Jan 22, 2013
We are moving ahead with the next stage of the Roadmap to System Excellence statewide tour. Two more meetings are scheduled at the end of this month – in Bay County at the Bay County Government Center on Jan. 30 and in Escambia County at Pensacola State College on Jan. 31.
Dear DJJ team members:
The past two weeks have been filled with many exciting activities! Below is an update on events and activities around the state.
ROADMAP UPDATE: We are moving ahead with the next stage of the Roadmap to System Excellence statewide tour. Two more meetings are scheduled at the end of this month – in Bay County at the Bay County Government Center on Jan. 30 and in Escambia County at Pensacola State College on Jan. 31. I am excited about this opportunity to share information with and get feedback from these communities. The Florida Channel recorded some of our past meetings which you can watch online for the entries on Dec. 18, 19 and 20). Additionally, audio recordings of all of the meetings are available on our website. If you can’t attend the meetings, I’d encourage each of you to view the videos and hear and see what the public has to say. Please stay tuned to my weekly letter and to the Roadmap webpage for updates.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: This week, DJJ senior staff and I presented the agency’s base budget to the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee and we met with legislators to discuss the Roadmap to System Excellence and our legislative package. I also participated in a panel discussion on crossover youth with the Department of Children and Families in the House Healthy Families Subcommittee. Next week will be even busier. I will make a presentation on Human Trafficking issues in the Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs, I will address the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee with an overview of the agency and I will address mental health issues among DJJ youth in the House Healthy Families Subcommittee. I am always interested in engaging with the Legislature and partner agencies to find ways to help Florida’s troubled and at-risk youth, so I’m really looking forward to these presentations. Director of Administration Fred Schuknecht will finish his base budget presentation to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice (Jan. 23rd at 11:30am). Throughout the week, executive leadership will continue meeting with members of the Legislature, including House Appropriations Chair Seth McKeel and the Florida Legislative Black Caucus. For more on our 2013 legislative initiatives, click here.
STRENGTHENING OVERSIGHT: As I announced to all employees this morning, our primary concern is the health and safety of Florida’s youth, and to that end we currently have numerous processes in place to ensure they are protected while in the juvenile justice system. We are enhancing services to give kids the best foot forward so they can lead rewarding lives. As such, we are taking the following actions immediately regarding the entirety of our system of residential commitment programs for juveniles in Florida:
- DJJ will begin structured interviews of a cross-section of youth in every residential program. The interviews will focus on particular indicators of non-reporting of incidents, including youths’ access to Florida’s abuse registry hotline.
- We will begin enhanced mental health training, including trauma informed care principles, for staff in all of residential and detention programs.
- We will review the fidelity of its physical and verbal intervention system for handling youth (known as “PAR”) at every residential program to ensure the state’s legal guidelines for physical interventions are being adhered to. If deficiencies are found, we will follow-up with technical assistance or corrective actions.
The review of individual incidents at every residential program will also undergo two changes:
- First, some incidents of a perceived less serious nature are currently referred to the residential program for an internal review conducted by the program/provider. Going forward, these types of incidents will be reviewed by DJJ program monitors.
- Second, videos from incidents are currently reviewed after an investigation is initiated. Going forward, DJJ program monitors will interview the youth and review every available video where there is an allegation of abuse or inappropriate physical intervention within 24 hours, prior to a formal incident review.
Finally, we will seek third-party assistance, including the consultation of The Annie E. Casey Foundation , to assess programs and recommend additional improvements as needed.
The safety of our youth and the public demand a culture of perpetual improvement. The integrity of our various reporting systems is often times the front-line to ensuring those safety measures of functioning. To read media coverage of this announcement, click here.
GIRLS IN LEADERSHIP: This morning I was honored to speak to more than 100 young women from Tallahassee-area high schools and colleges at the opening session of the Girls Leadership Network Summit. It was exciting to see so many young women preparing themselves to enter leadership roles. Summit sessions focused on advocacy and mentorship, and featured a fashion show by Ann Taylor, the corporate event sponsor. I was especially pleased to meet Hanna Karimipour, an impressive young lady who is a senior at Lawton Chiles High School, who organized the event. Thanks to Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente, Teresa Segarra, Director of Charitable Partnerships for ANN INC., Lauren Wollack of Vital Voices Global Partnership, Tanya Wilkins,who is the volunteer advocate for foster care and adoption with the Governor’s Office of Adoption and Child Protection and wife of DCF Secretary David Wilkins,and the many others who gathered to share strategies to strengthen and encourage girls as they enter leadership roles.
FACILITY UPGRADES: Last week, DJJ staff at the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center (RJDC) began the first phase of a painting project geared at inspiring the youth who come through the facility. Over the next few weeks, the walls of the youth areas will be transformed with bright, cheerful murals, which staff hopes will bring a positive energy of encouragement to the youth. I commend the staff at Volusia RJDC for their creative thinking.
IMPROVING SERVICES FOR YOUTH: In October 2012, the Bureau of Quality Improvement hosted two LifeSkills Training (LST) facilitator trainings. LST facilitator training equipped participants to provide an evidence-based intervention proven to reduce recidivism, aggression, and substance abuse, which are major risk factors evident in DJJ youth. The trainings were conducted in Jacksonville and Tampa; 38 juvenile probation officers (JPOs) across 13 judicial circuits received training. Since then, another four circuits have implemented LST groups with the newly trained JPOs as facilitators. In 2013, we anticipate having statewide participation – great news for youth and their families!
When asked about facilitating LST groups, Senior JPO Lawanna Curry of Circuit 2 said:
“I love the fact that besides our daily role of being a JPO, we are actually getting the opportunity to teach youth skills that they can use in their everyday life. The participation in LST group is great. We get the opportunity to learn more about each other and the changes needed to be made in order to be more successful. DJJ continues to enhance services to youth by providing evidence-based delinquency interventions during traditional and non-traditional working hours, ensuring we strive for optimal success, viewing obstacles as challenges we are determined to overcome, rather than roadblocks to progress.”
HEALTH SERVICES KUDOS: On Jan. 8-9 in Tallahassee, the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ) provided the Mental Health Training Curriculum for Juvenile Justice to 36 DJJ contracted staff and employees. The training was supported by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. DJJ data indicates that 83 percent of youth have a diagnosed mental health disorder, 77 percent have experienced maltreatment or a traumatic event and 21 percent have considered suicide. The two-day NCMHJJ train-the-trainer session provided specialized mental health and juvenile justice training by national experts Dr. Joseph Cocozza, Dr. Stephen Phillippi and Dr. Robert Kinscherff. The NCMJJ also funded a $10,000 DJJ training stipend. Approximately 600 staff statewide over the next nine months will be trained on the best practices for understanding and responding to youth with mental disorders, making them better able to respond to these youth appropriately in everyday and crisis situations. The training furthers DJJ’s commitment to provide trauma-informed care and effectively respond to youth with specialized needs, and will result in better care and improved outcomes for Florida’s most troubled kids. It is an important step for DJJ’s journey to become a national leader in the effective and humane administration of juvenile justice. Thanks to Dr. Gayla Sumner, Heather Lincicome, LCSW, and Joyce Rolle, RN in the Office of Health Services for their efforts that resulted in Florida being selected as one of 10 participants selected from 43 applicants across the country for this training initiative!
Drs. Joseph Cocozza, Stephen Phillippi, and Robert Kinscherff, Deputy Secretary Daly and Dr. Sumner
As we celebrate the Martin Luther King Day holiday and his legacy with the National Day of Service, please accept my thanks to all employees as we embrace opportunities to better serve youth.
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
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.