Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice
Summary of Meeting
July 9-10, 2004
The Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ)
was convened for its second meeting at 9:00 a.m. on July 9, 2004, at the
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Denver, Colorado. The meeting was called so that the
full committee could discuss, revise, amend, and approve two draft annual
reports: one that will be presented to the President and Congress and a
second report that will be presented to the Administrator of the Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The subcommittees
of the FACJJ also met to discuss recommendations that were later presented
to the chair and the full committee. The subcommittee recommendations were
then put to a vote of the full committee and approved.
Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice members present:
Chair: David R. Schmidt (Primary): New Mexico
Vice
Chair: Hasan Davis (Primary): Kentucky
Parliamentarian: Mark
A. Johnson (Primary): North Dakota
Joe M. Thomas (Primary):
Alabama
Barbara B. Tyndall (Primary): Alaska
Margaret Trujillo (Primary):
Arizona
Derrick Johnson (Alternate): Arizona
Jerry K. Walsh (Primary):
Arkansas
Stan Hanstad (Primary): California
Lindi Sinton (Primary):
Colorado
Joseph Higgins (Alternate): Colorado
Eileen M. Daily (Alternate):
Connecticut
Michael Arrington (Primary): Delaware
James Berry (Alternate):
District of Columbia
Robert M. Evans (Primary): Florida
Andrew J. Harris, Jr. (Primary):
Georgia
Christopher M. Duenas (Primary): Guam
Linda C. Uehara (Alternate):
Hawaii
Scott Mosher (Primary): Idaho
Patricia Connell (Alternate):
Illinois
Robert Mardis (Primary): Indiana
Allison Fleming (Alternate):
Iowa
Bernardine S. Hall (Primary): Louisiana
Christine Thibeault
(Alternate): Maine
Jeriel Heard (Primary): Michigan
Michael Mayer (Primary):
Minnesota
Alfred L. Martin, Jr. (Primary): Mississippi
Peggy Beltrone
(Alternate): Montana
Allen R. Jensen (Primary): Nebraska
Dan Coppa (Alternate):
Nevada
Glenn Quinney (Primary): New Hampshire
B. Thomas Leahy (Primary):
New Jersey
Michael Elmendorf, II (Primary): New York
Linda W. Hayes (Primary):
North Carolina
Tom Mullen (Primary): Ohio
Juan Casillias (Alternate): Puerto
Rico
Dottie DeFeo (Alternate): Rhode Island
Harry Davis, Jr. (Primary):
South Carolina
Janine Kern (Primary): South Dakota
Cindy Durham (Primary):
Tennessee
Charles Brawner (Primary): Texas
Gary Anderson (Primary):
Utah
Kreig Pinkham (Alternate): Vermont
Robert E. Shepherd, Jr.
(Primary): Virginia
Fred P. McDonald (Primary): West Virginia
Deirdre Garton (Primary):
Wisconsin
John E. Frentheway (Primary): Wyoming
( Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, and Washington were not represented at this meeting.)
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
J.
Robert Flores: Administrator
Greg Thompson: Associate Administrator
Timothy Wight: Designated
Federal Official
Nels Ericson: Senior Writer/Editor
Report Writer
Kay McKinney
Juvenile Justice ResourceCenter
Daryel Dunston: Juvenile Justice Specialist
Carol Sadler: Assistant
Manager
July 9, 2004
Welcome and introductions
Timothy Wight, Designated Federal Official, convened the meeting
and welcomed participants to the second annual meeting of the
Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ). Mr. Wight introduced
participants at the head table and Mr. J. Robert Flores, Administrator
of OJJDP.
Mr. Flores welcomed the participants and thanked them for
coming. After opening his remarks with a few comments on the
status of the fiscal year 2005 appropriations bill, which is
currently in Congress, and development of the fiscal year 2006
appropriations bill, Mr. Flores said OJJDP is exploring collaborative
relationships with other departments with shared areas of interest
and available resources. At a time when funding is being reduced
and decisions are being made at the federal level to allocate
money to priority areas such as national security, it makes
sense to look at new ways of doing business and funding projects,
Mr. Flores said. New partnerships with other agencies may require
that OJJDP readjust or reconsider its programmatic focus somewhat,
he said, but there are benefits to developing and expanding
areas of shared interest. One critical function that OJJDP
can fulfill is to act as an advocate to raise issues with state
or federal officials that might not otherwise get addressed.
He asked the states to keep OJJDP informed about "the
good things happening in your state" so that this information
can inform federal program development.
In response to a question from the floor on fiscal year 2006
funding levels and program priorities, Mr. Flores said budgetary
requests are developed 1.5 years before they are finalized,
and a great deal can and often does happen to OJJDP's
original request during that time.
In response to a second question from the floor on how national
security issues affect state-level program funding, Mr. Flores
said his comments were made in the context that increased state
and national concerns and reallocation of funds may strain
state budgets, which often must function under strict fiscal
constraints. OJJDP could serve as an advocate for juvenile
justice issues, he concluded.
FACJJ Chairman David Schmidt welcomed the participants and
thanked Mr. Flores for responding to the advisory committee's
recommendations presented in the Point Clear, Alabama, meeting;
responding quickly to the committee's request to reconsider
how Title V grants are administered; and reallocating deobligated
Formula Grant funds to address the loss of accountability-based
sanctions supplements.
Robert Shepherd, Co-Chair of the FACJJ Annual Report Committee,
briefly described the creation of the subcommittee, introduced
its members, and explained how recommendations were solicited
from the FACJJ membership and incorporated into the draft reports.
Overall, he said, the FACJJ membership submitted 86 recommendations,
of which 36 (13 for the report to the President and Congress
and 23 for the report to the OJJDP Administrator) were included
in the draft reports. Since the Point Clear meeting in January,
the committee had held a number of conference calls to decide
what recommendations would appear in the final reports and
to comment on and revise the drafts. Copies of the two draft
reports were sent to every member of the advisory committee
with the request that each member mark up their copy and bring
it with them to the Denver meeting. The subcommittee expects
to meet later this year, Mr. Shepherd said, to present the
final reports for FACJJ review and approval before they are
finalized and submitted to the President, Congress, and the
OJJDP Administrator in January.
Mr. Wight presented a brief review of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, the federal legislation that guides the operation
of the FACJJ, and procedures guiding the advisory committee's
functions. Mr. Wight fielded several questions from the floor
including:
- Does the membership get to review and revise committee
bylaws before they are adopted? Recommendations to modify
committee bylaws are made to the OJJDP Administrator, who
then decides to accept or reject the changes. Recommendations
should be included in the FACJJ's annual report to the
Administrator.
- Do the term limitations listed in the bylaws
apply to both primary and alternative members of the advisory
committee? Letters will be sent to every state and territory
governor about the staggered nature of the nominating process
(Half of the members will serve 1-year terms for the initial
term only, and the other half of the members will serve
initial 2-year terms. Thereafter, nominations will be for
2-year terms.) Governors may nominate primary and alternate
members for up to two consecutive terms each.
Mr. Shepherd outlined the process by which he would guide
the discussion and approval or rejection of the reports by
the full advisory committee membership. He asked the members
to recommend changes of a technical rather than a substantive
nature, sign their copies, and give their marked up copies
to Kay McKinney, who drafted the original report and will incorporate
all changes. Mr. Shepherd asked that all recommendations requiring
early action be submitted to him. Finally, he suggested that
the full committee discuss each recommendation and vote to
accept them en block rather than voting to accept or reject
each individually.
A question was entertained from the floor about why two reports
were needed when much of the information in both is the same
or similar. Mr. Shepherd said combining the two reports into
one might save money and it might make sense that every recipient
receive the same list of requests and recommendations. Mr.
Wight said that the FACJJ bylaws call for two separate reports
to be produced. He suggested that the FACJJ draft recommended
changes to its bylaws and submit them to OJJDP if one report
was desired. There is some benefit to preparing two reports,
based on the designated audience for each, Mr. Flores said.
The report to the OJJDP Administrator should be of a more "nuts
and bolts" nature, he said, and should be viewed as a
vehicle to present issues the states wish for the OJJDP Administrator
to act upon. The report to the President and Congress should
present policy issues and program initiatives that are beyond
the authority of the OJJDP Administrator. For example, budgetary
issues are probably best placed in the report to Congress,
he said, while issues that do not require congressional approval
or action would be better suited for the report to the OJJDP
Administrator. During subsequent discussion, one member asked
the FACJJ membership to be mindful that precedent was being
set at this meeting and that distribution priorities on who
should receive the final reports should be clear from the start.
Mr. Shepherd asked that the advisory committee not act on the
issue at that time but that it be tabled for further discussion
later in the meeting.
Mr. Shepherd then turned to the discussion of the preface
of the report to the President and Congress. A question was
raised from the floor about the table of contents and an executive
summary. Mr. Shepherd tabled discussion until review and approval
of the main text of the report were complete. He asked the
members if they thought an executive summary would be useful.
A motion to include an executive summary in the final report
was entertained and approved. Several changes to the preface,
including a slight restructuring of the content and changes
to several section headings, were discussed and approved.
Following a brief break, Mr. Schmidt called the session to
order and discussion of the report to the President and Congress
resumed. Mr. Shepherd opened discussion of the introduction
and asked the advisory committee what its focus should be.
Recommendations included:
- A more sharply focused discussion of disproportionate minority
contact (DMC) and its status in the states;
- Juvenile accountability;
- The connection between child maltreatment and neglect and
subsequent delinquency in these children;
- The FACJJ's intended course of action;
- The effects of federal budget cuts on state and local juvenile
justice programs;
- The relationship between mental health problems and substance
abuse in juvenile offenders;
- The need for federal leadership because federal funds come
with many mandates on how that money may be spent; and
- The need for information sharing and collaboration among
agencies with common areas of interest.
During the discussion, Mr. Shepherd directed Ms. McKinney
to pull together discussion of DMC scattered throughout the
report and group it in the introduction. He also asked her
to group discussion on mental health/substance abuse together
in the introduction. Responding to several questions about
why certain issues were not discussed in the report, Mr. Shepherd
said the report was based upon the information contained in
the surveys received from the states. He recommended that the
FACJJ conduct a listening session in its spring meeting to address
issues that should be included in the next annual report.
Mr. Shepherd then turned the discussion to recommendations
that make up the report's main text. At his request,
the group discussed and agreed to change the word "girls" to "females" throughout
the report. Participants also suggested that the following
items be added to the report: a sentence on fetal alcohol syndrome
to the substance abuse section, more charts, data on tribal
youth gangs, information on Medicaid money for mental health
issues for detained youth, and information on how juveniles
waived to criminal court affect juvenile arrest rates.
Mr. Flores urged the advisory committee to "make a compelling
argument" for more funding for prevention programs. Such
programs help "avoid worse problems down the road," he
said. Funding prevention efforts "requires robust discussion" on
setting priorities and must be done every year, he said. Responding
to a comment from the floor that "congressional reaction
is to lock those kids up," Mr. Flores said the goal of
OJJDP is to focus on prevention programs. As such, Mr. Flores
said, he and OJJDP would work as advocates for the states to
their congressional representatives. At the request of the
FACJJ membership, Mr. Schmidt directed the Annual Report Committee
to discuss prevention efforts and how to address them in the
report during its working luncheon.
Mr. Shepherd opened the floor for discussion of each recommendation,
many of which generated no debate. The FACJJ voted to change
the wording on recommendation 3 to read: "The FACJJ recommends
that the President and Congress amend the Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 to impose the financial
penalty a state receives for failing to comply with the four
core requirements of the Act in the same year in which the
state was found to be out of compliance with any of the four
core requirements." The FACJJ also voted to revise the
wording in recommendation 8 to read: "The FACJJ recommends
that the President and Congress modify the JJDP Act to mandate
that federal government agencies in conjunction with the OJJDP
Administrator develop and implement programs that comply with
the four core protections of deinstitutionalization of status
offenders, separation of adults and juveniles, jail removal,
and disproportionate minority contact and do not impose financial
penalties on the states."
The discussion on recommendation 13 about the death penalty
and life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders generated
intense debate on whether the recommendation should be removed,
tabled for further discussion, or passed as is or with revisions.
Mr. Schmidt directed the Annual Report Committee to discuss
during its working lunch what, if any, changes should be made
to the wording of the recommendation.
Mr. Schmidt adjourned the meeting for lunch and directed the
subcommittees to meet to prepare their recommendations to the
chair for presentation to the FACJJ.
Following lunch, Mr. Schmidt convened the meeting. As discussion
turned to the recommendations, Mr. Flores excused himself from
the meeting to allow for a candid exchange of views and opinions.
He thanked the committee members for their dedication and accomplishments.
Mr. Schmidt asked the Annual Report Committee to report on
its lunchtime discussions on recommendations 3 and 13. Mr.
Shepherd said the subcommittee recommended certain language
changes, which were accepted by vote of the full committee.
Mr. Schmidt opened discussion on whether to accept the first
12 recommendations. A motion was entered to vote to accept
or reject each recommendation individually but was defeated.
Mr. Schmidt entertained a motion to accept the first 12 recommendations,
which was approved. Mr. Schmidt opened discussion on what action
to take on recommendation 13. A motion to table the recommendation
was defeated. A motion to hold off action on the recommendation
until advisory committee members could talk with their governors
and State Advisory Groups and then vote at the FACJJ's
next meeting at the end of this year was defeated. A motion
was entered to accept recommendation 13 as revised and amended
by the Annual Report Committee and was approved. In its revised
language, the Annual Report Committee recommended that abolition
on the use of the death penalty for juveniles become a core
requirement of the JJDP Act.
Mr. Shepherd then turned discussion to the recommendations
contained in the report to the OJJDP Administrator. He guided
discussion through each of the 23 recommendations; there was
little discussion except for requests for minor language changes
on several recommendations and no requested changes to the
rest of the recommendations. A question was raised about whether
the letters and recommendations to the Administrator generated
at the Point Clear, Alabama, meeting and the OJJDP Administrator's
responses should be deleted from the appendix because most
of that information is contained in the introduction. Also,
the question was raised about whether the 2005 annual reports
would contain OJJDP's responses to this year's
recommendations. Mr. Shepherd said each subsequent report will
list the administrator's responses to the previous year's
recommendations. A motion was entered and approved to keep
the letters, recommendations, and the draft memo contained
in the appendix and to reference them in the introduction.
Mr. Schmidt entertained a motion on whether the FACJJ should
meet again this year to approve the final reports to the President
and Congress and the OJJDP Administrator, which was approved.
He then adjourned the meeting for the day.
July 10, 2004
Mr. Wight called the meeting to order. He showed a copy of
the proposed cover for the annual reports and asked that it
be passed around the room. Mr. Schmidt called for a vote on
the 23 recommendations to the OJJDP Administrator discussed
in the previous day and for each of the subcommittees to report
back to the full FACJJ. Mr. Shepherd asked for a motion to accept
the 23 recommendations. After new language to recommendation
17 was read and accepted by the full committee, a motion was
entered to accept the 23 recommendations and was approved by
a vote of the advisory group. The language for the revised
recommendation 17 reads (verbatim) as follows: "The
FACJJ recommends that the OJJDP Administrator immediately seek
and advocate for an amendment to the Anti-Lobbying Act (18
U.S.C. Section 1913) specifically exempting the SAGs and SAG
members from the provisions of the Act when acting in accordance
with the directives set forth in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act, individual state laws, or state executive orders.
In the alternative and in the interim, the FACJJ recommends
that the OJJDP Administrator seek and advocate for a controlling
OMB opinion consistent with the aforementioned exemption."
Mr. Schmidt asked each of the standing subcommittees to report
on their recommendations to the OJJDP Administrator. The subcommittees
made the following recommendations:
The Planning Committee: Co-chair Harry Davis,
Jr., said that the consensus of the subcommittee was for the
FACJJ to continue an annual spring/fall cycle of meetings, with
meetings to be held most preferably on Friday and Saturday.
He recommended that the next FACJJ meeting be held December
3 and 4 before OJJDP's planned truancy conference in
Washington, DC. (Mr. Wight said these dates would present scheduling
conflicts for himself and Mr. Flores. He suggested the FACJJ
meet after the truancy conference.)
Regarding the annual survey, the committee recommended that
it be sent to every state and territory. The survey, he said,
should encompass five parts that include the following:
- List the top five problems the state has identified in
its 3-year plan.
- Identify any promising practices and program evaluations
that respond to problems.
- List any State Advisory Group recommendations to the President
and Congress.
- List any State Advisory Group recommendations to the OJJDP
Administrator.
- List any other concerns, issues, or needs perceived by
the State Advisory Group not otherwise reflected above.
The committee recommended that the survey be sent out by October
1 every year and responses be due back by February 1. The survey
should be sent to the FACJJ primary and alternate members with
copies sent to the State Advisory Group chair and juvenile
justice specialist. The committee also recommended that professional
assistance be sought to collect the surveys, collate the data,
and submit the findings to the Annual Report Committee by March
1 (in time for the annual spring meeting).
During discussion of the subcommittee's recommendations,
Mr. Wight asked Mr. Davis to clarify what type of professional
assistance the subcommittee envisioned and said the OJJDP Administrator
would have to approve such an added expense. Mr. Davis said
the task of compiling and analyzing the survey findings would
be beyond the time and resources of a volunteer. The outcome
was the report writer would compile the responses to the survey
but not analyze the data. Regarding Mr. Wight's suggestion
that the next FACJJ meeting be held after the truancy conference,
the advisory group took a straw poll and the general consensus
of the group was that those dates would be viable. Mr. Schmidt
entertained a motion for the FACJJ to accept the Planning Committee's
recommendations, and it was approved.
The Grants Committee: Allison Fleming, Committee
Chairwoman, said the subcommittee had several recommendations,
as follows:
- The subcommittee "vigorously supports" all
funding-related recommendations in the reports to the President
and the OJJDP Administrator.
- The subcommittee urges the FACJJ to recommend to the President
and Congress that language in the FY 2005 and future appropriations
that authorizes the accountability-based sanctions supplement
to the Formula Grants (Title II) program be reinstated. This
supplement should be funded for not less than $26 million.
- The subcommittee urges the FACJJ to recommend that OJJDP
continue the formula-based distribution of Title V Incentive
Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs in FY 2005
and beyond.
- The subcommittee urged the FACJJ to recommend to the President
and Congress that they restore the 10 percent administrative
cost allowance to the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant
program for FY 2005 and beyond.
Mr. Schmidt entertained a motion for the FACJJ to accept the
Grants Committee's recommendations, and it was approved.
The Legal Affairs Committee: Chairman B.
Thomas Leahy read the recommendations of the subcommittee,
which include the following:
- The subcommittee urged the FACJJ to request that the OJJDP
Administrator amend Section X of the bylaws of the FACJJ by
adding the following language: "Both reports shall
be distributed to the President and Congress, the governor
of each state and territory, and the chair and juvenile justice
specialist of every State Advisory Group with a request that
the reports be distributed by them to each member of the
State Advisory Group." The subcommittee recommended
that the reports could be distributed to the State Advisory
Group members electronically.
- The subcommittee recommended that the name of the Juvenile
Justice Advisory Committee be changed to the Juvenile Justice
Federal Advisory Committee.
- The subcommittee also rewrote recommendation 17 (to the
Administrator) to read: "The FACJJ recommends that the
OJJDP Administrator immediately seek and advocate for an
amendment to the Anti-Lobbying Act (18 U.S.C. Section 1913)
specifically exempting SAGs and SAG members from the provisions
of the Act when acting in accordance with the directives
set forth in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act, individual state laws, or state executive orders. In
the alternative and in the interim to seek and advocate for
a controlling OMB opinion consistent with the aforementioned
exemption."
Mr. Schmidt entertained a motion to accept the subcommittee's
first two recommendations and they were both approved by a
vote of the advisory group. A second motion to accept the subcommittee's
third recommendation was entertained and approved.
Mr. Schmidt asked for a straw vote to be taken on whether
the members wished to have the chance to talk with their governors
and State Advisory Groups about their state's position
regarding recommendation 13 to the President and Congress (regarding
the death penalty and life sentences without parole for juveniles
convicted of serious, violent crimes). The FACJJ members could
then communicate within 30 days their vote on the recommendation
through a letter. After some discussion, a vote was taken on
the motion and it was rejected. A second straw vote on whether
the members would support the recommendation if the language
making compliance a core requirement were removed showed a
general consensus of approval. Mr. Schmidt entertained a motion
to amend the recommendation by removing the core requirement
language and it was approved. The revised language reads (verbatim)
as follows: "The FACJJ recommends that the President and
Congress support the amendment of the JJDP Act to prohibit
the imposition of the death penalty upon persons who are under
the age of 18 at the time of the commission of their offense." Mr.
Schmidt entertained a motion to provide the states a window
to change their votes on the recommendation and it was voted
down.
After some closing comments, Mr. Schmidt adjourned the meeting.
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