January 27, 2005 9:00 a.m.
City of Pinellas Park/Park Station
5851 Park
Boulevard
Pinellas Park, FL
33781
Present:
40
|
Jackie
Griffin-Doherty—Operation PAR (Chair) |
Tammy Hillier-Flowers—Boys & Girls Club (Vice Chair) |
|
Stephanie
Prestwood—parent (Secretary) |
Tony
Hinson—Juvenile Welfare Board, (Parliamentarian) |
|
Karen
Segerberg- DJCS |
Vance
Arnett—State Attorney’s Office |
|
Bonnie
McClelland—Suncoast Yellow Ribbon |
Timothy
Niermann—Dept. of Juvenile Justice |
|
Cathy
Corry—Dept. of Juvenile Justice |
Monica
Quioco—Boley Centers |
|
Curtis
Anderson—Boley Centers |
Edwin
Bryant-PCSO Boot Camp |
|
Elka Zwick- Community Member |
Braden Malnic- Operation
PAR |
|
James Uliasz—Dept. of
Juvenile Justice |
Joe
Zawolski—Directions for MH |
|
Jeannie
Lewis—West Care |
Anita Hartley, JSP |
|
Judy Smith—Clearwater Police Department |
David
Plyer—justice4kids.org |
|
Kathleen
Peters—YMCA of Greater St. Pete |
Marty Fogel-Juvenile
Arbitration |
|
Kaye Thompson—Clerk of the Circuit Court |
Joe
Aschenbrenner—Family Resources |
|
Linda
Jones—Pinellas County School Board |
Gayle
McNeil- PEHMS |
|
Mary
Jo Kurchinski—Sheriff’s Office |
|
|
Nancy
Zambito—Pinellas County Schools |
Miquel Hernandez-Critical Resistance |
|
Pat
McGhee—Dept. of Juvenile Justice |
Erin
Fitzgerald—YMCA of the Suncoast |
|
Phyllis
Cloman—Marriage & Family Center |
Ashley Mercer- Student |
|
Rev. Rev. Bruce Wright—The Refuge/Solid Rock |
Isabella Cox, JSP |
|
Sally
Zeh—PACE Center for Girls |
Stacey
Welton—Family Resources |
|
Todd Hoover—Sport Story Publishing |
Tom
Camp—Operation PAR |
|
New Attendees 4 |
|
|
Barbara
Bennett –Westcare |
Donnie
Williams—St. Petersburg Police Dept |
|
Ben
Shirley- DCF |
Martha
Maxey- Parent |
Absent: 37
|
John
Abruzzo—PEMHS |
Stephanie
Bell—E.D.I.P. Daniel Memorial |
|
Troy
Adams—Coalition for a Safe/Drug Free St. Pete |
David
Archie—Citizens Alliance for Progress |
|
Mary
Ann Assiff—Youth Arts Corp |
Rod
Bisson—Sheriff’s Office |
|
Tina
Booze—Smart Fighter Institute |
Diana
Matthews—justice4kids.org |
|
Linda
Cooke—Sheriff’s Office |
Terri
Costello—Girls Scouts of Suncoast Council |
|
Chris
Ortiz- Community |
Beverly
Eller—Community Member |
|
Pat
Gerard—Family Resources |
Khush
Jagus—Pinellas County Schools |
|
Frank
Valdez- Community Member |
Marshall
Lester, Jr.—R’ Club Child Care |
|
Carol
Madura—Pinellas County Schools |
Randy
Tennant—Dept. of Juvenile Justice |
|
Julie
Matheney—The Refuge |
Lynn
Mattiace—Pinellas County Schools |
|
Sharon
Monteleone—United Way |
Herbert
Murphy, Sr.—Boys & Girls Club |
|
James
Myles—Bethel Community Foundation |
Lonnie
Reddick—Dept. of Corrections |
|
Donna
Sicilian—Pinellas County Schools |
Stephen
Slaughter—Largo Police Department |
|
Tom
Toy—Juvenile Arbitration |
Jane
Gallucci- Pinellas County School Board |
|
Libby
Lubin- Public Defenders Office |
Daniel
Warshowsky- The Refuge |
|
Elizabeth
Shaw- GCCC |
David
Parham- Parent |
|
Ann
Kelley, Directions for Mental Health |
Matthew
Sullivan-Medic Alert |
|
John Feeney, Minister/Advocate |
Robert Matthews- The Refuge Dennis Segall – C.R.Y.S |
Call to Order, Welcome, Meeting
Dedication: The meeting was called to order by Chair Jackie
Griffin-Doherty at 9:00 a.m. There was no meeting dedication.
Roll Call, Introductions: The Vice Chair proceeded
with the roll call. The Vice Chair certified the roll and announced those in
voting and non-voting status *Note- Rev. Bruce Wright objected to the voting
status of Ashley Mercer. The Chair provided copies of the Sign-In sheet and the
minutes of the 11/18/04 Council meeting to Rev. Wright to explain the
non-voting status of Ashley Mercer.
“During the roll call, Cathy Corry was told
she was not eligible to vote. She then
made comments, specifically noting 'for the record'. She compared her DJJ contract position to
other Council members who are DJJ contract providers. She stated that she does not agree with DJJ
not permitting her to vote, but is agreeing to not vote. She further stated that other DJJ contract
providers should also not be permitted to vote since she is not permitted to
vote.
The Chair, Jackie Griffin- Doherty, stated that in the absence of a Secretary and Parliamentarian she would like the council to vote for these individuals so they can begin their duties. Stephanie Prestwood made a motion to vote on these individuals and Tom Camp seconded. There were no objections. Ballots were passed out to voting members and the Vice Chair gave the process of voting. The Chair asked if there were any nominations from the floor. Rev. Wright nominated Ashley Mercer for Parliamentarian.
The votes were gathered by the Vice Chair
and counted. For the office of Secretary the vote was unanimous for Stephanie
Prestwood. For the office of Parliamentarian the majority vote was for Anthony
Hinson.
Chair of the Pinellas County Juvenile
Justice Council.
The action to make a by-law revision chair
"Entity" on Circuit Board was
taken. There were 22 ballots. There were 15
votes to approve, 3 votes to
disapprove, 1 vote with no name, and 3 votes
that were not valid due to
members voting status. The action carried.
The action that the chair of the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council will complete the Juvenile Justice council reports was taken and the council would also reinsert language (regarding the Annual Report to DJJ) back into the Bylaws that was erroneously deleted during the last revision process, and then expand upon that language to mirror the Statute: There were 22 votes. There were 18 votes to approve, 0 votes to disapprove, 1 vote with no name and 3 votes that were not valid due to members voting status. The action carried.
Action Required: Nominations to the Circuit
Board: The nomination Committee chair, Kathleen Peters ask if
there were any questions on the ballot. Ms. Peters asks if there were any
nominations from the floor. There were no nominations from the floor. Jeannie
Lewis made a motion to mark the ballot and Dave Pyler seconded it. There were
no objections. The vote for new/renewal Circuit Board members was taken via
ballot and submitted to Braden Malnic and James Uliaz for calculation. Those
who submitted a ballot were Rev. Bruce Wright, Karen Segerberg, Stephanie
Prestwood, Tammy Hillier-Flowers, Tony Hinson, Tom Camp, Erin Fitzgerald,
Kathleen Peters, Stacey Welton, David Plyer, Bonnie McClelland, Todd Hoover,
Kaye Thompson,
Borland 2 votes, Nancy Bostock 2 votes,
Harriet Ranier 1 vote, Russ Sloan 1 vote and Sharon Morton 1 vote. Letters will
be sent to the top seven individuals
Discussion Strategic Plan: The chair, Jackie
Griffin-Doherty stated that the Strategic Plan is a living document and she
wanted to thank all the individuals who have worked so hard to put it together.
Mr. Plyer asks if any changes had been made to the plan since the last
revision. Mrs. Griffin reported that the only changes were a table of contents
has been added, the plan had been reformatted, a reference page was added and
recent citations, including the 2004 Pinellas JAC report was added. The Chair
also reported that the upcoming DJJ Delinquency Prevention Grants will have to
be in compliance with the Strategic Plan and that she will have to sign a form
stating the grantees application is in compliance with the Plan. Dr. Zambito
stated that she does not concur with the Plan. Dr. Zambito stated that the
final recommendations from the Zero Tolerance Committee are not right. Dr.
Zambito further stated that Zero Tolerance talks weapons and substance abuse
and that she agrees that nationally it is justifiably being misused, but that
it is not the position of the School Board. It is although the behaviors by the
children that leads to the discipline that leads to the child being arrested.
Mr. Hoover asked, Dr. Zambito if she had attended any ZT committee meetings and
she said no because after she was invited to present to the council the ZT
policy of the Pinellas County Schools, members of the ZT committee
characterized her as disingenuous.
Rev. Bruce Wright stated that after the
presentation to the Circuit 6 Juvenile Justice Board, Dr. Zambito a Circuit
Board member was allowed to make a statement, but he was not an allowed
rebuttal. Rev. Wright stated "the board does what it wants."
Tom Camp added that the Pinellas Juvenile
Assessment Center data does not show the presenting charges, but really just
the affidavit. He added that you cannot rely solely on PJAC data alone you have
to examine the affidavit and all other documentation to follow.
Mr. Arnett added that the Rev. Bruce Wright
message on ZT has been consistent and that we are discussing a mindset and that
different schools handle ZT differently.
Action Required: Strategic Plan Adoption:
The action whether to adopt the Strategic
Plan was taken. There were 22 ballots. There were 13 ballots to approve the
plan, 1 vote to disapprove the plan, 4 votes to approve the plan with amended
language, 1 vote with no name and 3 votes that were not valid due to voting
members status. The action carried to adopt the Plan.
Action Required- Vote #1 Whether to hold
July and December meetings.
Vote #2 Adoption of the Annual Calendar:
Jackie Griffin-Doherty brought forth the
schedule of meetings times and dates. Updates on times and locations of the
evening meetings were given by
North Greenwood Family Center at 11201
Douglas Avenue, Clearwater from
6:30-8:30 p.m.
The action whether to add July and December
meetings and the adoption of the Annual Calendar was taken. There were 22 ballots.
There were 12 votes to approve the calendar, 6 votes to disapprove the
calendar, I vote with no name, 3 votes that were not valid due to members
voting status. The vote to add July and December meetings and the adoption of
the calendar carried.
Action required Council Website- Discussion and approval
to create and vote for name of website and URL.
Chief Probation Officer Report: Tim Niermann reported
that the reorganization and the plan to merge detention and probation are on
hold after a visit by the Secretary. As for Article V, the legislation that was
passed last spring that would transfer pre-adjudication costs to the County
(approximately $90 million) it is still in the works. Mr. Niermann reports that
it looks like it is back on the county to pay. Karen Segerberg announced that
she is on statewide committee of counties working with this legislation. Mr.
Niermann further reported that this is the first time the Governors budget and
the House and Senate budgets have not recommended any reductions for the
Department. Mr. Niermann further reported that there is a proposal in the
budget for an increase in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services in the detention
centers.
Prevention Specialist Report: Pat McGhee was present
at this meeting.
Pat reported that a Grant Committee has been
established and that there is a
mandatory Grant Reviewers VTC training on February 18,
2005 at 955 -26th Street South at 9:30 A.M. The training is public. The committee ranks the grants, submits their
scores to the chair, who submits the scores to the Council chair who submits
to the Circuit Board for approval. The Chair stated that at the last Circuit 6
Juvenile Justice Board meeting, the Circuit Board took a vote to empower the
Council to approve the grants since they would not meet again until after the
final scores were due in Tallahassee. Cathy Corry
stated that this might not be legal and that she had not yet taken the
time to research the Statute. Ms. McGhee agreed to
research this. The grants are due in Tallahassee on April 18, 2005. The Chair
stated she may have to call a "Special Meeting" to get the councils
approval. Stephanie Prestwood, Chair of the committee read the names of the 7
individuals who have volunteered their time to rank grants and encouraged
others to volunteer.
Outreach Committee:
Planning Committee: Jackie Griffin-Doherty
reported that the Planning
Committee has not formally met but has been
busy preparing the Strategic
Plan for vote. The next meeting of the
Planning committee has not been scheduled but a notice will go out when it is
scheduled. Minutes of the 12/16/04 meeting were distributed earlier in the
meeting.
Special
Committee Reports Zero Tolerance and Application of Policy Recommendations to
the Council:
Rev. Bruce Wright read his report and read the final recommendations of the Zero
Tolerance Committee that have been adopted by the Council.
Rev. Wright stated the Zero Tolerance Special Committee has solicited law
enforcement and the school board and after numerous emails and comments we did
not welcome their reactionary comments at meetings. Rev. Wright further
reported that the committee presented their recommendations to the Circuit
Board and at the conclusion was not given the opportunity to rebut. Rev. Wright read a public statement from the
Zero Tolerance committee membership on behalf of John Feeney. Council member Wright further stated that we
also have concerns in the Zero Tolerance Special Committee regarding what we
perceive as attacks on John Feeney and we wanted it stated for the record that,
“We stand behind his assertions and don’t appreciate attacks on him through
emails and correspondence.”
Mr. Niermann stated he has attended many of
the ZT committees meetings and suggests that Law Enforcement, the Schools and
the States Attorney's Office have representation at the meeting, as we need
everyone's input.
Todd Hoover suggests
we target the dropouts.
Linda Jones Superintendent of Safe and Drug
Free Schools, Pinellas County Schools explained that the school Board is not
apathetic on Zero Tolerance. Mrs. Jones stated it is apparent that this is a
concern of Dr. Wilcox, the Superintendent based on a recent article in the St.
Petersburg Times.
Mr. Plyer stated that we are a legal entity
established by the State and we should have some voice. Mr. Plyer further stated
that we have solid information and that in order for the council and committees
to be successful it requires involvement by/in the committees.
Ms. Corry stated that the Public Defender
has stated that Zero tolerance is hurting our youth. Ms. Corry further stated
that Mr. Niermann agreed to have a Juvenile Probation
Officer at the next Zero Tolerance meeting.
Mr. Arnett asks if the ZT committee was still an active committee. Rev. Bruce Wright stated yes. Rev. Wright then said for example look at the incident at Baywalk when “only black kids got arrested”. Major Donnie Willams (St.Petersburg Police Department) ask to set the record straight and stated that only black kids were arrested because only black kids were involved.
The Chair stated that she wants the council to go back to being a healthy and productive council. She recommended that in order to be a cohesive unified voice for youth and their families that the threats and accusations among Council members should not continue. Regardless of each Council member's personal opinion, we as a Council need to lead by the power of example and not participate in these activities.
The Chair opened up the floor to anyone with
items related to Council business.
Pat McGhee stated that she wanted to
publicly thank Cathy Corry, JJCRISP Coordinator, for serving in the position.
The Council members gave Mrs.
Corry a round of applause for her
contribution to the Council.
Martha Moxey, a parent of a Middle School
girl reported that she had taken a discipline matter before the school Board
last night and she wanted the council to hear about it.
New Business:
Juvenile Arrest Records/Public Accessibility
via Background Check:
Cathy Corry recommended that, in the
interest of time this agenda item be postponed until the February meeting. No
opposition was expressed
Starting Meetings on Time - Cathy Corry reiterated
the importance of starting meetings on time.
Annual Reports - Cathy Corry reported
this was discussed during the bylaw discussion.
Email Etiquette- Tim Niermann, requested
that the e-mails be limited to public notices and minutes and to save exchanges
and debates to actual council meetings.
JJ WEEK: The chair solicits any ideas
for JJ week. Please email or call her with ideas. Rev. Wright recommended a
memorial honoring those youth whose lives have been lost while involved in the
DJJ system.
Adjournment:
There was a motion to adjourn the meeting by
Tom Camp and seconded by Judy Smith. There were no objections. The meeting
adjourned at 11:45 a.m. The next meeting of the Council will be on February 24,
2005 at the North Greenwood Family Center, from 6:30-8:30.
Special Note: Council member Corry requested that this be added to
the minutes, “I would also like notations made concerning improper voting
procedures that occurred for the following:
'Call
the question'
'Table
the website'
“Please
review Robert's Rules of Order for 'Call the question' and 'To table an issue.'
The Council's procedures have not been proper for these.”
Final Minutes prepared by Jackie
Griffin-Doherty, Chair on 3/31/05 following review and amendments requested by
Cathy Corry on 3/31/05
Fourth Draft with Amendments prepared by
Stephanie Prestwood on 3/30/05
First Draft submitted by Stephanie
Prestwood, Secretary 2/3/05
Second draft submitted by Stephanie
Prestwood, Secretary 2/8/05
Third draft submitted by Stephanie
Prestwood, Secretary 3/1/05
Fourth
Draft submitted by Stephanie Prestwood, Secretary 3/15/05
Approved
minutes with amendments submitted by the Secretary 3/30/05