Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council April 27, 2006 — Report of the Chair 

March 3, 2006: Council wrote Secretary Schembri recommending that DJJ close Florida’s juvenile boot camps: “These boots camps do little good and great harm to our youth. Lead the effort to close boot camps now because it is the right thing to do.” Yesterday, April 26, 2006, the Senate passed the Martin Lee Anderson Act that repeals boot camps and creates a new STAR program. I don’t know what impact we had, if any, but I do know that this Council did what it should do: we “saw a wrong and tried to right it”.

March 15, 2006: Council presented letters to representatives of Secretary Schembri, for delivery to the Secretary, recommending that DJJ support these legislative actions:

·        SB0304 and SB0320 to limit use of restraints on youth in court
Passage would support the Department’s Rights for Youth in Department Care, Custody, or Supervision: “We will always strive to be respectful and courteous...towards youth in our care, even when we are faced with disrespectful conduct.”

·        SB1406 to limit release of juvenile criminal history (particularly prohibits FDLE from releasing any juvenile criminal history information without corresponding disposition information)
Passage would support the Department’s Mission that includes, “A balanced approach also must supply opportunities for rehabilitation for the...juvenile offender.”

·        HB527 and SB1008 relating to suicide prevention (would create a statewide Office for Suicide Prevention)
Passage would support the Department’s Rights for Youth in Department Care, Custody, or Supervision: “We will always provide for their basic needs, including food, clothing, shelter, medical care and security. We will not, through inaction or inattention, allow these needs to remain unmet.”

March 31, 2006: Chair of the Council wrote Marquita McGuire, DJJ, demanding that she stop interfering with the operation of the Council. I asked that she respond by April 6, 2006. She did not reply. On April 10, 2006, the Chair asked DJJ’s Office of the Inspector General to investigate McGuire on possible violations of DJJ's rules of conduct and Florida Statute 112.311 "Code of ethics for public officers and employees." The Chair sent a follow up message to OIG on April 24, 2006.

April 18, 2006 Council presented brief remarks to the Pinellas County School Board asking to schedule a workshop on a moratorium on specific school-related arrests. The Board replied that it would announce the date at its May 2, 2006 workshop. Two days later, the Advancement Project released “ARRESTING DEVELOPMENT: Addressing the School Discipline Crisis in Florida.” This is the result of a statewide study of school-related arrests. Council member Cathy Corry, representing Justice4Kids.org, played a role in this effort and is quoted in the report. As Council members, we should personally provide the school board with information supporting this moratorium.

April 24, 2006: Chair attended the Circuit 6 Juvenile Justice Board. The Chair reported on the Council’s activities since the last meeting of the Board (1/30/06) and gave notice of a motion to amend the Board’s bylaws to remove DJJ control of the Board’s bylaws amendment process.

Next Council meeting: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 25, 2006 at the Seminole Community Library, 9200 113^th Street N., Seminole, FL 33772. The Chair has asked DJJ to post this notice on its website—as they did for tonight’s meeting.

This site is maintained by the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council and was last updated on 10/21/07.