SARASOTA COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION

Transcription

1 Criminal Justice Commission Members in attendance: David Bullock Larry Eger Lee Haworth Steve Burns for Tom Knight Chip Taylor for Bill Little Ed Brodsky for Earl Moreland Daryl Promey Karen Rushing Walt Smith Jon Thaxton Sarasota County Government Public Defender, Twelfth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge, Twelfth Judicial Circuit Sarasota County Sheriff s Office State Attorney, Twelfth Judicial Circuit Department of Corrections Clerk of the Circuit Court Court Administrator, Twelfth Judicial Circuit Sarasota Board of County Commissioners Others in attendance: Claire Alexander Brooke Baker Elmer Berkel Nancy DeLoach Edward Eagen Clifford Klaus Mike Lehner Jim Lilly Pam Meunier Nancy Page John Petrila Kim Pfeil Christine Robinson Eric Robinson Ed Scott Rob Tabor Dale White Stan Zimmerman Human Services Advisory Council Pride Integrated Services First Step of Sarasota Sarasota County Technical Institute Sarasota Sheriff s Office First Step of Sarasota University of South Florida Sarasota County Government Sarasota Bar Association, South County Division Citizen North Port Sun Coastal Behavioral Healthcare Sarasota Herald-Tribune Pelican Press Staff: Wayne Applebee Judge Haworth welcomed attendees. Self-introductions were made by the Criminal Justice Commission members. A motion was made by Jon Thaxton and seconded by Walt Smith to approve the meeting summary for October 25, 2010 without corrections. The motion was approved unanimously. Page 1

2 South County Court Services Update SARASOTA COUNTY Wayne Applebee provided an update of the scope of services provided by the South County Judicial District. This district is established by administrative order and encompasses the portion of Sarasota County that is south of Blackburn Point Road. Services are provided in the R. L. Anderson County Administration Center in Venice. Services provided there include: Court Administration 3 court rooms (2 judges and a magistrate) case management for Drug Court, DUI Court, Family Court, and Pretrial Services family and citizen dispute mediation services (as needed) misdemeanor probation services (PRIDE) (4 FTE s) Sheriff s Office (8 FTE s) for courtroom security, entry control, and holding cells State Attorney (2 Assistant State Attorneys, 4 support staff) Public Defender (1 Assistant Public Defender, 1 support staff) Clerk of the Circuit Court full-service customer service center (13 FTE s) Wayne explained that several years ago there were certain administrative orders that were straining the capacity of that court to operate efficiently. Additionally, funding cuts forced some services to be moved north. He presented an analysis of services provided in that court house in the last three years which included detailed statistical data. He concluded from this presentation that, from the perspective of the court system, the administrative order was effective in reducing the number of civil cases seen in South County during that period of time. On the part of the citizens and agencies presenting before the court, the change required additional travel time to north Sarasota thereby increasing the cost to some of those citizens, attorneys, agencies, law enforcement, etc. Wayne explained that these challenges have prompted the South County Bar Association to conduct an analysis of the issues which Christine Robinson will address. Christine Robinson, representing the South County Bar Association, presented the perspective of the Bar s attornies, who have expressed problems with making the long trip to north Sarasota for court dates and services. The Bar Association is asking that the issue continue to be studied to see what can be done to help people receive the court services that they need. Page 2

3 Judge Haworth explained that the decision to shift services to North County was difficult, but the high volume of case filings and growing caseloads dictated that the only option was to reduce the caseloads on the judges in South County. Without additional resources, there is no other option. However, the Judge indicated he is open to any efforts to mitigate the issue, such as video conferencing. He will be happy to work with the South County Bar Association on low cost/no cost alternatives. Juvenile Assessment Center Evaluation Report Dr. John Petrila, USF, apologized for taking so long to deliver the JAC evaluation report. He explained that he had no way of anticipating that it would take this long to perform the evaluation. He stressed that Coastal Behavioral Healthcare has been very forthcoming in cooperating with the project. With regard to the results, the report will be issued soon and a full presentation will be made at that time. Criminal Justice Intercept Mapping and Grant Planning Dr. Petrila provided an overview of intercept mapping, which relates to the interfaces and boundaries between the criminal justice system and the behavioral health treatment system. This planning process focuses on people with serious mental health and cooccurring treatment disorders and the significant impact they make on the criminal justice system. He noted that presently this service is provided by USF at no cost to the counties. With regard to the scope of the issue, it is estimated that approximately 3% of the total population of the United States will be arrested at some point in their lives. For those persons with serious long-term mental illness, 30% to 40% will be arrested. With continued stressors being placed on the mental health resources in the community, it is not generally anticipated that these numbers will improve in the foreseeable future. Intercept Mapping makes an assumption that entrance into the criminal justice system is a linear process. There are usually five points of interception at which an individual with behavioral health issues can be diverted from the criminal justice system or to prevent recidivism. To date, USF has done this analysis for 10 to 12 other counties. The process used by USF to conduct the analysis requires participation by the stakeholders that are currently represented on the CJC. A team of approximately three individuals will come from USF to meet with the stakeholders (court, clerk, jail, health services, mental health services, major law enforcement jurisdictions, treatment providers, service facilities, etc.) to gather the data (gaps in the system, services available, best practices, etc). The resulting map will show service gaps and overlaps for the stakeholders to consider in making decisions on the allocations or reallocations of resources. Page 3

4 Wayne explained that he asked John to present this opportunity to the CJC today as a means to an end. Numerous grants that could benefit Sarasota have become available recently. However, most of these grants require a system-wide re-entry plan that doesn t exist on a comprehensive basis in Sarasota. The effort to develop Sarasota County s map will require an investment of time but will likely come back to the community many times over in grant funding. Daryl Promey mentioned that the statute governing public safety councils has changed to require a 5-year re-entry plan. He suggested that the scope of the project could be expanded to meet this requirement as well. Judge Haworth asked if anyone has any objection to proceeding with this project. Hearing none, he directed staff to proceed with making arrangements to move forward on the project. Sheriff s Work Crew Update The offender work crew is a new program that provides an alternative sentencing option to allow individuals to remain with their family and continue to work while serving their sentence. This program also serves to reduce the jail population, the burden on the booking department, and the potential for the introduction of contraband into the jail. The program has been in operation since October, with 17 people registered during October and November. To date, 9 people have been sentenced to the work crew who have not registered. Staff is working to determine the cause of this problem. CJC Resolution Draft Revision Review Wayne Applebee submitted suggested language changes to the resolution for the consideration of the CJC members: Composition of the CJC Add language to allow an alternate for the Chief Judge to address the possibility that a Chief Judge may be appointed who is from Manatee or DeSoto counties. Ad hoc committees Traditionally, the CJC has wanted its ad hoc committees to provide recommendations for the consideration of the CJC. This change would take that into account and would require these committees to meet in the Sunshine when developing recommendations. Wayne will forward this resolution via to the CJC members one last time for comment. He will determine the process to get on the Board of County Commission agenda in February or March and will advise the CJC. Staff Updates Page 4

5 Invitation to the National Criminal Justice Council Network The Justice Management Institute has put together funding to develop a National Criminal Justice Council Network to support Criminal Justice Commissions. The application is brief but is due December 17. It will not cost Sarasota anything to participate. The Justice Management Institute will be selecting several CJCs around the country to participate in the program. Wayne asked whether the CJC wants to submit an application for this model program. Without objection, Judge Haworth authorized staff to proceed with the application. October and November Monthly Jail Reports Wayne directed the CJC members to the monthly jail reports. No anomalies were noted Meeting Schedule The meeting schedule was provided. Judge Haworth noted that he will not be available on January 24 so Karen Rushing, CJC Vice-Chair, has agreed to chair the meeting. Misdemeanor Probation Wayne has prepared a draft of the scope of misdemeanor probation services for the procurement process. It will be submitted next week to County Procurement for inclusion in the procurement documents. New Business Daryl Promey advised that Barbara Richards, Project 180, has submitted a request for a grant with Pepsi Refresh to fund the organic farming program for former prisoners. She is asking that everyone interested go to the internet and vote for their program. Public Comment No public comment provided. Next Meeting The next regular meeting of the Criminal Justice Commission is scheduled for January 24, 2011 at 12:00 noon in the Think Tank, 3 rd floor, 1660 Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota. Page 5