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Home My WebLink About03-18-2021 Community Justice Collaborating Council Minutes MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY JUSTICE COLLABORATING COUNCIL March 18, 2021 8:00 AM Room 1284-County Board Room St. Croix County Government Center - Room 1284 - Government Center - 1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson, Wisconsin NOTICE Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CJCC Council and Advisory members are encouraged to attend the meeting via the use of technology utilizing the Zoom platform. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL Attendee Name Organization Title Status Arrived David Peterson St. Croix County Chair - County Board Present Dave Ostness St. Croix County Chair - HHS Absent Scott Knudson St. Croix County Sheriff Present Scott Needham St. Croix County Hon. Scott R. Needham, Br. III - Chair Present Scott L. Cox St. Croix County Corporation Counsel Remote Kristi Severson St. Croix County Clerk of Circuit Court Present Kathleen Avoles St. Croix County Bar Association Representative Present Mark Lemke St. Croix County Supervisor, Division of Community Corrections Remote Curt Thomassen St. Croix County Faith Based Representative Remote 8:30 AM Alison Page St. Croix Medical Community Remote County Representative Randy Morrisette II St. Croix County Citizen Member Absent Mark Richert St. Croix County Police Chiefs' Representative Remote Ken Witt St. Croix County County Administrator Present Bob Feidler St. Croix County Chair - PP&J Present Agnes A. Ring St. Croix County Citizen Member Remote Susan Gherty St. Croix County Municipal Court Representative Present Bob Rohret St. Croix County Director - Health & Human Services Remote Travis Satorius St. Croix County Attorney Manager - Office of State Public Defender Present Karl Anderson St. Croix County District Attorney Remote Also present; Hon. Scott J. Nordstrand (R), Hon. R. Michael Waterman, Alena Taylor (R), Bridget Warren (R), Kimberly Kitzberger, Kris Anderson (R), Kristin DePrey (R), Lisa Multhauf, Mike O'Keefe, Pam Bellrichard (R), Phil Landgraf (R), Rebecca Schultz (R), Yvonne Larsen, Rhonda Frank-Loron (R), Susan Capparelli (R), Jenna Miller (R), Phillip Galli (R), Justin Arnold (R), Kaitlyn Miller (R), Preston Aiebell (R), Amanda Stuart (R), Nicole Lillis (R), Jackie Schwartz (R), Bob Whitehead (R), Deb Leslie. (R). APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Community Justice Collaborating Council – Regular Meeting – January 14, 2021 8:00 AM Minutes of Thursday, January 14, 2021 meeting stand as presented by Judge Needham, but need to amend to show Agnes Ring was in attendance. Motion by Ken Witt. Seconded by Chairman Peterson. Motion carries unanimously. RESULT: ACCEPTED AS AMENDED PUBLIC COMMENT BUSINESS ITEMS 1. CJCC and Treatment Alternatives & Diversion (TAD) Grant Financial Review Mike O’Keefe, CJCC Coordinator states it is early into the game. There is nothing significant to report from a financial status. RESULT: DISCUSSED 2. Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) 2021 Grant Update Mike O’Keefe, CJCC Coordinator, states the contracted JusticePoint worker started at the Day Report Center (DRC) on March 11, 2021 and is currently being trained. Lisa Multauf states the TAD grant is on track and the Governor has requested the statewide grant amount be increased to $15 million for the 2022 budget. RESULT: DISCUSSED 3. Treatment Alternatives & Diversion (TAD) Grant 2022-27 Workgroup Update Judge Waterman states requests for TAD funds will be driven by goals and data. He feels confident St. Croix County will receive another round of TAD funding. Judge Waterman states the meeting was enlightening and if additional funding becomes available it may change our request, but for now he thinks we have a solid plan. RESULT: DISCUSSED 4. Justice Services Task Force Update Judge Needham states the group of Justice Services Task Force members had a good discussion. He states there is an increasing demand for justice services programming for defendants and offenders. Judge Needham states offering programming for justice involved individuals is a trend within criminal justice reform. He states the Justice Services Task Force has identified how some programs could be structured and if we bring services under one umbrella programs can continue to develop and grow. Judge Needham states the Task Force has another meeting today at noon and a Justice services department has been suggested, but there is a lot is on the table right now. He states one idea is to use ideas from La Crosse County and make it a branch of the Health and Human Services Department. Their DA will attend today's meeting to discuss their program and how it operates. Judge Nordstrand, Task Force Chairman has nothing to add. RESULT: DISCUSSED 5. Pretrial Program Presentation by Rhonda Frank-Loron, J.D., Office of Court Operations There was a Pretrial Program presentation by Rhonda Frank-Loron, J.D., Office of Court Operations. She states this program was started in December 2019. Ms. Frank-Loran is the pretrial program manager for the State of WI and discussed what are conditions of release. She states there are seven pretrial pilot counties in the state of WI and each one uses the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) for pretrial risk assessments. Ms. Frank-Loran states when she asked the pilot counties about start up costs to implement the PSA one county responded. Marathon County estimated cost was $283,000 which includes a pretrial risk assessor and two case managers. This program targets all people booked into their jail and eligible for bail/bond release. She states all bond conditions must be individualized. Research has shown that court reminders are very effective in getting people back to court for hearings. Ms. Frank-Loron states the Wisconsin Department of Justice received a $1 million federal grant to develop state data, research, and technical assistance. Judge Needham states that we are not any further than we were fours years ago in getting the pilot programs to their next steps. Ms. Frank-Loron states we did not have a pretrial program manager before and discusses other reasons for the delays. RESULT: DISCUSSED 6. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Update Judge Waterman states there have been some changes with the plan for a Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program in St. Croix County. The Judges approached CASA about developing a stand alone program in St. Croix County and National CASA has given it preliminary approval. There are several things that need to be done and one of them is to reactivate the steering committee. A lot of volunteers are from the Hudson area, but we need representation from the entire County. RESULT: DISCUSSED 7. CJCC Subcommittees Updates & Proposal To Combine Subcommittees Bob Rohret, Chair, CJCC Mental Health Subcommittee states State Senator Stafsholt attended the meeting via Zoom and discussed the current proposal to expand emergency bed capacity in the Eau Claire area. There has been a request by a citizen to appear at meetings of CJCC subcommittee virtually. Judge Needham states he will refer this to the CJCC Executive Committee for review. Bob Rohret, Chair, of the Substance Abuse Subcommittee is recommending combing the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Subcommittees into one Subcommittee. It would be called the Behavioral Health Subcommittee and the mission would have to be reviewed moving forward. Judge Needham indicates it makes sense to combine these two groups. Judge Needham asks for a motion to support this. Kate Avoles makes a motion to combine the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Subcommittees into one Behavioral Health Subcommittee of the CJCC. Second by David Peterson. Carried unanimously. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Kathleen Avoles, Bar Association Representative SECONDER: David Peterson, Chair - County Board AYES: David Peterson, Scott Knudson, Scott Needham, Scott L. Cox, Kristi Severson, Kathleen Avoles, Mark Lemke, Curt Thomassen, Alison Page, Mark Richert, Ken Witt, Bob Feidler, Agnes A. Ring, Susan Gherty, Bob Rohret, Travis Satorius, Karl Anderson ABSENT: Dave Ostness, Randy Morrisette II 8. St. Croix County Behavioral Health Updates - Shar Lopez, Behavioral Health Administrator Shar Lopez, Behavioral Health Administrator gave an update and states they are focused on community engagement, the consumer experience, engagement and recommendations of their mental health team. They have seen an increase in requests for emergency services and we are focusing on partnering with the jail to see what services we can provide. RESULT: DISCUSSED 9. Presentation from Workforce Resource Inc.- Jackie Schwartz Deb Leslie introduced Justin Arnold, DOC programs - Windows to Work and Jackie Schwartz, Transitional Job Program Lead. Jackie discussed the phases of the TJ Program and the target populations. Bob Whitehead discussed eligibility and demographics of the target group. Mike O’Keefe asked how they respond if trauma issue arise during an interview or group activity. Deb Leslie responds. She states they can also work with people while they are incarcerated. RESULT: DISCUSSED REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ANNOUNCEMENTS & CORRESPONDENCE Judge Needham announced that Mike O'Keefe, CJCC Coordinator will be retiring at the end of May, 2021. ADJOURN Judge Needham adjourned the meeting at 9:33 a.m. DATE OF NEXT MEETING Thursday, May 13, 2021, 8:00 a.m., Government Center - County Board room/Zoom