state. The program’s theme is "Strengthening Families and Communities: One Family at a Time." I commend Wanda on this distinction and encourage you to visit the state’s official Black History Month website.

FOOD SERVICE STAFF HONORED: DJJ employs approximately 100 food service staff in detention facilities. Others work in state-operated residential facilities. Contracted residential facilities also have food service employees who prepare meals. As we celebrate the conclusion of Pride in Foodservice Week designated by the Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals, I would like to recognize all those nutrition and foodservice professionals and other members of the nutrition services team for their hard work and dedication on the job.

DATA DRIVES ACCOUNTABILITY: Keeping our commitment to data-based outcomes and accountability, the first edition of DJJ’s monthly performance measurement reports was posted on our website this week. This will be a rapidly growing set of monthly performance measures available for each of our primary service areas. Click here to view the reports. Thanks to Chief of Research and Planning Mark Greenwald and his team for providing data that measures our work and improves accountability. Mark’s favorite saying is “What gets measured is what gets done.” Statistics may not be exciting but they help us identify what works and what needs improvement.

AMIkids RECOGNIZED: This week the AMIkids Personal Growth Model was designated as a Promising Program Model by the U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Congratulations on this distinction bestowed on one of DJJ’s major residential-service providers. To learn more, click here.

CONTRACT KUDOS: In November, DJJ’s Bureau of Contracts issued a competitive Invitation to Bid for mental health treatment and substance abuse services for youth at the Alachua Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Gainesville. The winning bid resulted in a savings to the taxpayer of $34,081. We plan to issue competitive procurements for these services as future contracts expire. The Bureau of Contracts also competitively bid electronic monitoring (EM) through an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN). This was an entirely new contract and service for us. The ITN allowed us to negotiate with two vendors to determine the latest technology and equipment available for EM tracking of youth. The EM tracking unit had to meet functional requirements specifically needed by youth in both school and home environments. DJJ selected 3M as the vendor providing the best overall value and services. The final daily rate of $4.40 per day per youth for EM is lower than the $5.50 per day a sister agency is paying for similar services and equipment. Thanks to DJJ Chief of Contracts Elaine Atwood and her team for leading these efforts to work smarter and save money.

DETENTION KUDOS: From Superintendent Vincent P. Vurro at the Southwest Florida Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Fort Myers: I wanted to recognize Juvenile Justice Detention Officer Supervisor Laura Negron. As a supervisor, I know officers are busy dealing with the daily activities on the shift. However, Laura managed to find time, sit with this youth and not only make her feel safe, but assured her everything will be OK and motivated her to do well. For a youth to take the time to mail a letter following her release is proof that Officer Negron had a positive effect on her. We want officers to be role models and her actions have portrayed her as one.

Here is the youth’s letter to Officer Negron: “I know we don’t know each other that well but I just wanted to say thank you for talking to me in your office that one day. It meant a lot. I was very worried and scared to be in here. But you made me realize that everything will be okay and I’m a lot stronger as a person than I thought I was. You will never see me come back here. The words of encouragement helped me. I’ve never had someone there to motivate me, so having someone there felt good. I just wanted to say thank you.

Wanda, Mark, Elaine, Vincent, Laura and JPO graduates, thank you so much for your dedication to service and for making a positive difference in how our agency serves the public.


As always, thank you all for your daily service to our communities, our stakeholders and the youth in our care.

Sincerely,

Wansley Walters

Secretary

PS: Please send any noteworthy or newsworthy items for consideration in my weekly letter to Communications Director C. J. Drake at cj.drake@djj.state.fl.us or call 850.921.5905. Submissions are considered on a space-available basis and may be edited for clarity and length. Thank you for your cooperation.