Jan 04, 2013
ROADMAP UPDATE: Additional Roadmap to System Excellence meetings are being planned for later this month and February after last year’s highly successful kickoff and subsequent statewide listening tour in eight major cities.
Dear DJJ team members:
Welcome to the first weekly letter for 2013! In addition to announcements and updates, I am pleased to include activities submitted by employees during the holiday season.
ROADMAP UPDATE: Additional Roadmap to System Excellence meetings are being planned for later this month and February after last year’s highly successful kickoff and subsequent statewide listening tour in eight major cities. The Roadmap meetings attracted the attention of hundreds of journalists, employees, stakeholders and members of the public. Employees are encouraged to attend the Town Hall meetings, which will always begin at 6:00 pm. Please stay tuned to my weekly letter and to the Roadmap webpage for updates.
HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES: Thanks to everyone who shared news and photos about local festivities and volunteer service. I am proud to be part of a team with caring individuals who serve their communities so generously. I hope you enjoy the submissions below as much as I did.
Approximately 20 youth, staff and their families in participated in a blood drive in Martin County on Nov. 10. The youths received community service hours for taking part. Staff pictured from left: Juvenile Probation Officer (JPO) Supervisor Dorothy Malik and her husband, Eckerd Case Manager Tami Shiltz and her granddaughter, JPO Brian Birely’s son, senior JPOs Betty Preble and Anthony Ferrino and JPO Brian Birely.
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Juliet Westmoreland (above right, with local volunteer Karen Culpepper) of DJJ’s Office of Prevention and Victim Services volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Tallahassee, where five families were staying while their children received treatment at a local hospital. Juliet served as the overnight manager, allowing the Ronald McDonald House employees to spend time with their families during the holidays. On Christmas Day, Juliet helped serve dinner to more than 240 homeless people at the Tallahassee-Leon Shelter.
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Circuit 17 Chief Probation Officer (CPO) Cassandra Evans delivered more than 50 toys donated by probation youth to children at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood.
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Circuit 17 staff including (pictured above) JPO Christina Atwell, Probation South Regional Director Vanessa Hargray, Special Project Liaison Tekeisha Mauesby, JPO Josefina Perez and CPO Cassandra Evans volunteered with the Salvation Army Angel Tree program in Broward County. Thirty DJJ staff donated more than 50 gifts for local children.
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Circuit 16 JPO Stephen Meredith (below left) volunteered to clean up at the “Holiday Helpers Store” in Key West. A collaborative effort between law enforcement and non-profit organizations, three stores were temporarily created in the Keys as central locations to distribute donated gifts to needy children and families in Monroe County. The Salvation Army gave each family a Publix gift card. Other DJJ staff also volunteered, including CPO Karen Knight, who assisted families with locating items in the store.
Circuit 16 CPO Karen Knight (above right) working at the 2012 Holiday Helpers Store in Key West
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Circuit 16 JPO Nancy Semran (above),who also volunteers asa Guardian ad Litem, delivered donated gifts to a child.
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Students in the Building Trades class at Okeechobee Youth Development Center built this beautiful float, complete with lights and music, for the local Christmas Parade. Their hard work was rewarded when it won the second-place prize!
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DJJ staff in Lake County (Circuit 5) made a Christmas goodie bag for each of the 22 boys at VisionQuest – Visions of Hope, a group home in Clermont for boys dually-served by DCF and DJJ. Many of the boys don’t see any relatives during the holidays, and a local JPO thought it would be nice to show them that we care. Each goodie bag (see above) contained holiday treats, including candy, cookies and more.
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For the third consecutive year, instead of having an office Christmas party and “Secret Santa” gift exchange, Circuit 16 DJJ staff (pictured left to right above) Paula Furey, CPO Karen Knight, JPO supervisor Geoffrey Peattie, JPO Stephen Meredith and Lisa Solms joined with A Positive Step of Monroe County to adopt a family for Christmas. Altogether, the two organizations gave more than $700 worth of gifts to the family. Wesley House Family Services referred the recipients, a single mother with two small children.
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(left to right) Assistant Superintendent Dedilia Finlayson, “Santa” Phil Hardwick and Superintendent Kevin Housel
Circuit 19 DJJ staff thank community stakeholders for their generosity and support of youth at the St. Lucie Regional Juvenile Detention Center during the holidays and throughout the year. Michelle McMurtry of the Circuit 19 Public Defender’s Office, who sponsored a Christmas Eve pizza party with gifts for youth, and “Santa” Phil Hardwick handed out the gifts. On Christmas Day, the youth were again presented with gifts donated by Lynn Atkinson, assistant to Circuit Judge Mark W. Klingensmith, Debbie Butler of Guardians for New Futures, Barbara Casteen of the St. Lucie County School District and members of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. Circuit 19 Juvenile Justice Advisory Board member Catherine Hammond volunteered her time to wrap the donated gifts. Youth also received gifts from Joan Maddy, who, despite the recent loss of her husband Elmer, continued the couple’s tradition of spending Christmas Day with youth at the facility.
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In Circuit 9, DJJ youth are assigned community service work hours through “Teens Learning to Care” (TLC). On Dec. 15, more than 20 TLC youth and nearly a dozen DJJ staff wrapped Christmas gifts for the public in Osceola County, free of charge, in exchange for donated non-perishable food items or toys. The collected food and toys (see above) were donated to Osceola County’s Second Harvest Food Bank and Help Now, Inc., a domestic violence shelter. The youth also wrote Christmas cards to families at the shelter.
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For more than ten years, youth in Circuit 18 have been donating food baskets to give to those in need; in return, they receive credit for community service hours. Each basket contains enough food to create a complete meal for a four-person family. This year, 10 baskets (see above) were given to families who were selected by JPOs from their caseloads.
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DJJ staff from Unit 105 in Circuit 17 decided that in instead of an office gift exchange, they wanted to do something for a deserving family. They chose Jackie P., a single grandmother raising five grandchildren, ages 3-17. Staff donated items for a delicious Christmas dinner, as well as extra items to help the family in the days to come. Jackie was surprised and thankful when JPOs Henri Holmes and Giannina Nicoletti (pictured above at left) presented her with the gift three days before Christmas.
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From Major Heather Hart at Bay Regional Regional Juvenile Detention Center: “We had a youth come to us last month that had been on runaway status from her home state of Illinois for two years. She had assumed the identity of an adult and had even been placed on adult probation while here in Florida! She was brought to us with new charges, and was with us for over 3 weeks pending resolution of those charges before being transported back to Illinois. Before her departure she expressed her gratitude to several staff for their patience, their guidance and their care. Below is a Christmas card she wrote to my Assistant Superintendent, Captain Daniel Fox. He accompanied her to court her first day with us, and very obviously his care for her as well as his encouragement made a tremendous impact on her and set the tone for the entirety of her stay with us. To mirror a statement from Assistant Secretary Strange, ‘no act of kindness goes unnoticed in the heart of the recipient.’ Thank you, Captain Fox!”
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During December, the boys at Big Cypress Wilderness Institute in Circuit 20 participated in the Bikes for Tykes and the Sandy Hook National Snowflake Cut-Out Day projects. Needy students at Everglades City School (K-12) received a special Christmas gift because of the boys’ hard work repairing and cleaning 20 donated bicycles. The boys also designed and created paper snowflakes, which were placed on the walls of the classrooms at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. – site of the recent tragedy – prior to the children returning to school. Special thanks to Marie Perkins, the institute’s nurse, who guided the boys’ participation in the snowflake project. Offering the boys opportunities to help others reinforces their efforts to become productive members of the community.
Thank you to all who submitted the news and photos above. I am deeply grateful for your selflessness on behalf of the communities we serve.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: Thanks to theWISH (Women Instilling Self-Hope and Determination) committee of the Junior League of Ft Myers, chaired by Triska Pederson and co-chaired by Khanh Le. The group volunteered and donated money and supplies, transforming the girls’ rooms in keeping with Trauma-Informed Care recommendations. With new paint and furnishings, the girls’ areas of the facility are more comfortable and inviting, and create an environment more conducive to the girls’ treatment and rehabilitation.
DETENTION KUDOS: Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center staff have planted their first vegetable garden, courtesy of a generous donation of vegetable plants from The Home Depot in Hialeah. Girls at the center weed and maintain the garden every day. Lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers were planted and are thriving. The harvested veggies will be used to prepare meals in the detention center’s kitchen. What a great idea!
The garden at Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center
CIRCUIT 1 RETIREMENT: On Dec. 7, Circuit 1 probation staff celebrated the retirement of JPO Elizabeth (Liz) Depoy. A note from her colleagues says: “Liz has been a dedicated state employee for 19 years. She started out in the foster care system then joined the team at DJJ. During her career, Liz has been a champion of children in foster care and the delinquency system. We have learned so much from Liz during this time and her strength has an inspiration to each of us. The DJJ office in Fort Walton Beach will not be the same without her.”
Liz Depoy (center) celebrates her retirement with colleagues
BOARDS AND COUNCILS BILL: On Wednesday, Jan. 9 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm DJJ will host a webinar to discuss changes to the proposed boards and councils bill (click here for the draft bill). To join the online meeting click this link (link has expired). If requested, enter your name and email address (this meeting does not require a password) and click "join." To join the teleconference only, call 888.670.3525 or 720.389.1212 (attendee access code: 376 138 7517). Please contact Legislative Director Ana Maria Sanchez at anamaria.sanchez@djj.state.fl.us with any questions.
Finally, I again want to thank all of you for your hard work and professionalism in 2012. We will continue to move forward with reforming juvenile justice and gathering support from local communities to further improve services to at-risk and troubled youth. I look forward to even more success this year, as we continue promoting, refining and implementing the Roadmap to System Excellence. Thanks to all employees for working to make Florida a national leader in the humane and effective administration of juvenile justice!
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.