CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION
FULL COMMITTEE MEETING
CareerSource, 3400 Belvedere Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406

 Monday, November 17th, 2025, at 12 p.m.

 

MINUTES

Members Present:
Alexcia Cox, State Attorney, 15th Judicial Circuit
Daniel Eisinger, Public Defender, 15th Judicial Circuit
Darcy Davis, Chief Executive Officer, HealthCare District
Dominick Pape, Chief, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department & President, PBC Association of Chiefs of Police
Gregory Starling, Chief Probation Officer, Circuit 15, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
Jessica Bober-Rosenthal, Assistant County Attorney, Palm Beach County
Jorge Garrido, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Management Strategies
Julia Dattolo, President/CEO, CareerSource PBC
Kathleen Kroll, Administrative Judge, Juvenile Division
Karen Hansen, The Collective Projects
Lawrence Gordon, Palm Beach County League of Cities
Leontyne Brown, d.b.a Leontyne Brown
Marcia Andrews, Palm Beach County School Board Member and CJC Treasurer
Maria S. Antuña, Chief Executive Officer, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and CJC Secretary
Michelle Suskauer, Attorney, The Suskauer Law Firm, P.A. and CJC Vice-Chair
Nellie L. King, Attorney, the Law Offices of Nellie L. King, P.A.
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
Cesar Daniel Arbolaez, Pastor, Passion Church
Demetrios Thomas, Special Agent Supervisor at Florida Department of Law Enforcement, PBC
Derek Gibson, Circuit Administrator, Florida Department of Corrections
Glenn Kelley, Chief Judge, 15th Judicial Circuit
Jervonte Edmonds, Florida State Representative, District 88 and PBC Legislative Delegate
Joel G. Flores, Palm Beach County Commissioner, District 3
Lauren Whetstone, FPL Energy Services, Inc.
Mike Caruso, Clerk of the PBC Circuit Court & Comptroller
Ric Bradshaw, Palm Beach County Sheriff, PBSO

 ​ 
Guests Attending:
Arlene Griffiths, Palm Beach County Public Safety Department
Dr. Joanna Reid-Enoise, Palm Beach County Community Services Department
Jessica Hidalgo, Reentry Services, Palm Beach County Public Safety Department
John Port, Finance Division, Palm Beach County Public Safety Department
Judge Jonathan Gerber, Fourth District Court of Appeal, 15th Judicial Circuit Court
Kariana Ingram, Palm Beach County Legislative Affairs
Stephanie Sejnoha, Director, Palm Beach County Public Safety Department
Vivian Rodriguez, Chief of Staff, District 3 Commissioner Joel G. Flores
 
CJC Staff Present:
Angelique J. Pickett, Executive Director
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, Administrative Assistant III
Stephanie Molière, Senior Criminal Justice Analyst


I.          Call to Order – Rachel Docekal, Chair

  • Chair Rachel Docekal called the meeting to order.

II.       Roll Call – Angelique J. Pickett, Executive Director

  • Executive Director Angelique J. Pickett completed roll calls of the members and determined there was quorum.
  • Chair Rachel Docekal thanked CJC member Julia Duttolio for hosting the CJC meetings and expressed her gratitude for her.  Chair Docekal asked Executive Director Pickett to go over the changes to the agenda.

III.           Approval and/or corrections to the Agenda

  • Executive Director Pickett stated the following corrections to the agenda which includes section 7B updating the presenter from Jennifer Loyless to Dan Eisinger.  The next update is for section 9, pages 23 and 24 for the task force and committees as the behavioral health task force rescheduled their meeting from last week to tomorrow 11/18/2025 from 10:30 to 11:30am at the Government center and the court systems task force meeting was canceled by recommendation of the chair and will be rescheduled to a later date.  On page 24 the Public Safety Coordinating Council just met and will meet again on December 3, 2025.
  • Vice Chair Michelle Suskauer made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Chief Dominick Pape and passed unanimously.

IV.            Approval and/or Corrections to the October 27, 2025 Minutes

  • Chief Dominick Pape made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Marcia Andrews and passed unanimously.

V.    Chair's Comments
A.  Letter of Support for Palm Beach County Association of Chiefs of Police

  • Chair Docekal discussed the work group mentioned at the last meeting and asked the members if they needed a work group.  If not, the other option is to ask the Chiefs to draft a letter, and it will be reviewed for her approval and signature.
  • Vice Chair Suskauer recommended that the commission should have the Chief's prepare the draft for the Chair's review and then submit it.

VI.            Executive Director Updates

  1. Annual Planning Meeting scheduled for Monday, February 23, 2026 from 9am to 3pm
  • Executive Director Pickett announced that the annual planning meeting scheduled for Monday, February 23rd, 2026, from 9 AM to 3 PM, tentatively at the Wellington Community Center Grand Ballroom.
  • The incoming Chair, Michelle Suskauer, will oversee planning, with surveys to be sent out to gauge member interests for different tracks during the meeting.  The results of the survey will assist with creating a small work group.

VII.        Presentation & Discussion Items

    1. Update: Public Defender Pre-Trial Services Placement Program
  • Dan Eisinger presented a comprehensive overview of a pretrial diversion pilot program previously funded by MacArthur grants that provides treatment and housing for low-level offenders instead of incarceration.
  • The members discussed the program and
  • The pretrial diversion pilot program will be presented at the PBC Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on December 2, 2025, for consent  for county funding as the cost of the pilot program is approximately $46K.

    1. Discussion on Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation & CJC
  • Representative Edmonds could not attend as he had to go to Tallahassee. 

VIII.     New Business

A.    CJC Sponsorship of the Prison Tour Bus for the March 24-25, 2026, two-day Judge Marvin Mounts Annual Prison Tour

  • Judge Gerber requested continued CJC sponsorship for the annual prison tour scheduled for March 24th-25th, 2026.  The tour provides stakeholders with firsthand experience of correctional facilities and has been running for many years. The funding request was approved by the board
  • Motion to approve made by Marcia Andrews and seconded by Vice Chair Michelle Suskauer, passed unanimously.

B.    Nominating Committee: Recommendations for 2026 CJC Officers and Executive Committee Membership

    1. Elections for 2026 CJC Officers
      1. Chair – Michelle Suskauer
      2. Vice Chair – Maria S. Antuña
      3. Treasurer – Jorge Garrido
      4. Secretary – Karen Hansen
        ​ 
    2. Motion to Approve CJC Executive Committee Membership
      1. Gregory Starling
      2. Oswald Newbold
  • Chair Docekal reminded the members that by statute there are certain people from public and private sector who need to serve on the CJC's committees.  There are also individuals that are legislatively required to serve.
  • Marcia Andrews said that she is very pleased with the selection made by the nominating committee and she is truly excited about the new leadership.
  • Leontyne Brown expressed her gratitude for the training they all received in onboarding and stated that this new leadership reflects the excellent training they received from CJC staff. 
  • Motion to accept the nominations made by Marcia Andrews and seconded by Leontyne Brown passed unanimously.

IX.            CJC Task Forces

    1. Upcoming CJC Committee and Task Force Meetings
  • The CJC Task Forces' upcoming meetings were presented to the members

X.   Member Comments

  • Lawrence Gordon expressed disappointment about the loss of grant funding, suggesting it may be connected to political factors and urging stronger advocacy for future funding.
  • Chair Docekal thanked Mr. Lawrence for his comments and reminded the members that there will be a survey going out for the upcoming Annual Planning Meeting.  She advised members that the surveys will assist the CJC in creating the new work plan.  She advised the members that the survey provides members with the opportunity to voice their ideas, recommendations, and opinions about what they would like to see the CJC worked on.
  • Christopher Slydell, CJC Staff provided guidance to the members regarding the task force objectives and stated that although some initiatives may appear to be duplicated, he wanted the members to know that systems collaborate and intersects.  Therefore, the CJC staff communicate with each other about their initiatives to avoid duplicated efforts and waste of funds
  • Marcia Andrews stated that we have a great Chair and asked the members to give her an applaud for all her work.

XI.            Guest Comments

  • Kariana Ingram, Palm Beach County Legislative Affairs updated the members that Representative Jervonte Edmonds is currently in Tallahassee and is currently working on the property tax bill.​

XII.        Adjournment

 

 

Next Meeting: Monday, December 8th,2025 at 12 pm
CareerSource, 3400 Belvedere Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406​