Jun 08, 2012

Dear DJJ team members:

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

WEBSITE ENHANCEMENT: We just added a new navigational tool to our website (www.djj.state.fl.us) that makes locating programs and facilities statewide much easier. From the website homepage, click on the “Programs and Facilities” tab in the upper right-hand corner or the “Program and Facility Locator” on the right side of the screen and go from there. A key new feature is a map of Florida highlighted by judicial circuit that makes it easy to locate any DJJ program or facility. This “one-stop-shopping” feature makes it much easier to find our programs and facilities, further enhancing our website.

PROBATION SPOTLIGHT: Operations Consultant Patricia “Pat” Tuthill is an extraordinary person. She came to DJJ full time in 2009 after a personal tragedy inspired her to become a motivating force for changing nationwide probation practices through the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision and to create the Peyton Tuthill Foundation, named for her late daughter. Through her continued outreach, Pat champions the rights of victims and assists survivors, and her foundation provides Hearts of Hope Scholarships for youth who have lost a family member to homicide. She serves as a member of the Florida State Advisory Council for the Interstate Compact and the ex-officio victims’ representative to the National Commission for Adult Offender Supervision. At DJJ, Pat serves as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act representative, works on other special projects and discusses the impact of crime with youth, staff and providers. She recently shared her experiences.

Q. Tell me about your daughter, Peyton.

A. She was always doing something. From the time she was a child, she participated in sports activities. In college she was her sorority president. She had a big heart, was always volunteering. American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – there were so many I can’t name them all. She loved music therapy. She would go to a nursing home and play piano – she could play by ear and they would ask her to listen to these old songs from, I don’t know, the ‘forties, and play them. She loved how the people responded. She said, “Mom, you’ve got to do something for the elderly. You should see how they brighten up and sing the words! They remember!” And I said, “Peyton, I am doing something. I’m taking care of Grandpa.” And she said, “I know, but you’ve got to do more!” That was Peyton.

Q. What happened to her?

A. In 1999, when she was a 23-year-old graduate student, she was brutally raped and killed by a man who should have been under supervision. He had been incarcerated in Maryland for two 10-year sentences. He was released on probation after serving 22 months and was sent to a halfway house in Denver, Colorado, near where Peyton lived. He got into some trouble at the halfway house. He assaulted another resident and a staff person and left the facility. Instead of pressing charges, they decided to put him on a bus back to Maryland. He went two doors down to Peyton’s house and raped and killed her. Then he went back to the facility – they didn’t know what had happened, of course – where he was given a bus ticket and within 24 hours he was back in Maryland.

Q. I am so sorry. That is so horrible it’s almost unbelievable.

A. What’s unbelievable is law enforcement in Denver had no idea he was there, had no clue about his criminal history. It was during the investigation that I learned about the enormous gap in the supervision of probationers. Each state had its own standards for how to handle people who were on probation in a different state. The process that addressed that situation had been adopted in 1937 and was completely obsolete. Peyton’s murderer was eventually caught and in 2001 he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole in Colorado.

Q. What did you do?

A. That’s when I quit my career as a human resources director for a medical center and became an advocate for developing standards and getting them adopted. The National Institute of Justice already knew this was a problem and invited me to meet with them. I helped them develop standards and they sent me across the country to advocate for their adoption. It took six years but in 2005, the fiftieth state adopted the Interstate Compact on Adult Offender Supervision. It served as the foundation for the Interstate Compact on Juveniles.

Q. It’s amazing that you were able to channel your grief into such worthwhile purposes, such as the Interstate Compact and the Peyton Tuthill Foundation.

A. My goal with the foundation is to endow it so that it can continue when I die. There are children all over the country who struggle to cope with the murder of a family member. When the situation is fresh people offer support, but after a little while everybody goes away and people forget. The scholarships acknowledge their loss and offer a bit of support, showing that people do still care. So far the foundation has given $25,000 in scholarships to 13 young people. But I’m not without my regrets. I have another daughter and she needed me, but I was so focused on the work that I didn’t realize it. I will always wish I had been there for her. I can only try to make it up to her. Hold your children close. That’s what I have learned.

Q. You are a strong person. We are fortunate to have you here at DJJ.

A. I don’t know about being strong. I know that if I let myself dwell on my grief it could kill me, but it never goes away. So I’ve become good at compartmentalizing it. And DJJ is a blessing to me. One of the things that I realized during the investigation was there were many points early in that young man’s life – he was 23 years old at the time, just like Peyton – when he needed help and there was no follow through on the interventions. The system failed him, too. I can’t help but think how if he had gotten the help he needed, this might have all turned out differently. This didn’t just ruin my family’s life; it ruined his life, too. I believe that what we do at DJJ to help these children is important. So many of our kids have experienced trauma and been victims of crime and I think it is important to acknowledge this, but also to help them understand they are also accountable for their own actions and there are positive ways to deal with their pain. Helping them guide their lives onto a better path can affect their future and others.

DETENTION KUDOS: Superintendent Jeff Lonton and the staff at Orange Regional Juvenile Detention Center extend their thanks to volunteer Luc Desir and the Orange County Healthy Start Program for helping young men at the facility learn to be fathers. Twice a month, Lucconducts the “Boot Camp for New Dads,” discussing teen parenthood with youth who are or will soon be fathers. He encourages the young men to improve themselves through education so they are better prepared to provide for, and serve as a role model to, their children. He stresses the importance of actively caring for the baby and being supportive to the mother. Luc also discusses abstinence and safe sex practices to prevent future pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Asked why he volunteers, Luc says, “Absolutely every time I am surrounded by young people, I feel that it is a blessing to serve and communicate with them.”

JUNE IS NATIONAL SAFETY MONTH: The DJJ Safety Source is a quarterly newsletter that focuses on safety practices and promotes a healthy lifestyle among employees. The Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Risk Management May/June 2012 edition of The Safety Outlook features an article about the DJJ Safety Source as an effective communication tool to promote safety. Senior Safety Specialist Tommy Blankenship produces the newsletter and Chief Medical Director Lisa Johnson, M.D., and Nutritionist Jamie Burch contribute health-related content. Thanks to Tommy, Dr. Johnson and Jamie for their work to raise awareness about safety and health! Click here for a link to the newsletter.

The commitment of our DJJ team to youth is inspiring. 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.