Florida Department of Juvenile Justice – Untimely Transition
Barely a year into its reform movement, the Department of Juvenile Justice is undergoing a major transition at the top leaving the implementation of its new mission and vision in doubt.
Last week, Governor Crist announced that DJJ Secretary Walter McNeil will become the Secretary of the Department of Corrections. This week, Chief of Staff Donna O’Neal, widely respected by stakeholders for gathering the facts and keeping everyone informed, announced that she will assume a Deputy Chief of Staff position with Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Already having departed was the knowledgeable workhorse Eleese Davis, Director of Program Accountability, who went to the Department of Children & Families.
Advocates and stakeholders are worried about the impact these defections will have on the yet to be released Blueprint Commission report and its subsequent execution in the state. Several Blueprint Commission members, though not going public with their concerns, have expressed dismay at the timing and extensiveness of the leadership changes taking place.
Executive leadership has been a recurring problem at the Department of Juvenile Justice, dating back to the years of the Jeb Bush administration. It was widely believed then that top leadership was either going in the wrong direction concerning policy and budget or was turning over with such rapidity that health and safety concerns went unaddressed leading to a number of high profile deaths, injuries and abuse of children in state care.
Governor Crist was elected and he promised a new direction. Optimism waxed with his appointment of McNeil, a highly regarded law enforcement officer with a track record of measured and consistent leadership from his days as a police chief with the City of Tallahassee. Upon his appointment, McNeil expressed a more balanced view of juvenile justice than his predecessors, making prevention and intervention as much of a public safety priority as removal of children from the community and punishment. He also hoisted heretofore intractable problems such as minority overrepresentation and zero tolerance into the spotlight for open discussion.
McNeil in turn assembled a senior leadership team at the Department of Juvenile Justice where he dished out a regular diet of reform and guidance including the need for top leadership to improve and maintain partnerships with providers, stakeholders and advocacy organizations as well as the law enforcement establishment and court system. Several team members signed on specifically to be part of the push for systemic reform and its promise of providing the right help to the right kids at the right time.
With the on-going leadership and help of Children’s Campaign, Inc., the Florida Juvenile Justice Association, and the Florida Network of Youth & Family Services and with support from three respected philanthropic organizations, McNeil first established a new mission and vision statement for the Department with core values and then convened the Blueprint Commission to recommend how best to achieve it.
No word has been forthcoming from the Governor’s Office regarding a timetable for McNeil’s replacement. In the absence of the appointment of an interim Secretary, however, it would appear that the first option being explored is to name the new Secretary as early as next week.
Blueprint Commission Report – Coming Soon
In spite of the backdrop of major leadership changes, those closest to the work of the Juvenile Justice Blueprint Commission continue to make the final changes to the draft document in preparation for its public release. Dates for that release have been pushed back twice according to Commission members but an early February unveiling appears likely. One can only wonder how complicated the recent announcements have been for Blueprint Commission project director Bonnie Rogers.
Recommendations to be contained in the report have been informed primarily by three groups, working in concert: The Blueprint Commission itself, a stakeholders group of providers and other experts facilitated by Children’s Campaign, Inc., and the senior executive management team at the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Commission members voted on a final set of recommendations at their last meeting held in Tampa in mid-November. There were more than 50 of them, spanning prevention and first entry into the system through residential treatment and lock-up and aftercare. Issues such as workforce, gender specific services, health, and the schoolhouse to jailhouse track were debated and addressed along with systemic care and treatment issues.
Commission members have received the final draft and are expected to adopt the report in a conference call to take place on Friday, January 25.
Dee Richter Honored Nationally
Mary “Dee” Richter, Executive Director of the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, will be honored by receiving the 2008 Advocacy Spirit Award from the National Network for Youth for her work with homeless youth. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, January 29th, in Washington D.C.
Each year, the Advocacy Spirit Award is given to an individual who significantly contributes to local, state or national advocacy efforts on behalf of youth and families. Dee Richter was recognized for her outstanding efforts and achievements that have significantly advanced the field of youth work.
“ Dee is a leader by example in the creation of a coalition of people, organizations and services to help homeless youth,” says Victoria Wagner, President and CEO of National Network for Youth. “By investing her endless time and energy in the next generation, she truly is creating a ‘Blueprint for the Future’.”
Juvenile Justice Center Opens at Barry University Andreas School of Law
Legal representation of children in the juvenile justice system was an issue intensely debated by the Florida Juvenile Justice Blueprint Commission. One of the reports cited was the Florida Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of Representation in Delinquency Proceedings, released in the Fall of 2006 by the National Juvenile Defender Center.
The information in it was collected by a team of experts from around the country and Florida in conjunction with the Florida Bar, the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Public Defender's Association and the elected Public Defenders. They found a high rate of waiver of counsel. Public defenders that did represent children were often inexperienced and overloaded. There were inadequate alternatives and resources. In order for the attorneys to provide quality representation, the assessment recommended more resources, training and education.
In response to this assessment and through a grant provided by the Eckerd Family Foundation, the Juvenile Justice Center at Barry University School of Law was born.
The Center will focus on three main priorities: Training lawyers in juvenile defense representation, consulting with public defenders' offices around the state and improving the juvenile delinquency system. The Center's three professional staff will use all the modern modules for continuing legal education including web-based materials, DVD and audio training programs, on-line and live mentoring, brief banks, live presentations and peer-to-peer advice through a private listserv.
The Center will also host an annual conference for training and networking purposes and an additional Fall training for new public defenders who will be working in the juvenile division of the public defenders in the State. The Center will work with elected public defenders in the State to provide advice on how to maximize their resources to benefit the youth being served. Finally, the Center will support legislative advocacy that focuses on community based alternatives for Florida juveniles and legislation that provides additional resources to our beleaguered system.
Questions about the center can be directed to Polly McIntyre, Esq., Director of Juvenile Justice Center, 2000 Alafaya Trail, Suite 600, Orlando, FL 32826.
This Front Burner was brought to you by:
Roy Miller, President
Christen Smiley, Communications Coordinator
Children’s Campaign, Inc.