Jul 20, 2012

Dear DJJ team members:

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

STATE ADVISORY GROUP: On July 19,Gov. Scott appointed 16 members to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention State Advisory Group. This group, which is mandated by federal law, advises Florida regarding compliance, requirements and funding related to the federal Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act. Each member serves at the pleasure of the Governor for an unspecified length of time. DJJ is honored to benefit from wisdom and experience of these distinguished and illustrious individuals as we reform Florida’s juvenile justice system.

Reappointed:

Alan F. Abramowitz, 58, of Orlando, is the executive director of the Florida Statewide Guardian ad Litem Program.

Kip R. Beacham, 47, of Sanford, is a captain with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.

Judge Daniel P. Dawson, 58, of Orlando, is a Circuit Judge with the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Charles “Curtis” Jenkins, 68, of Lake City, is the executive director of Columbia County Teen Court and Suwannee County Teen Court programs.

Tony R. Jones, 52, of Gainesville, is the Chief of Police of the Gainesville Police Department. He represents Florida, California, Texas and Puerto Rico on the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, a 14-member group that advises the President, Congress and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention on national juvenile justice matters.

New Members:

Lucas D. Boyce, 33, of Orlando, is the director of community and government affairs for the Orlando Magic. He succeeds Jacquetta B. Colyer.

Kristin P. Early, 44, of Tallahassee, is a criminologist with the Justice Research Center. She succeeds Mitchell G. Wilkins.

Darcy H. Flierl, 38, of Stuart, is the director of prevention for Tykes & Teens, Inc. She succeeds John A. Ferro.

Lourdes P. Gimenez, 56, of Miami, is an administrative director with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. She succeeds Andrew J. Benard.

Jeff S. Golden, 48, of Monticello, is the associate executive director of AmeriBar and adjunct criminal justice professor at Saint Leo University. He succeeds Christine S. Epps.

Muriah T. Kirkland, 20, of Panama City, is a student at Florida State University and a volunteer with the Bay County Teen Court program. She succeeds Jacquelyn K. Ledbetter.

Michael T. Long, 20, of Sarasota, is a student at New College of Florida and was the 2011 DJJ Youth Success Ambassador. He succeeds Sophia S. Campbell.

Dwayne L. Maddron, 51, of Tallahassee, is a portfolio manager at Capital City Bank. He succeeds Ivan W. Tucker.

Cheryl L. Massaro, 58, of Palm Coast, is the youth center director for the Flagler County School Board and chair of the Circuit 7 Juvenile Justice Board. She succeeds James D. Clark.

Dustin E. Roache, 19, of Panama City, is a recent graduate of Bay County High School and is a Bay County Sheriff’s Office Junior Deputy Explorer. He succeeds Leonard M. Thompson.

Caroline G. Zucker, 73, of Sarasota, is the vice chair of the Sarasota County School Board. She succeeds Otis B. Stander.

DJJ ONLINE SURVEY: For the next two weeks, DJJ will be surveying providers, stakeholders, community partners, families of youth, and staff for feedback about the service needs of youth returning home following a Residential commitment. The survey results will guide DJJ in identifying support services needed to ensure the success of Probationary youth and their families. Please encourage community partners who work with youth and families to complete this simple, four-item survey. The survey is linked on the DJJ webpage (www.djj.state.fl.us), it takes only about one minute and responses are anonymous. Please click here to take the survey now. If you have questions, please contact Statewide Transition Coordinator Megan Smith at megan.smith@djj.state.fl.us.

PREVENTION UPDATE: On July 16, Assistant Secretary for Prevention and Victim Services Wanda W. Finnie served as the keynote speaker for the opening session of the 33^rd Annual Florida School Resource Officer (SRO) Training Conference in Bonita Springs. More than 400 school resource officers attended. Assistant Secretary Finnie shared information on DJJ’s reform efforts and the vital role of school resource officers in achieving reform.

MOVING ON: Chief Medical Director Dr. Lisa Johnson has announced she will join the clinical faculty at the Florida State University College of Medicine as an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health. Her last day at DJJ will be August 2. Dr. Johnson has served DJJ for almost three years. She has been a valuable member of the executive leadership team and we owe her many thanks. Her experience and background in adolescent health has been valuable in helping to improve the agency’s health services policy. Among her notable contributions, she negotiated an agreement with the Florida Department of Health to provide low-cost STI testing for DJJ youth at all Regional Juvenile Detention Centers. We congratulate Dr. Johnson and wish her well.

WELCOME: DJJ welcomes Courtney McCowan, who will coordinate the Human Trafficking Victim Identification Tool Pilot Project. Courtney comes to us from the Florida Department of Children and Families, where she worked in Children’s Legal Services for the Second Circuit. Courtney is a law student at Florida State University and earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in Political Science from the University of Georgia.

CIVIL CITATION KUDOS: On July 19, Civil Citation Coordinator Theda Roberts and Director of Research and Planning Mark Greenwald conducted a Civil Citation training session during the annual SRO Training Conference. The goal is to promote greater use of the statewide Civil Citation process as an effective delinquency diversion measure. School-related referrals to DJJ have decreased in recent years. The most recent DJJ data show during fiscal year (FY) 2010-11, school-related delinquency referrals accounted for 15% of all the cases handled by the Department of Juvenile Justice, which was down from 19% during FY 2004-05.

PROVIDER SAVINGS: Thorough criminal background checks are required for juvenile justice job applicants prior to employment, and employees are regularly re-screened to ensure that individuals have no criminal offenses that disqualify them from continued employment. In 2005, DJJ upgraded from a hardcopy system for submitting criminal background checks to an electronic system, called Livescan. The same fee was charged to process either type of request and the electronic system offered quicker results, as well as notification when employees are arrested. An unexpected benefit has been cost savings. Since 2005, the FBI has twice lowered the fee electronically-submitted nationwide criminal background checks submitted twice. Because DJJ uses Livescan, this resulted in substantial savings for contract service providers and their job applicants over the years. (Some providers require job applicants to pay for their background screening.) Since March 2012, when the FBI lowered the fee for the second time, DJJ providers and provider job applicants paid $3,328.69 less than they would have if they submitted hardcopies. Since 2005, DJJ estimates providers and applicants have saved more than $98,000 due to lowered fees. Effective April 15, the FBI ceased processing hardcopies and now requires all background checks to be submitted electronically. DJJ’s timely adoption of technology made these cost savings possible. Thanks to Myra Burks, Background Screening Unit manager, for researching and tabulating the cost savings amounts.

STAKEHOLDER SPOTLIGHT: Stephanie Glass is dedicated to helping at-risk and troubled youth. She serves as Circuit 5 Juvenile Justice Board chair, co-chairs the County Juvenile Justice Council and is an active member of the juvenile justice re-entry team. As a program specialist for the Lake County Teen Court, she provides alternative options for youth so they can atone for their actions without the need for arrest. She has been a consistent and loyal supporter of all DJJ efforts to promote the use of juvenile Civil Citation. Stephanie, with the support of Lake County Sheriff Gary S. Borders, worked with the Lake County Commissioners to create a position to oversee the newly created Civil Citation program, supervised through the Teen Court. The community has responded with overwhelming support for the Civil Citation process. Thanks to Stephanie, many more youth will be afforded a better chance of entering adulthood without the stigma of an arrest.

RESIDENTIAL KUDOS I: Thanks go to Residential staff Natosha Faul, Sarah Hollar, Patrick McKinstry, Mary Mills, Jeanine Rhodes, and Stuart Wolcott and Facility Services’ Johnny Long and Roy Averna for their labor above and beyond the normal call of duty. After Tropical Storm Debby passed over a well-built, but vacant DJJ facility in Jasper (Hamilton County), it desperately needed to be cleaned up. The building had been empty for more than year. DJJ recently advertised an invitation to negotiate (ITN) to possibly place a program there and potential providers were due to tour it. Mary Mills, the Residential director for the north region, led the group of DJJ staff in an all-day clean up. She described the challenges: “It was hot. We picked up debris, pulled weeds and swept floors and sidewalks.” Asked why a contractor wasn’t called for this work, she said, “We are conscientious about funding challenges and we wanted to make sure it was presentable for the tour. The site would be perfect for a program.” Their hard work was rewarded; in response to the ITN, eight different organizations toured the facility, which may house a 24-bed, moderate-risk girls’ program with vocational training in a skill such as fiber optics, computer programming or plumbing. Mary said, “I am probably one of luckiest people in the department to work with a team that is so generous and willing to help.”

EDUCATION KUDOS: The University of Maryland’s Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings (CEEAS) commends Dale Wade, a teacher at Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility and the Cypress Creek Juvenile Offender Correctional Facility. To read the CEEAS article about Dale Wade, please click here. To read about Cypress Creek, click here.

DJJ is fortunate to have the dedication of so many talented people working with and on behalf of youth. To all employees, thank you for all you do.

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.