Feb 15, 2013

Dear DJJ team members:

Welcome to my weekly letter. I am pleased to share the following news and announcements.

The Roadmap to System Excellence stakeholder meeting in Panama City on Jan. 30, 2013

ROADMAP UPDATE: The Jacksonville Roadmap Town hall meeting will be Wednesday, Feb. 27. Please visit the Roadmap meeting calendar for the location.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: On Feb. 12, the Florida House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted unanimously in favor of two of DJJ’s legislative priorities, HB 353-Grand Jury Recommendations and HB 4019-Youth Custody Officer/Jail Tours, by Rep. Gayle Harrell. Thanks to Rep. Harrell for her good work to ensure passage at the bills’ first committee stop in the House. On Feb. 13, Assistant Secretary for Residential Services Laura Moneyham and Deputy Secretary Christy Daly gave presentations to the House Criminal/Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee on residential bed utilization and an overview of our Roadmap to System Excellence, respectively.

Next week is the final committee week before the start of the 2013 legislative session, which begins on March 5. Staff and I have several meetings scheduled with legislators from the House and Senate to discuss the agency’s 2013 legislative initiatives and Governor Rick Scott’s Florida Families First budget recommendations for DJJ, which shift dollars from the deep end to prevention programs (CINS/FINS, PACE-Miami) and support the Department's Roadmap to System Excellence. On Feb. 20, Director of Administration Fred Schuknecht will give a presentation on our agency’s targeted budget reductions (as required by Schedule VIIIB) to the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee. Finally, HB 4019-Youth Custody Officer/Jail Tours is on the agenda in the House Judiciary Committee for Feb. 21, its final committee stop in the House.

Allison Goode, human trafficking survivor, humbled the audience with her personal story.

FIGHTING THE SCOURGE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING: On Wednesday, Feb. 13, I was honored to join Gov. Scott and victim advocacy organizations in Miami to highlight investments in the Florida Families First Budget to support victims of human trafficking. The recommended budget includes $1.5 million to provide trafficked youth with a safe home, $2.5 million to enhance the efforts of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence to fight abuse and nearly half-a-million to support state and local law enforcement in the areas of high tech crime and Electronic Surveillance Support Teams. Also highlighted was DJJ’s “Victim Identification Pilot Project,” – a program that’s first-of-its-kind in the nation that identifies trafficking victims and coordinates support services. Allison Goode, a former trafficking victim, spoke about traumatic experiences at the news conference (watch video of Allison's comments here).

Human trafficking presentation to the Statewide Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues of Florida

Tuesday morning, I had the pleasure of addressing the Statewide Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues of Florida, the advocacy arm for the 24 Junior Leagues throughout the state and a committee on which I have proudly served. The group monitors the state legislative process and addresses issues of political importance to the League’s members. This year, the Committee has placed an emphasis on human trafficking, so I took the opportunity to express my appreciation for their interest in this important issue and told the Committee about the state’s aggressive anti-human trafficking efforts. I concluded by telling the ladies they could help by continuing to raise awareness and making sure their legislators know that abolishing human traffic is a top priority for the organization.

GOV. SCOTT RECOMMENDS REWARDING STATE EMPLOYEES: As part of the Florida Families First budget, Gov. Scott proposed rewarding hard-working state employees who are helping to keep our economy growing. We provided funding for discretionary, variable compensation in the amount of $5,000 for employees receiving the highest level of employee evaluation, and $2,500 for employees receiving the second highest level of employee evaluation. This budget also proposes that all state employees with at least a “satisfactory” evaluation will receive an incentive of $1,200 for their efforts to reduce the state’s unemployment rate. I wholeheartedly support the Florida Families First 2013-14 Budget and hope that Governor Scott’s bonus proposal for state employees remains intact through the legislative process.

ENTERPRISE INITIATIVES: Gov. Scott’s emphasis on increasing fiscal responsibility through responsible business practices has galvanized our agency to achievements that I am proud to share. Aside from a total of more than $4.5 million in cost savings, these accomplishments show that DJJ is pursuing every opportunity to work smarter and put Florida’s at-risk and troubled youth first.

CONTRACT RE-NEGOTIATIONS: Total Savings-- $2,838,192

The Department has begun strategically reviewing each of its contracts, focusing first on contracts held by providers with the largest amount of funding. Providers with a good performance record who have offered the Department concessions have been offered contract renewals. So far, DJJ has successfully renegotiated 19 contracts to reduce overall costs and to increase services at no cost to the State. In December, DJJ re-negotiated seven residential contracts involving the provision of services to delinquent youth. As a result, youth will receive enhanced services at a cost savings of $2,838,192 over the next three to four years. Thanks to Chief of Staff Alex Kelly, Director of Program Accountability Amy Johnson, Assistant Secretary for Residential Services Laura Moneyham, Chief of Residential Contracts Stephanie Sanford, Chief Probation Officer David Kerr, and Contract Manager Jeff Balliet for their teamwork in the contract negotiations.

LEASE COST SAVINGS: Total -- $1.7 million

As a result of the careful use of leased space, DJJ has produced the 10^th largest savings of the 29 participating agencies. For fiscal years (FY) 2011-12 and 2012-13, DJJ saved the state more than $892,000. With the savings projected for FY 2013-14, the state is expected to save a total of more than $1.7 million.

CONTRACTS KUDOS: DJJ is one of only four among the 30 participating agencies that consistently achieve high usage of MyFloridaMarketPlace for procurement of goods and services. The MyFloridaMarketPlace streamlines interactions between vendors and state government entities, providing a centralized source of procurement information for the Florida business community. Vendors are able to reach a wider market using a single point of registration and e-commerce tools for greater efficiency, and small businesses have an opportunity to access the state marketplace. As a result, state agencies have less overhead, paperwork and processing costs, more choice in procurement options, and faster processing time.

PROBATION KUDOS: Thanks to Jill Gould, who works for Probation in Circuit 6, for helping a Florida resident whose juvenile record impeded her ability to get a job. Although the woman worked as a nurse in another state, when she relocated back to Florida her youth record prevented her from passing a background screening and she was unable to work in her profession. A letter of thanks from her attorney tells of Jill’s role in the happy ending to this story.

Subject: Re: Request For Release of Juvenile Records

Ms. Gould:

My goodness, thank you. This is exactly what (name redacted) needs, an official letter stating the records were destroyed. She all but gave up on nursing and took a job at the outlet mall. She will be very grateful. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to assist her. You are an example of what DJJ should be all about; a youthful offender that turns it around and goes on to lead a productive life. This woman's husband is unemployed and she was going to have to give up on her license and her family was suffering from the pay cut because she couldn't produce these records or a letter explaining why she could not produce the requested records. Thanks to you, she should be able to obtain her license again and get a decent job… Your action exemplifies what a good hard working civil servant should look like…You really don't realize how such a simple thing has been such a challenge to get done.

Thank you,

Leland Taylor, Esq.

DETENTION KUDOS: On Feb. 1, Palm Beach Regional Juvenile Detention Center officer (JDO) Alphonza Gates, who had that day been appointed as a supervisor, noticed something was amiss with a youth. Although the youth insisted that he was fine, Alphonza walked the youth to medical. Medical staff discovered that the youth, who is diabetic, had a high blood sugar reading and immediately transported him to the hospital, where he remained for several days. Kudos to Alphonza, whose vigilance, care and concern resulted in a positive outcome for this youth. Congratulations on your well-deserved promotion!

COMMUNICATIONS: Today, we bid farewell to Communications Director C. J. Drake, who has served the agency with the utmost professionalism and dedication since April 2011. C. J. is responsible for too many accomplishments to list them all. Most notably, his leadership and service has been instrumental to the Department’s media outreach for the Roadmap to System Excellence Town Hall tour, and he was a driving force behind the 2012 redesign of the DJJ internet. We wish C. J. success in his new position with the Oregon Youth Authority.

I am pleased to announce Meghan Speakes Collins will assume the position of director of communications effective February 18. Meghan has been a valuable addition to the DJJ team since her hiring in November as senior marketing specialist and she has enthusiastically promoted our Roadmap to System Excellence with both conventional and social media. Before joining DJJ, Meghan served as press secretary at the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and worked at the Louisiana Dental Association. I thank Meghan for accepting this critical position as we continue to position our agency as a national leader in juvenile justice reform. I am confident she will lead our internal and external communications efforts with skill and enthusiasm.

To all stakeholders, thank you for your collaborative efforts to improve the lives of at-risk and troubled youth. To all employees and providers, thank you for your caring dedication as we serve youth and their families.

Sincerely,

Wansley Walters

Secretary

PS: Please send any noteworthy or newsworthy items for consideration in my weekly letter to the Communications Office at News@djj.state.fl.us or call 850.921.5900. Submissions are considered on a space-available basis and may be edited for clarity and length. Thank you for your cooperation.