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Quarterly Meeting Summary
May 17,
2002
Office of Justice Programs
810 Seventh Street NW.
Main Conference Room
Washington, DC
Overview
This meeting of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention provided members and the public
with information about the agreement between the U.S. Departments
of Justice, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban
Development, Education, Commerce, and the Veterans Administration
to implement a coordinated, interagency initiative involving
the return of criminal offenders to their communities, otherwise
known as the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry, or "Going
Home," Initiative. The Initiative began a cooperative and coordinated
Federal effort to encourage and support communities throughout
the Nation to design and implement a comprehensive approach
to address the challenges of adult and juvenile offenders returning
from a period of incarceration. Accordingly, Federal agency
representatives discussed the agreed-upon terms of the content
and method for the administration of the multiyear discretionary
program.
Participants
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP),
Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
J. Robert Flores, Administrator
William Woodruff, Deputy Administrator
Bob Hubbard, Advisory Committee Management Officer
Karen Boston, Administrative Coordinator, Juvenile Justice Resource Center
(JJRC)
Daryel Dunston, Senior Project Coordinator, JJRC
Jackie Siegel, Editor, JJRC
Office of the Assistant Attorney General, OJ
Terrence S. Donahue, Special Assistant to the Assistant
Attorney General
Executive Office for Weed and Seed, OJP
Robert Samuels, Acting Director
National Institute of Justice (NIJ), OJP
Laurie Bright, Senior Social Science Analyst
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
Michael Seelman, Policy Analyst
Christopher Chaney, Attorney/Advisor
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Barbara Broman, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human
Services Policy
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
Richard Morris, Youth Development Specialist
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
Darlind Davis, Chief, Prevention Branch
Steve Gregoire, Policy Analyst
Nataki MacMurray, Policy Analyst
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Gladys Gary Vaughn, National Program Leader, Human Services
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Herb Jones, Director, External Affairs/Project Outreach,
Office of the Under Secretary for Enforcement
U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Douglas Pitkin, Program Examiner
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Lee Kessler, Director, Federal Partnerships
Practitioner Members
Larry Brendtro, President, Reclaiming Youth;
Vernadette Ramirez Broyles, Director of Public Policy and Legal Counsel, We
Care America
Larry Echohawk, Law Professor, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University
Michael Mahoney, Vice Chair, Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission
The Honorable Gordon Martin, Associate Justice, Massachusetts Trial Court,
District Court
Other Participants
Patrick Aaby, Director of Government Affairs, Channing
Bete Company
Joseph Dimas, Legislative Associate, National Center of State Courts
William Glick, Executive Director, Indiana Juvenile Justice Task Force, Inc.
Susan Hallett, Program Analyst, Legal Action Center, National H.I.R.E. Network
Patricia Johnston, Director of Member Services, National Association for Children's
Behavioral Health
Dennis Murstein, Executive Director, Youth Network Council
E.J. Schultz, Reporter, Medill News Service
James Walker, Vice President and General Manager, Prevention Science, Channing
Bete Company
Roxanne White, President, Urban Peak
Welcome and Opening Remarks
J. Robert Flores, Vice Chair, Coordinating Council;
Administrator, OJJDP
Mr. Flores welcomed Federal agency representatives to the
quarterly meeting of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention (Coordinating Council) and emphasized
that the Council needs to communicate the juvenile justice
message clearly and urgently to the general public to effectively
compete for resources.
Mr. Flores thanked Terrence S. Donahue for his excellent work
during his tenure as Acting Administrator for OJJDP and welcomed
Vernadette Ramirez Broyles, Director of Public Policy and Legal
Counsel, We Care America, the new practitioner member of the
Coordinating Council. A graduate of Harvard Law School and
a former Assistant District Attorney with the Fulton County
District Attorney's Office in Atlanta, GA, Ms. Broyles consults
with government officials at the local, State, and national
levels regarding faith-based initiatives and also provides
faith-based audiences with information on entering into collaborations
with the government.
Serious and Violent Reentry Initiative "Going Home" Status
Report
Terrence S. Donahue, Special Assistant to the
Assistant Attorney General, OJP
Mr. Donahue updated the Coordinating Council on the status
of several OJJDP initiatives and discussed the Serious and
Violent Reentry, or "Going Home," Initiative in depth. The
solicitation period for the Serious and Violent Reentry Initiative
(now called "Going Home") closed on May 15, 2002. The goal
is to build on innovative ideas that reduce the recidivism
of serious, high-risk offenders and ultimately to reduce the
amount of violent and other serious crime in the United States.
Participating in the development of this comprehensive initiative
focused on adult and juvenile serious offenders are DOJ, DOL,
HHS, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department
of Commerce, and the Veterans Administration. The $100 million
program will develop a prototype adult and juvenile program
in each State and territory. The prototypes will have three
phases: institutional readiness, community reentry, and stabilization
(what happens beyond the "arm of the law").
Young adult offenders reoffend at a rate of 63 percent in
the first 3 years after release. On average, they commit 10
additional crimes before they are caught. By the fourth year
after release, 94 percent return to prison. Released prisoners'
recidivism has become a problem for every community. These
offenders are rarely plugged into existing local resources
for which they are eligible. They are a difficult, dangerous
population and use a large amount of resources, but research
shows they will reoffend if they do not receive needed services.
The Reentry Initiative will leverage discretionary dollars
from the Federal partners but also will make use of existing
community programs that can serve this population.
A reentry program brings offenders back into their communities
through a controlled process that is monitored by a clear authority,
such as a judge. It provides a vehicle for assessing the needs
of offenders, developing structured plans for reentry with
access to a broad range of services, and creating positive
peer group and community connections. Before offenders leave
the institution, they will have a reentry plan and will have
been tied to resources, have a place to live, and have some
type of monitoring in place.
OJJDP has received 92 applications for Reentry Initiative
funding, from all States and territories except Nebraska. State
corrections departments apply for and receive the grants but
must work with a local agency. Recipients will be expected
to set up some type of reentry court, develop an assessment
and reentry plan, and tie the program to local resources. (OJJDP
is working with the National Council of Juvenile and Family
Court Judges to develop a guide for creating a reentry court.)
Each successful applicant will receive a grant of $2 million.
Grant awards should be made by the end of June. The initiative
will include a $20 million impact and process evaluation performed
by the National Institute of Justice. The National Institute
of Corrections will provide training and technical assistance.
DOL is developing a companion initiative, called "Welcome Home," to
provide training and resources to offenders who are returning
to the community.
Last November, the Coordinating Council also discussed an
initiative focused on harnessing the good will and resources
of faith-based and community-based organizations. OJJDP is
not proceeding with its original plan to create Centers for
Continuous Capacity but will instead interface with programs
such as OJP's Executive Office for Weed and Seed, bringing
training and technical assistance to faith-based and community-based
organizations in areas such as tutoring, mentoring, and foster
care.
OJJDP has also developed an initiative to franchise successful
programs. The University of Colorado's Center for the Prevention
of Juvenile Violence examined 500 programs that had conducted
process and impact evaluations. The Center's Blueprints for
Violence Prevention project selected 13 programs that met 3
criteria: they have produced convincing scientific data demonstrating
their impact, they can be replicated in another site with a
separate population and separate staff, and they can be sustained
over time. OJJDP visited a number of corporations in Arizona
to learn whether corporations would support these successful
turnkey programs. The first Blueprints program to be franchised
provides guidance from registered nurses to young women in
the first and second trimesters of pregnancy.
Council Discussion Chaired by J. Robert Flores
Gordon Martin, Associate Justice, Massachusetts Trial Court,
District Court, suggested the Reentry Initiative is doomed
if communities cannot provide housing. William Glick, Executive
Director, Indiana Juvenile Justice Task Force, Inc., raised
the issue of HUD's One Strike program, which gives local public
housing authorities the right to refuse housing to returning
felons. Most private-sector rentals have the same policy. Mr.
Donahue said the States have VOITIS (Violent Offender Incarceration
Truth-In-Sentencing) funding to build prisons but cannot afford
to staff those prisons. Those dollars could be used for some
sort of supervised, transitional housing for small groups of
reentering offenders.
Darlind Davis, Chief, Prevention Branch, ONDCP, said substance
abuse issues are critical for both adult and juvenile populations,
and treatment to change addictive behavior would be strongly
recommended as part of the reentry program. The Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), HHS, is
a Federal partner and actively involved in the Reentry Program.
Nataki MacMurray, Policy Analyst, ONDCP, asked whether the
initiative addresses the issue of preparing the family and
the community for the offending person's return. Mr. Donahue
agreed that is an important component of reentry and is part
of the initiative. Not only is the offender's family unprepared,
often the victims are unaware of the offender's return and
go through the entire victimization process all over again.
Larry Brendtro, President, Reclaiming Youth, said that when
offenders reenter the community, they do not know how to access
resources, how to negotiate for a job in light of their criminal
record, and how to deal with schools that have only zero-tolerance
policies to handle a crisis. If they relapse, their families
may lose their homes. It would be a good idea to educate not
only reentering individuals but also the community about existing
resources within Federal agencies. He suggested that communities
need to provide something other than halfway houses to reentering
youth; the research is clear that youth associated with other
troubled kids are likely to get into trouble.
Community-Based Initiatives and Partnership
Robert Samuels, Acting Director, Executive Office
for Weed and Seed
Mr. Samuels briefed the Coordinating Council on the work of
the Executive Office for Weed and Seed and on Operation Weed
and Seed. The grants program is based on a comprehensive strategy:
law enforcement and prosecutors "weed" neighborhoods of criminals
who participate in violent crime and drug abuse, and they and
other community stakeholders "seed" these areas by bringing
in human services, including prevention, treatment, and neighborhood
revitalization. At each Weed and Seed site, the U.S. Attorney's
Office plays a central role in developing strategies by organizing
the steering committee and bringing together other Weed and
Seed participants. The U.S. Attorney's Office also coordinates
Federal, State, and local law enforcement efforts and can mobilize
other Federal resources to support the "seeding" effort.
Weed and Seed provides an additional element of crime prevention
and control by reaching out to State and city governments,
citizens, and nonprofit organizations to coordinate activities
and help law enforcement agencies do their job. The program
helps to reduce alienation between law enforcement and citizens.
It facilitates access to services--for example, by making a
public housing community safer so residents can visit the Boys
and Girls Club. Community policing, another Weed and Seed element,
enhances the connection between communities and police. The
prevention, intervention, and treatment activities take place
in a "Safe Haven," typically an afterschool spot where youth
can do homework and develop computer and job skills. The Safe
Haven can be expanded to provide educational opportunities
for parents and other services such as health care screening.
The final element of the Weed and Seed strategy is neighborhood
restoration, ranging from neighborhood cleanup to economic
development, to restore communities.
Weed and Seed has grown from 3 sites in 1991 to more than
300 today. Each site receives $200,000 per year plus assistance
in developing strategies and reaching out to other agencies.
Some Weed and Seed sites have already begun to develop their
own reentry initiatives. Weed and Seed's comprehensive planning
and coordination makes it a natural partner and good investment
for coordination with other Federal partners and faith-based
organizations. Mr. Samuels thanked the Federal agencies for
their assistance in this program, particularly ONDCP and OJJDP
for their assistance in the Drug-Free Communities program,
HHS's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and the G.R.E.A.T.
(Gang Resistance Education and Training) program of the U.S.
Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms.
Roundtable Discussion
Mr. Flores outlined a number of issues that the Coordinating
Council could address in upcoming months:
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OJJDP's Reentry Program is an exciting initiative that
has combined small amounts of money from many different
agencies to increase the capacity of individual communities
to provide for their children in a meaningful way.
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The issue of Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC)
affects one of the most basic concepts in criminal justice--the
perception of justice and fundamental fairness.
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Child sex abuse and exploitation is a problem that seems
to grow every day.
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The Native American and Alaska Native population has not
received necessary services or support from the system,
and the Federal community needs to develop innovative ways
to get material to these citizens in a form that is useful
and responsive to their culture.
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The Federal community also needs to ensure that small
organizations have the resources they need to meet the
needs of children and to find ways to improve the ability
to intervene when children are younger. Mr. Flores quoted
the words of a Romanian delegate he recently met at a United
Nations special session on children. "When you touch the
juvenile justice system, you touch the entire system," she
told him. Mr. Flores agreed, saying children's issues affect
children and families, victims, and every aspect of the
community. The President has directed the Coordinating
Council to find better ways to help our children and to
leave no child behind. How do we make this an important
issue for the people who will never be part of juvenile
justice? When we fail with children, the costs in terms
of lost opportunity are astronomical. It is important to
determine what those costs are, so we can match the cost
of a prevention program against the cost of not providing
it.
Ms. Davis reported that ONDCP is looking for interagency cooperation
in a new program to stop drug use at its earliest stages. ONDCP
wants to tackle demand reduction at the second level of initiated
use, at the behavioral, pre-addictive stage, and is looking
for partners in the faith-based community and in the schools
to get the effort on the right track.
Herb Jones, Director, External Affairs/Project Outreach, Office
of the Under Secretary for Enforcement, U.S. Department of
Treasury, suggested that there should be more official recognition
of the kids who have made the tough decision not to "screw
up." Society and the media need to recognize accomplishments
other than athletics and to honor academic, scientific, and
service achievements. Mr. Glick said the Congressional Awards
Program honors achievements in academics, the arts, and physical
achievements, similar to Eagle Scout recognition. The National
Network for Youth is also involved with youth awards. Barbara
Broman, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services
Policy, HHS, reported that HHS is working on a youth summit
to highlight positive activities.
Richard Morris, Youth Development Specialist, DOL, suggested
that the Coordinating Council should get feedback from young
people. Judge Martin agreed that recognition of good kids is
important, but wondered whether these young people need the
advocacy of the Council. Mr. Brendtro's Reclaiming Youth program
regularly includes presentations from young people with problems;
he suggested that hearing from this population might refresh
the Council's focus.
Closing Remarks
Mr. Flores said he plans to make some changes in how the Coordinating
Council works. The Council may want to include some members
not listed by statute, will need to talk on a regular basis
and perform substantial work to prepare for meetings, and may
meet in the field, not just in Washington, DC. It is critical
to be fully informed in order to provide wise counsel to the
President on these important issues. Mr. Flores said he looks
forward to continued conversations on other issues of importance
to the Council. He thanked the Council Federal members and
practitioners for their work and adjourned the meeting.
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