INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS P.O. Box 319. Mason, Michigan Telephone (517) Fax (517)

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1 CHAIRPERSON CALVIN LYNCH VICE-CHAIRPERSON CURTIS HERTEL, JR. VICE-CHAIRPERSON PRO-TEM THOMAS L. MINTER JUDICIARY COMMITTEE MARY STID, CHAIR MARC THOMAS DIANNE HOLMAN TINA WEATHERWAX-GRANT RANDY SCHAFER JOHN NEVIN INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS P.O. Box 319. Mason, Michigan Telephone (517) Fax (517) THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE WILL MEET ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2003 AT 7:30 P.M. IN THE COMMUNITY ROOM AT THE INGHAM COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, 700 E. ASH STREET, MASON. Call to Order Approval of the October 30, 2003 Minutes Additions to the Agenda Limited Public Comment NOTE CHANGE OF LOCATION - MAP ENCLOSED Agenda 1. The Center for Criminal Justice Research (CCJR), of the University of Cincinnati, Project Advisors will present their final report on the Evaluation of the Ingham County Juvenile Justice System. Copies will be distributed at the meeting Edward J. Latessa Ph.D and Deborah K. Shaffer, M.A. What Works literature Methodology used to conduct basic study Conclusions and recommendations Question and Answer Period Announcements Public Comment Adjournment PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES OR OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES OR SET TO MUTE OR VIBRATE TO AVOID DISRUPTION DURING THE MEETING The County of Ingham will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as interpreters for the hearing impaired and audio tapes of printed materials being considered at the meeting for the visually impaired, for individuals with disabilities at the meeting upon five (5) working days notice to the County of Ingham. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the County of Ingham in writing or by calling the following: Ingham County Board of Commissioners, P.O. Box 319, Mason, MI Phone: (517) A quorum of the Board of Commissioners may be in attendance at this meeting.

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3 JUDICIARY COMMITTEE October 30, 2003 Minutes Members Present: Members Absent: Others Present: Mary Stid, Marc Thomas, Dianne Holman, Tina Weatherwax-Grant, Randy Schafer and Chairperson Calvin Lynch John Nevin John Neilsen, Don Reisig and Harry Moxley and others The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Stid at 7:35 p.m. in the Personnel Conference Room of the Human Services Building, 5303 S. Cedar, Lansing. Approval of the October 16, 2003 Minutes MOVED BY COMM. THOMAS, SUPPORTED BY COMM. WEATHERWAX-GRANT, TO APPROVE THE OCTOBER 16 MINUTES AS AMENDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Absent: Comm. Nevin Additions to the Agenda: None Limited Public Comment: Comm. Schafer spoke regarding the Public Comment from the previous meeting. He stated this Committee may hear many comments from vendors regarding the County s current juvenile justice system. 1. Circuit Court - Resolution Authorizing a Contract with the Lansing School District and Amendments to the Circuit Court/.Family Division 2003/04 Child Care Fund Budget MOVED BY COM. SCHAFER, SUPPORTED BY COMM. WEATHERWAX-GRANT, TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A CONTRACT WITH THE LANSING SCHOOL DISTRICT AND AMENDMENTS TO THE CIRCUIT COURT/FAMILY DIVISION 2003/04 CHILD CARE FUND BUDGET. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Absent: Comm. Nevin 2. Circuit Court/Friend of the Court a. Presentation - Friend of the Court Warrant Officer Mr. Reisig distributed copies of an October 24, 2003 memorandum from Chief Justice Corrigan for the Chief Circuit Court Judges to the Committee for their review. The memorandum dealt with the FOC budgets. Chief Corrigan asked, in her memorandum, that courts and funding units carefully consider the critical need to maintain FOC services. Considerable time and effort are needed at the state and federal levels to stabilize MiCSES operations and to answer the already identified significant volume of program improvements needed to make the system work more efficiently and accurately. FOC staff reductions would be catastrophic to this effort. Mr. Reisig then reviewed copies of some press comments, articles and editorials on child support and MiCSES conversion issues from the past few months. Some of the articles also addressed the functioning of the Court Services Officer. Mr. Reisig updated the Committee regarding the Court

4 Services Officer Program results. Since its implementation January 2003, the Court Services Officer (CSO) Program has resolved more than 300 warrants and collected well over $296,000 in past due child support. The mutual coexistence and cooperation between the Ingham County Police Office and the FOC has, with access to LEIN, made it possible to arrest and/or detain individuals on warrants out of other jurisdictions, such as 54-A. Mr. Reisig explained the hard-core child support cases involve teens and pregnant teens who do not have jobs which pay sufficiently to meet child support payment requirements. He also stated the Court has been fortunate that it was able to hire a seasoned professional such as Allen J. Dow. He has done a marvelous job in his position. The Committee continued their discussion regarding this issue. b. Update - CSES System Mr. Moxley distributed copies of his October 30, 2003 memorandum to this Committee. The memorandum addressed the MiCSES Conversion Priorities for Improvement. He explained the Friend of the Court Association, based on input solicited from its membership, has released a list of proposed improvements to the Michigan Child Support Enforcement System. The items, listed in order of importance, include: suspense management, central print functionality, bench warrant process, system functionality/user friendliness, SDU client interface problems, LOA authority/role conflict issues, interstate process and lack thereof, review and modification concerns, management reports and comprehensive account statement for clients. Mr. Moxley highlighted each of these improvements which are thoroughly explained in his October 30 memorandum to this Committee. After a lengthy discussion, Comm. Weatherwax-Grant stated this Committee should take some form of action to address the FOC/MiCSES concerns. Comm. Stid explained this County fought against the MiCSES system for a long time. Comm. Thomas expressed his appreciation to Mr. Moxley for his informative presentation. He further stated it would be helpful if this Committee received some direction from the Friend of the Court regarding how the County may be of assistance in this matter. Comm. Weatherwax-Grant stated this Committee could draft a resolution expressing the County s concerns regarding the MiCSES system. Mr. Reisig stated the Michigan Association of Counties also needs to take action on this issue. Comm. Thomas stated he was sure Mr. Reisig will develop a comprehensive plan to address the MiCSES concerns. He then urged Mr. Reisig to update this Committee on a regular basis regarding his progress. Mr. Neilsen stated the MiCSES problems are state-wide. Many of the problems must be addressed and fixed at the state level. Chairperson Stid stated this Committee should send a letter to MAC encouraging their assistance in this matter. Mr. Reisig stated local representatives should also be informed of this situation. Announcements Mr. Neilsen informed the Committee its November 13 meeting will be held at the Ingham County Fairgrounds facility. Representatives from the University of Cincinnati will be present that evening 2

5 to deliver its evaluation of the Ingham County Michigan Juvenile Justice System. The Committee held a brief discussion regarding the upcoming presentation. Public Comment: None The meeting adjourned at 9:19 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Debra Neff 3