CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION
FULL COMMITTEE MEETING
CareerSource Board Room
3400 Belvedere Rd, West Palm Beach, FL 33406 Monday, April 28, 2025 at 12:00 pm MINUTES
Members Present:
Alexcia Cox, State Attorney, 15th Judicial Circuit
Cesar Daniel Arbolaez, Pastor, Passion Church
Dan Eisinger, Public Defender, 15th Judicial Circuit
Darcy Davis, Chief Executive Officer, HealthCare District
Demetrios Thomas, Special Agent Supervisor at Florida Department of Law Enforcement, P.B.C.
Derek Gibson, Circuit Administrator, Florida Department of Corrections
Glenn Kelley, Chief Judge, 15th Judicial Circuit
Gregory Starling, Chief Probation Officer, Circuit 15, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
Joel G. Flores, Palm Beach County Commissioner, District 3
Jorge Garrido, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Management Strategies
Joseph Abruzzo, Clerk of the PBC Circuit Court & Comptroller
Julia Dattolo, President/CEO, CareerSource PBC
Kathleen Kroll, Administrative Judge, Juvenile Division
Karen Hansen, The Collective Projects
Lauren Whetstone, FPL Energy Services, Inc.
Leontyne Brown, d.b.a Leontyne Brown
Marcia Andrews, Palm Beach County School Board Member and CJC Treasurer
Maria Antuña, Chief Executive Officer, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and CJC Secretary
Michelle Suskauer, Attorney, The Suskauer Law Firm, P.A. and CJC Vice-Chair
Oswald Newbold, Reentry Coordinator, the Reentry Center of Riviera Beach
Rachel Docekal, Chief Executive Officer, Hanley Foundation, and CJC Chair
Shania Grant, Student, Florida Atlantic University
Vanessa Klein, Director of Reentry Services, The Lord's Place
Members Absent:
Anthony LaCosta, Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of Florida
Antonio Araujo, Chief, West Palm Beach Police Department
Dominick Pape, Chief, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department
Joseph Casello, PBC Legislative Delegate
Lawrence Gordon, Palm Beach County League of Cities
Nellie L. King, Attorney, the Law Offices of Nellie L. King, P.A.
Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
Guests Attending:
Andrea Rocha, Director, Court Operations, Palm Beach County Clerk's Office
Arlene Griffiths, Palm Beach County Public Safety
Jaime-Lee Bradshaw, Community Partners of South Florida
Jessica Hidalgo, Reentry Services, Palm Beach County Public Safety
Deborah Arocho, PBC Board of County Commissioners, District 3 Office
Marcela Millett, PBC Strategic Planning & Performance Management
Shantel Drayton, Manager of Court Services, Palm Beach County Public Safety
Shirlon St Amour, Palm Beach County Public Safety CJC Staff Present:
Angelique J. Pickett, Executive Director
Brad Allen, Criminal Justice Analyst
Christopher Slydell, Criminal Justice Analyst
Damir Kukec, Research and Planning Manager
Dawn Caveness-Davenport, Senior Criminal Justice Analyst
Katherine Hatos, Criminal Justice Systems Manager
Margo Smith, Criminal Justice Analyst
Masimba Mutamba, Assistant County Attorney
Rosalind Murray, Community Engagement Coordinator
Stephanie Molière, Senior Criminal Justice Analyst
Todd Bonlarron, Assistant County Administrator I. Call to Order - Chair, Dr. Rachel Docekal, called the meeting to order and welcomed all those present.
II. Roll Call - Executive Director Angelique J. Pickett completed roll call of the members and announced there was quorum.
III. Approval and/or corrections to the Agenda - Michelle Suskauer made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Marcia Andrews, and passed unanimously.
IV. Approval and/or Corrections to the February 24th, 2024 Minutes - Marcia Andrews made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Michelle Suskauer and passed unanimously.
V. Chair's Comments - Judge Jonathan D. Gerber sends a special thank you to the Criminal Justice Commission and the County for continued support of this year's Judge Marvin Mounts Annual Prison Tour.
- Chair, Dr. Docekal, shared Judge Jonathan D. Gerber's gratitude for the Commission's financial support of the annual Judge Marvin Mounts Prison Tour.
- CJC member Julia Dattolo, CEO of CareerSource of Palm Beach, was honored at the Cynthia Allen Gracey-Wila Luncheon, 41st Anniversary Women in Leadership Awards on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025 at the Kravis Center Cohen Pavilion.
- Chair, Dr. Docekal, congratulated Ms. Dattolo on her well-deserved award.
The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Co-Chaired by CJC Vice-Chair Michelle Suskauer, will be hosting the Justice for All Gala: Legal Aid in Bloom on May 10th, 2025 at the Kravis Center. - Vice-chair, Michelle Suskauer, extended the invitation to the Legal Aid Society's Justice for All Gala, explaining the fundraising initiatives and the projects that will be benefitted by the proceeds.
VI. Executive Director Updates A. Second Chance Month: CJC Member Involvement - Director Pickett acknowledged the involvement of CJC Members Oswald Newbold and Marcia Andrews in various Second Chance Month programs. Director Pickett also recognized Mrs. Andrews for her recent award for exceptional leadership and service from the Council of Great City Schools, on which Mrs. Andrews serves as Chair of Board of Directors.
B. 2025 Safety and Justice Challenge Conference report back - Director Pickett gave a brief report of the 2025 Safety and Justice Challenge Conference that took place in Chicago, Illinois from April 15th to April 17th, recognizing CJC staff members Rosalind Murray and Margo Smith in addition to herself for their presentation at the conference on the Mobile Probation Unit.
C. FDLE grant applications status update – Dawn Caveness-Davenport, Senior Criminal Justice Analyst - Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Dawn Caveness-Davenport, gave an update on the current status of the FDLE grant applications, which have been approved for this year, but noted the difficulty of the new process and stated that there are concerns about approvals for next year. CJC staff are working with the Finance and Fundraising Committee to resolve some of the issues with the application process ahead of next year's submittal.
D. Palm Beach County Ordinance Update: Quorum requirement change from 25% to 51% - Director Pickett announced the change in the quorum requirement per the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners, from 25% to 51% due to the change in the ordinance that lifted the COVID-19 procedures for in-person meetings. The change applies to the full Commission meetings as well as the task force/committee meetings, and is expected to have its public hearing on May 6th – going into effect shortly after. Only the seats that are filled count towards the total for a quorum.
VII. Presentations - Sentencing Presentation – Honorable Judge April Bristow, 15th Judicial Circuit County Criminal Court
- This presentation was pushed to the Tuesday, May 27th meeting.
- Palm Beach County Mental Health Linktree Presentation – Marcela Millett, Senior Strategic Planning & Performance Analyst, PBC Strategic Planning & Performance Management
- Marcela Millet, the Senior Strategic Planning and Performance Analyst with Palm Beach County Strategic Planning and Performance Management, gave a presentation on the Palm Beach County Mental Health Linktree, starting with the background of the formation of the Cross-Departmental Teams (CDT) – specifically the Substance Use and Behavioral Disorder CDT. The goal of this CDT was to address the issues of drug and alcohol related deaths, diseases, mental health emergencies, and crime, while also developing mental health prevention and education programs and making that information accessible to the general public. This came first in the form of the Resource Guide in 2022, and more recently in the form of the Linktree, a QR code that can be scanned to bring the user to a webpage with links to all the different organizations and resources we have available throughout Palm Beach County.
VIII. New Business - Finance and Fundraising Committee Updates – Marcia Andrews, CJC Treasurer and Finance and Fundraising Committee Chair
- Treasurer, Marcia Andrews, gave an update on the Finance and Fundraising Committee that was recently revived, announcing the approval of the $5,000 sponsorship of the upcoming Get Your Green On event, and informing the Commission of the end of the grant period for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge funds in October of 2026. Mrs. Andrews also thanked the members who have already volunteered and asked for others to consider joining the committee, reiterating that there is no limit on membership and that people from outside of the Commission are welcome to join, as is true of any of the other task forces. In addition, Mrs. Andrews discussed the current status of pending funding requests and stated the need to suspend the acceptance of requests while a formal Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) process is put into place.
IX. Old Business - Community Partners of South Florida Phase 3 Report: Reconnect & Assess – Jaime-Lee Bradshaw, Community Partners of South Florida
- Jaime-Lee gave a brief report on Phase 3 of the ongoing Community Engagement initiative, and an update on the progress as they move into Phase 4 and begin to prepare members of the community to sit on task forces, committees, and possibly even the Commission, through the Justice Leadership Academy.
X. Task Force Reports - Community Engagement Task Force – Rosalind Murray, Community Engagement Coordinator
- Report pushed to next meeting due to time constraints
XI. Member Comments - Jorge Garrido expressed concerns that a pending request for funding from the Hispanic Human Resources Council (HHRC) was not given fair consideration. The request was reviewed by the Finance and Fundraising Committee and initially tabled until a formal NOFO application process could be put into place, but the Commission discussed and Commissioner Joel G. Flores put forward a motion to have the HHRC present their formal request at the next meeting, seconded by Michelle Suskauer, and passed unanimously. Commissioner Flores also made a motion to place a moratorium on all subsequent requests for funding until the NOFO process was in place, again seconded by Michelle Suskauer, and passed unanimously.
- Karen Hansen raised the issue of the need for a second Butterfly House to serve victims of sexual assault in the southern areas of Palm Beach County. Boca Regional Hospital has expressed that they would be more inclined to find space to house the service if provided with a letter showing support from public officials. Ms. Hansen volunteered to draft the letter expressing the support of the Criminal Justice Commission, and will provide it ahead of the Executive Committee meeting on May 12th, 2025.
- Joseph Abruzzo, Clerk of the Palm Beach County Circuit Court and Comptroller, briefly explained the new 'Hope Card' initiative undertaken by his office that helps to protect victims of domestic violence by serving as physical proof that the victim already has an injunction against the alleged perpetrator, reducing the lag that often occurs when law enforcement officers have to look up records in response to harassment calls.
XII. Guest Comments – None report
XIII. Adjournment – Meeting Adjourned
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