Quarterly Meeting Summary

March 19, 2004

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, D.C.

Abstract

This Quarterly Meeting of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention provided members and the public with information on preventing and responding to truancy. The Council heard presentations on the Albuquerque Public Schools Community Partnership for Addressing and Preventing School Absenteeism and Truancy, the OJJDP Strategic Planning Tool: Risk Factors Matrix, and the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth. The Council discussed recommendations on addressing truancy and coordinating programs that reduce truancy. The Council also discussed what action to take in response to two federally sponsored reports: a General Accounting Office (GAO) report on the role federal agencies should play in helping states reduce the number of children placed in the child welfare or juvenile justice system solely to obtain mental health services and a final report from the White House Task Force on Disadvantaged Youth. A new Council member, Bray B. Barnes, was sworn in.

Members Present

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
J. Robert Flores, Vice Chair, Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
For John P. Walters, Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Darlind Davis, Chief, Prevention Branch

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
For Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor
Lorenzo Harrison, Administrator, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Youth Services

U.S. Department of Education (ED)
For Roderick Paige, Secretary of Education
Deborah A. Price, Deputy Undersecretary, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
For Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Don Winstead, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
For Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Donald P. Mains, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Rural Housing and Economic Development

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
For Michael J. Garcia, Assistant Secretary, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Frank Figueroa, Executive Coordinator, Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Corporation for National and Community Service
For David Eisner, Chief Executive Officer, Corporation for National and Community Service
John Foster-Bey, Senior Advisor, Research and Policy Development, Corporation for National and Community Service

Practitioner Members
Bray Barnes, Attorney/Consultant
Michael J. Mahoney, Practitioner, Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Adele Grubbs, Judge, Juvenile Court of Cobb County, Marietta, Georgia

Welcome and Introductions
J. Robert Flores, Vice Chair, Coordinating Council; Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Mr. Flores welcomed attendees to the Quarterly Meeting of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency. The 1-day, rotating-venue meeting format is a good fit for the Council, said Mr. Flores, because it facilitates participant attendance and agency involvement. Mr. Flores stated that the Council offers an excellent opportunity for multiagency collaboration, and he emphasized the value of getting the partner agencies together to discuss juvenile justice issues that touch every aspect of society. The panelists briefly introduced themselves, stating their name, professional affiliation, and work responsibilities. Mr. Flores extended a special welcome to Bray B. Barnes, a Council member newly appointed by President Bush. Another newly appointed member, Victor Rodriguez, was unable to attend the meeting.

Opening Remarks
Don Winstead, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Mr. Winstead welcomed participants on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and on behalf of Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. He echoed Mr. Flores's remarks regarding the value of collaborative, interagency efforts to help youth. Mr. Winstead summarized the work of HHS, highlighting in particular how the agency's activities and programs work to improve the lives of youth—for example, an abstinence education initiative and programs that provide mentors to children whose parents are incarcerated.

Presentation: Albuquerque Community Partnership for Preventing Truancy
Catherine Cross Maple, Ph.D.

By way of introduction, Mr. Flores stressed the fact that truancy is a multiagency issue. Truant youth are more than simply absent from school: limited employability, drug use, teenage pregnancy, poverty, and delinquency are all factors associated with truancy. As such, truancy requires a coordinated response from multiple agencies.

This presentation concluded a multimeeting agenda focusing on truancy. Dr. Maple was the last expert presenter on the issue of truancy. Following her presentation, the Council will move forward to make policy/program decisions based on the information it has received over the course of the last several meetings.

Dr. Maple began her presentation by asking a question: Should truancy be classified as a symptom or a problem? According to the findings of the Albuquerque Community Partnership for Preventing Truancy, the answer depends on a variety of factors. Often, truancy is both a symptom and a problem.

The Albuquerque Community Partnership for Preventing Truancy was formed in October 2002 to address excessive absenteeism and truancy. The partnership was spearheaded by the District Attorney, planned by the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), and involved a number of state and local agencies, law enforcement, parents, and the Mayor's and Governor's offices. In the past, absenteeism in Albuquerque schools was addressed by the APS Court Liaison Program. The program was funded by a congressional earmark from OJJDP. The liaison program, which relied on a school referral system, had been in place since 1974 and could not handle the approximately 4,000 referrals it received. To examine the efficacy of the Court Liaison Program, the Albuquerque Community Partnership conducted an absenteeism study.

It began by examining several 20-day student enrollment cycles. The results of the data study were staggering: of the 82,073 students enrolled on the 120th day of school, 15,596 (about 19 percent) were identified has having excessive absences (equivalent to missing more than 10 schooldays). The highest proportion of absenteeism was at the high school level, where 29 percent of the students had excessive absences. The results of the initial data study confirmed that many students were missing out on important learning opportunities. It also confirmed that the existing methods for tracking attendance and dealing with truant youth were inadequate.

The pivotal role for APS was to develop a system for addressing truancy that helped schools attain district goals and performance measures. The framework for supporting compulsory school attendance was predicated on a continuum of early identification/ prevention, intervention, and response. When students were identified as having excessive absences or being truant, their parents/guardians were notified. Parents/guardians of students with continuing absences or truancy were required to attend the Truancy Prevention Program and to sign (along with the child) an attendance contract. When students referred to the Truancy Prevention Program continued to be absent or truant, their cases were reviewed and prepared for possible prosecution or court-ordered remedy.

Because the public school system was so large and the absentee numbers were so great, implementation was phased in. Students who showed a potential for excessive absences or who had been issued a truancy citation were identified early in the school year. Then the student's school attendance was tracked, and if attendance problems persisted, the required intervention was put in place. At each step of the process, the parents/guardians and student were notified about the implication of continued absences.

The effort to involve the community showed dramatic results. In a new survey of the 81,926 students enrolled on the 120th day, 10,998 were identified as having excessive absences, a reduction of about 30 percent from the prior year. The percentage of students missing more than 10 schooldays dropped from 19 to 13 percent. The greatest improvement in preventing absenteeism was at the middle and high school levels, with the ninth grade showing the single greatest improvement across all grade levels.

The dramatic improvement in reducing the number of Albuquerque students with excessive absences shows the power of an effective partnership. Regular school attendance is vital for students to succeed in the classroom. By addressing truancy as both a symptom and a problem, the Albuquerque Community Partnership for Preventing Truancy keeps students in school and on the path to success. Continued truancy-reduction efforts in Albuquerque include new legislation strengthening the Compulsory School Attendance Law, the implementation of an off-campus Truancy Citation project, the development of a Truancy Court and School Prosecutor program, and ongoing work to study and improve the current truancy prevention system.

Dr. Maple concluded her presentation by focusing on linkages between the Albuquerque Community Partnership for Preventing Truancy and the final report of the White House Task Force on Disadvantaged Youth. These linkages included the need for better management accountability, interagency coordination, oversight of common measures for program success, increased parental involvement, and a focus on youth with the greatest needs.

Coordinating Council Recommendations on Addressing Truancy and Coordinating Programs That Reduce Truancy

To open the discussion, Mr. Flores encouraged the Council to recommend action items that can be accomplished in a reasonable timeframe and to consider the Council resources already in place. Mr. Flores posed two questions to the Council: What appropriate steps should the Council take on truancy? How can the Council move the mission of other agencies forward? During an open-floor discussion, the Council agreed on the following recommendations:

• Include truancy-related language in grant applications, when appropriate, to address absenteeism and truancy. For example, grant announcements for mentoring and substance abuse could include components of outreach/student assistance. Outcome evaluations could include truancy as a core outcome measure.
• Focus on linkages between foster care and absenteeism.
• Identify early on families who need help with truancy.
• Recognize that school attendance is a valuable indicator for problems in families.
• Make a change in nomenclature from "truancy" to "school attendance." This change in language will serve to lessen the punitive notion typically associated with the word "truancy."
• Ask each agency to identify programs where it will insert a school attendance goal, preferably a performance measure. The Council recommends that each Cabinet Secretary of the federal partner agencies direct a review of programs, starting with those in the final report of the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth. As an initial step, each agency should determine which programs listed in the report bear on the issue of school attendance. Mr. Flores asked the partner agencies to provide a list of those programs to the Council for review. (If an agency is unable to take up this action item, it is to notify the Vice Chair within the next couple of weeks.)
• Ensure that school systems are accessing resources available from all agencies. The Council will assist the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to identify whether school systems are accessing available resources (e.g., Temporary Assistance to Needy Families resources, block grant funds) from across agencies. The Department of Education will take the lead in providing staff to work with the Council to identify programs from other agencies that would benefit school systems. In turn, the Council will make that information accessible to school communities and the constituencies they serve. The Council requested that each partner agency identify a staff member to work with ED to move this action item forward.

Presentation: OJJDP Strategic Planning Tool: Risk Factors Matrix
Phelan Wyrick, Ph.D., Social Science Program Specialist, OJJDP

In previous meetings, the Council discussed the fact that certain technologies that might benefit juvenile justice issues are not being implemented. One appealing area of technology, for example, is geospatial mapping, which can be used to develop evidence-based strategies. OJJDP's Gang Reduction Program (GRP) is embracing advanced technology to strengthen evidence-based practices. GRP involves the participation of different agencies and fosters buy-in at the local level for true systems change. OJJDP's Strategic Planning Tool helps identify service gaps and provides solutions in a cost-effective, cross-agency fashion.

The goal of OJJDP's GRP Strategic Planning Tool is to reduce youth gang crime and violence in communities through an integrated application of proven practices in prevention, intervention, and suppression. Although the GRP Strategic Planning Tool is being developed to address gang activity, the technology and strategic planning it uses are applicable to a variety of issues, including truancy.

The Strategic Planning Tool is designed to help federal agencies and communities better implement programs and apply knowledge of proven programs. It enables local practitioners to access information about programs that work and to put together a comprehensive response (including prevention, intervention, and suppression). Strategic planning for GRP involves crime and gang analysis, an inventory of existing resources, an identification of gaps and areas for improvement, and the selection and implementation of best practices and proven programs. Dr. Wyrick pointed out that compiling an inventory of existing resources can be difficult, but it is fundamental to beginning the strategic planning process. As part of the strategic planning tool, GRP employs an informational matrix—an online database (www.iir.com/nygc/tool/ rfpmatrix.htm) containing more than 100 research-based programs that address gang issues and have demonstrated positive evaluation results.

To develop the tool, researchers looked at reviews and compendiums of programs from a variety of federal agencies. Most risk factors related to delinquency fall into five general categories. OJJDP researchers looked at longitudinal studies to find additional risk factors related specifically to gangs; 84 risk factors are included in the matrix.

Programs are organized by risk factor environment and the age groups they serve. Feedback regarding the matrix from pilot sites in the field has been positive. Dr. Wyrick asked the Council to provide additional feedback and to assist in populating the matrix by suggesting additional programs for inclusion. Council members were asked to assign a staff member to review the Strategic Planning Tool and to provide recommendations on programs that OJJDP may have overlooked. Council members can provide the name of the staff person to Tim Wight via e-mail at wightt@ojp.usdoj.gov.

Following Dr. Wyrick's presentation, Mr. Flores made two announcements:

• Congress has requested that OJJDP study linkages between the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system, a tremendous mandate that is not a funded request. Mr. Flores asked the Council partners to help OJJDP prepare the report. Congress is looking for critical linkages that require significant research and focus. OJJDP needs the respective agencies to identify a contact person to provide a perspective from each agency regarding what those links are and what work is being done in this area. Agencies should provide the name of the staff person to Tim Wight. The coordinator for the effort is Katherine D. Schmitt (OJJDP).
• Meeting participants were invited to tour HHS's command center, which has state-of-the-art GIS (geographic information system) mapping capabilities—a technology that the Council has discussed in the past.

Introduction to the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth
Cheri Nolan, Deputy Assistant Attorney General

Many of the nation's youth suffer because they do not have access to the resources that might help them. The White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth seeks to provide disadvantaged youth with much needed support. Composed of representatives from the White House and 12 other Cabinet agencies, the Task Force coordinates interagency efforts to (1) address the problem of failure among disadvantaged youth, (2) develop a unified research plan to identify effective practices that help disadvantaged youth, (3) incorporate positive youth development practices that help disadvantaged youth, and (4) analyze and quantify the impact of these efforts.

Created by President Bush in December 2002, the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth was tasked with developing a comprehensive federal response to the problems of youth failure under existing authorities and programs, with a focus on enhanced agency accountability and effectiveness. Ms. Nolan emphasized the importance of better serving disadvantaged youth by reducing overlap and duplication of services across agencies, ensuring a focus on existing policies and resources, and increasing collaborative efforts. Maintaining a consistent public message to youth across agencies is also important, Ms. Nolan said.

One of the Task Force's goals is to improve the quality and quantity of program evaluations, which are ideally based on best practices and use standardized performance measures for similar programs. Ms. Nolan described a recent meeting wherein federal representatives met to discuss a consensus standard among federal partners. A common consensus standard is necessary to make program standards transparent to the public, so that the validity of one program can be compared to another. During the meeting, which was convened by Assistant Attorney General Deborah J. Daniels, federal partners looked at programs for at-risk youth and other programs (especially in the areas of drug-use prevention treatment models). A working group was formed, and it will present to the larger group in April 2004. Federal agency signoff for a consensus standard is expected by August or September 2004.

Presentation: The White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth
Karen Morison, Staff Director, White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth

According to a National Academy of Sciences study, about one-quarter of all teens (10 million youth) are at serious risk of not achieving productive adulthood. The federal government plays a major role in addressing this issue: It spends approximately $223.5 billion a year in 339 federal programs that touch on all aspects of children's lives. The mandate set for the White House Task Force on Disadvantaged Youth was to examine how the government can do a better job of providing services to disadvantaged youth. In outlining the Task Force's findings to the Council, Ms. Morison focused on those recommendations most relevant to the Council. The recommendations were grouped according to mission alignment, interagency coordination, improving the federal grants system, understanding what works, holding programs accountable for results, engaging youth and families, and caring for special target populations.

In developing a comprehensive federal response to disadvantaged youth, the Task Force began with a Vision for Youth in the form of a national youth policy framework. This outcome-focused approach delineates the desired outcomes for all youth—namely, that they grow up healthy and safe; ready for work, college, and military service; ready for marriage, family, and parenting; and ready for civic engagement and service.

The national youth policy framework is designed to ensure that programs meet one or more of these four goals. The Task Force was organized into committees around this framework. Each committee was charged with developing recommendations to improve federal disadvantaged youth programs under existing authorities. The way to achieve the best outcomes for disadvantaged youth from the significant federal funds invested was to focus on (1) better management, (2) better accountability, (3) better connections, and (4) priority to the neediest youth.

The Task Force identified 339 federal youth programs in its preliminary report, which was submitted to the President in April 2003. The preliminary report looked specifically at statutes, regulations, and funding. By surveying programs in youth-serving agencies to determine goals and target audiences, the Task Force found that many programs are directed to large numbers of youth (with significant overlap among programs) and have a wide range of goals. These factors can cause problems in terms of accountability when multiple agencies respond to the same problems. Likewise, congressional earmarking of funds for disadvantaged youth programs is problematic because it eliminates linkages between accountability measures and funding decisions (as opposed to a competitive grant process). As a result, there is no incentive for agencies to provide oversight. The report analyzed data by looking at programs and quantifying the degree to which programs were being evaluated at a high level. Of the 339 programs identified in the report, only 27 had been properly evaluated (using a random-assignment method, which is scientifically reliable).

In light of its findings, the Task Force proposed a Disadvantaged Youth Policy Initiative and presented recommendations on mission alignment, interagency coordination, and improving the federal grants system. Designed to be coordinated through the Executive Office of the President, the Disadvantaged Youth Policy Initiative is intended to develop and coordinate policy, maximize interagency collaboration, coordinate federal research, and find and evaluate models of "what works." For example, the Task Force recommended consolidating/coordinating mentoring programs after first determining where the need for mentoring is greatest.

Mr. Flores commended the Task Force on its efforts and asked Council members to review the programs listed in appendix F of the final report and to bring missing programs to the attention of Tim Wight, who will then pass on that information to the Task Force.

Swearing in of Bray B. Barnes
J. Robert Flores, Judge Adele Grubs
Mr. Barnes was officially sworn in by Judge Grubs.

Discussion on Developing Calendar Years 2004 and 2005 Coordination Topics, Work Groups, and Meeting Agendas
Timothy Wight, OJJDP

Mr. Flores opened a discussion on proposed Council activities for 2004–2005. The Council discussed what action to take regarding the GAO report on child welfare and juvenile justice (Federal Agencies Could Play a Stronger Role in Helping States Reduce the Number of Children Placed Solely To Obtain Mental Health Services [GAO 03–097]).

The Council discussed how to respond to the following three GAO recommendations:

• The Secretary of HHS and the Attorney General investigate the feasibility of tracking the children discussed in the report to identify the extent and outcomes of their placement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
• The Secretaries of HHS and ED and the Attorney General develop an interagency working group to identify the causes of misunderstandings at the state and local levels and to create an action plan to address those causes.
• HHS and ED should continue to encourage states to evaluate child mental health programs, and the Secretaries of HHS and ED and the Attorney General should determine the most effective means of disseminating the results of these and other available studies.

This issue was a Council item last year. The GAO recommendations were written in response to a disturbing trend—some parents feel that the only way for their children to receive mental health services is to surrender their parental rights. Mr. Flores asked the Council to affirm its commitment to provide a response to Congress on this issue. Mr. Flores proposed that the Council provide what assistance it can to help HHS respond to Congress. The Council affirmed this recommendation with no objections. Council member Don Winstead (HHS) agreed to take the lead on the three recommendations, working with DOJ, ED, and other agencies. Mr. Winstead will designate a lead staff person who will survey the rest of the departments to determine whom they want to involve, and the partner agencies will designate lead staff to work with HHS on this issue. Mr. Winstead thanked the other agencies for their support.

The Council also discussed the final report of the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth, examining each recommendation to determine whether it required action from the Council. The following recommendations were deemed appropriate for Council involvement. (Page numbers refer to the final report.)

Interagency Coordination: Improve coordination of mentoring programs (pp. 5, 38)

• The Council discussed the need to coordinate primary mentoring programs (those whose sole focus is to match a mentor with a child) and secondary mentoring programs (a program that has mentoring as a component, such as Girl Scouts).
• The Council expressed the need to provide mentoring services to those most in need, such as children of incarcerated parents.
• In addressing this recommendation, the Council agreed to combine it with the Task Force recommendation to expand mentoring programs to special target groups such as foster care and migrant youth (pp. 13, 119).
• The Council agreed to address this issue at a future meeting.
• The Council will make a preliminary assessment of which agencies in the government currently have mentoring or mentoring-type programs and ask the staff and program managers of those programs to address the Council at a future meeting.

Interagency Coordination: Support state and local community planning process (pp. 5, 41)

• The Council recognized the duplication of planning efforts at the state and local levels. This is often due to federal requirements for various plans, committees, and data collections.
• Although Council agencies can combine some planning requirements and can collectively support state and local government planning efforts, legislative changes may be necessary to eliminate certain grant program requirements that have the effect of impeding or disrupting state and local planning efforts.
• The Council recognized the current lack of funding available for coordination activities.
• The Council recognized the importance of involving the Domestic Policy Council in future conversations about this issue.

Understanding What Works: Develop a unified protocol for federal "What Works" clearinghouses (pp. 8, 55)

• The Council briefly discussed a few separate efforts that member agencies have in place to research youth programs and then inform the public about model programs that have been proven through rigorous experimental design and replication.
• It was agreed that Council agencies should discuss ways to coordinate information so a common clearinghouse could be developed for research-based programs. This would include developing common protocols and standards of research so appropriate comparisons could be made.
• The Council will invite those who are currently working on this issue to attend a future meeting to present and explain what they are working on. The Council will then be in a position to assist with those efforts.

Understanding What Works: Build a rigorous and unified disadvantaged youth research agenda (pp. 8, 65)

• Council agencies expressed an interest in coordinating research efforts.
• In addressing this recommendation, there was concern that the Council may be duplicating what was being done by the Domestic Policy Council. It was decided that once a lead agency was selected to develop this research agenda, the lead agency could be invited to a Council meeting so Council agencies can discuss and coordinate research efforts.

Understanding What Works: Improve data collected on the well-being of families (pp. 9, 67)

• As with the disadvantaged youth research agenda, the Council will work with the assigned lead agency to inform that lead agency on what is currently being collected by Council agencies, what improvements should be made, and how current data can be used to improve agency policy decisions.

Holding Programs Accountable for Results: Develop standards for measuring grantee performance (pp. 9, 69)

• The Council was very interested in using its collective efforts to develop common standards for measuring performance, particularly developing core outcome measures that could be used in multiple grant programs.
• A distinction was made during the Council meeting between developing program-level measures and developing grantee-level measures.

Holding Programs Accountable for Results: Implement grantee-level performance measurement guidelines (pp. 9, 81)

• The Council members agreed to address this recommendation in conjunction with the recommendation to develop standards for measuring grantee performance.
• Mr. Flores stressed the importance of working with the field and grantees and inviting them to address this recommendation.

Holding Programs Accountable for Results: Conduct rigorous oversight of earmarked grantees (pp. 10, 84)

• It was initially suggested that this recommendation not be addressed by the Council but that each individual agency would provide direct oversight and response to the issue of earmarks.
• On further discussion, it was agreed that a coordinated response was necessary to inform policymakers of the problems incurred through eliminating the competitive grant process, one of seven earmarked issues listed in the final report.
• A future Council meeting will be scheduled to discuss collective action that could be taken to address the earmarks issue.
• At a future Council meeting, key staff from authorizing committees and appropriations committees will be invited to discuss a suitable baseline for responsible stewardship in the earmark environment.

Engaging Youth and Families: Increase parent involvement in federal youth programs (pp. 11, 95)

• The Council agreed that including parents in advisory groups, program planning, and the youth-serving program was an excellent recommendation.
• The Council agreed to investigate programs that might benefit from parental involvement and modify programs to include this as a component.
• Council agencies will report at a future meeting the extent to which they were able to involve parents in their programs.

Engaging Youth and Families: Recruit youth for federal grant review panels (pp. 11, 98)

• Although initially rejected as an issue that did not require coordination and thus did not need Council action, HHS staff indicated that they had implemented this recommendation during the past few years with great success. They were asked to present this information at a future Council meeting so other Council agencies could learn from HHS's success.

Caring for Special Target Populations: Target youth who are in public care such as foster care homes and juvenile justice institutions (pp. 12, 103)

• The Council agencies indicated that this recommendation was a high priority and should be addressed through Council action.
• Coordination would be needed from HHS and the DOJ to link programs that serve youth to foster care youth and youth in juvenile justice institutions.
• Policy changes may be necessary to encourage programs at the state and local levels to seek youth in these target populations.
• Additional Council agencies will provide input on other target populations that could be identified for inclusion.

Caring for Special Target Populations: Target youth with a high number of factors putting them at risk, such as children of incarcerated parents and migrant youth (pp. 12, 105)

• All agencies on the Council agreed that youth with a high number of risk factors should be targeted for services.
• Agreement would need to occur at a future Council meeting on which risk factors to focus on and what target populations to include in this focus.

Caring for Special Target Populations: Expand mentoring programs to special target groups, such as foster care and migrant youth (pp. 13, 119)

• The Council will address this recommendation as part of the recommendation made to improve coordination of mentoring programs.
• Mr. Flores stressed the importance of addressing the issue of migrant youth and developing a dialog with officials at the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Mr. Wight discussed future Council meeting dates and venues, acknowledging that Council members need to know about meeting logistics as far in advance as possible. He proposed a quarterly meeting schedule. Mr. Wight thanked HHS for hosting the meeting and providing the meeting space. The next Council meeting will be held on June 4, 2004, at the White House conference center. Mr. Wight requested that Council members volunteer to host future meetings (from December 3, 2004, forward).

Closing Remarks
J. Robert Flores

Mr. Flores asked the Council members to consider what they can do to improve the benefits that the federal partners receive from the Council. Mr. Flores suggested that Council members think about what it would take to get the Cabinet Secretaries to attend future meetings, thereby underscoring the Secretaries' commitment to juvenile justice issues. Council members could, for example, explain to the Secretaries how the Council's activities relate to departmental agendas. Mr. Flores pointed to the benefit of having Cabinet Secretaries interact directly with Council and practitioner members. After remarking that the nation's youth are the ultimate beneficiaries of the Council's efforts, Mr. Flores thanked the Council members and participants for attending and adjourned the meeting.

Attendees

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
Jasmine D'Addario-Fobian, Program Specialist, Office for Victims of Crime
Darcey K. Donehey, Contractor, Weed and Seed Program
Joan LaRocca, Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Communications
Cheri Nolan, Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Cora L. Roy-Stevens, Program Specialist
Catherine Sanders, Public Affairs
Specialist/Speech Writer, Office of Communications
Robert Samuels, Acting Director, Executive Office for Weed and Seed

Office of Juvenile Justice and DelinquencyPrevention (OJJDP)
Janet Chiancone, Program Manager
Katherine D. Schmitt, Social Policy Analyst
Timothy Wight, Director, Concentration of Federal Efforts Program
Phelan Wyrick, Ph.D., Social Science Program Specialist, Demonstration Programs Division

National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
Dr. Henry H. Brownstein, Chief, Drugs and Crime and International Research Division, Office of Research and Evaluations

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Sonia Chessen, Senior Policy Analyst
Harry Wilson, Associate Commissioner

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration
Beverly Watts Davis, Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention

U.S. Department of Education (ED)
John Linton, Director, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools
Diane McCauley, Ph.D., Education Research Analyst, Office of the Secretary

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Marvin E. Klepper, Program Analyst, Real Estate Assessment Center

U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Jim Wright, Highway Safety Specialist

Other Participants
Dr. Pat G. Aaby, Director of Government Affairs, Channing Bete Company

Tim Briceland-Betts, Senior Government Affairs Associate, Child Welfare League of America

Arthur L. Burnett, Sr., Senior Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Joan L. Byer, Family Court Judge, Court of Justice, Louisville, Kentucky Mishaela Duran, Director of Public Policy, National Network for Youth

Bigual Estrada, Policy Analyst, Family Youth Services Bureau

Thaddeus Ferber, Program Director, Forum for Youth Investment

Caren Harp,

Senior Attorney, American Prosecutors Research Institute

Dr. William L. Howard, Assistant Administrator, Maryland-Judiciary/Administrator of the Court

Lawrence K. Johnson, Management Analyst, Fairfax County Sheriff's Office

Irv Katz, President, National Collaboration for Youth, National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations

Jeffrey A. Kuhn, Esq., Project Administrator, National Truancy Prevention Association

Beth P. Lovell, Director of Children, Youth, and Families, Volunteers of America

Jennifer Mankey, Executive Director, Center for Network Development

Catherine Cross Maple, Ph.D., Strategic Planning Officer, Albuquerque Public Schools

Marion Mattingly, National Program Director, National Campaign to Stop Violence

Karen Morison, Executive Vice President, Center for Education Reform

Carissa Pappas, Research Analyst, Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Court

Joseph F. Pauley, President, Kahler Communications

Dr. Judith A. Pauley, Chief Executive Officer, Kahler Communications

Jessica A. Sandoval, Juvenile Justice Policy Coordinator, Center for Youth as Resources

William Scott, Esq., Assistant Director, Standards and Accreditation, American Correctional Association

Ray Sweeney, Editor, Children and Youth Funding Report

William W. Treanor, Executive Director, American Youth Work Center

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