Public Safety - Criminal Justice Commission

CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
Hanley Center Board Room
933 45^th Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33407
Monday, February 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM

MINUTES

Members Present:
Daniel Eisinger, Public Defender, 15^th Judicial Circuit
Joel G. Flores, County Commissioner – Represented by Vivian Rodriguez, Chief of Staff
Jorge Garrido, CEO, Financial Management Strategies
Karen Hansen, Founder, The Collectives Project
Marcia Andrews, Palm Beach County School Board Member, and CJC Treasurer
Michelle Suskauer, Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. and CJC Vice-Chair
Vanessa Klein, Director, Reentry Services, The Lord's Place

Members Absent:
Dominick Pape, PBC Association of Chiefs of Police
Glenn Kelley, Chief Judge, 15^th Judicial Circuit
Reverend Kevin Jones, CJC Past Chair, Clergy
Mike Burke, School Superintendent (Ex-officio)
Dr. Rachel Docekal, CEO, Hanley Foundation, and CJC Chair

CJC Staff Present:
Angelique J. Pickett, Executive Director
Brad Allen, Criminal Justice Analyst
Cayla Severin, Administrative Assistant
Christopher Slydell, Criminal Justice Analyst
Damir Kukec, Research and Planning Manager
Dawn Caveness-Davenport, Senior Criminal Justice Analyst
Helene Hvizd, Assistant County Attorney
Katherine Hatos, Criminal Justice Systems Manager
Margo Smith, Criminal Justice Analyst
Rosalind Smith, Community Engagement Coordinator
Stephanie Molière, Senior Criminal Justice Analyst

I. Call to Order – Michelle Suskauer, Vice-Chair

Vice-Chair, Michelle Suskauer, called the meeting to order.

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

Executive Director, Angelique J. Pickett, completed roll call of the members and determined there was quorum.

III. Approval and/or corrections to the Agenda

Treasurer, Marcia Andrews, made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Jorge Garrido, and passed unanimously.

IV. Approval and/or Corrections to the November 15^th, 2024 Minutes

Treasurer, Marcia Andrews, made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Jorge Garrido, and passed unanimously.

V. Chair's Comments

A. Welcome Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel G. Flores

This item will be moved to the February 24 CJC Full meeting when Commissioner Flores is present to receive his welcome.

B. Welcome appointed CJC Officers: Vice-Chair Michelle Suskauer, Treasurer Marcia Andrews, and Secretary Maria Antuña

Michelle Suskauer welcomed all new officers and congratulated them on their appointments.

C. Welcome appointed CJC Executive Committee members: 15^th Judicial Circuit Public Defender Daniel Eisinger, Jorge Garrido, Karen Hansen, and Vanessa Klein

Michelle Suskauer welcomed all new Executive Committee members and congratulated them on their appointments. She also thanked everyone for their hard work and enthusiasm.

VI. Executive Director Updates

A. 2024 Citizens Criminal Justice Academy Recap – Rosalind Murray, Community Engagement Coordinator

Community Engagement Coordinator, Rosalind Murray, gave a brief presentation on the 2024 sessions of the Citizens Criminal Justice Academy, highlighting staff and community involvement as well as our partnership with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office that helped make the program very successful over the course of the year. She talked about the community service opportunities for adults on probation and for teenagers in criminal justice programs in their high schools, and discussed how they got the word out to those individuals about the different sessions taking place. After a point raised by Michelle Suskauer, Rosalind agreed that it would be beneficial to send notice directly to the Public Defender's Office to be put on the list of opportunities for probationers to earn their service hours.

B. Contract Amendments and Updated Deliverables Schedules – Katherine Hatos, Criminal Justice Systems Manager

Criminal Justice Systems Manager, Katherine Hatos, gave explanations of the following contracts, as well as status updates on each:

Third Amendment to the Interlocal Agreement with Florida Atlantic University (FAU)

This contract has two evaluation projects:

Trauma-informed Train-the-Trainer evaluation, a training consisting of 54 individuals including law enforcement officers and community members for two separate workshops that were two days each. The funding for the trainings came from PBSO and the Criminal Justice Institute, and the training itself was provided by Policy Research and Associates. The CJC then funded the FAU evaluation with a deadline of January 5^th, 2025 for the Year Three final report that has now been extended by six months to July 5^th, 2025, to provide FAU the opportunity to develop an implementation guide in collaboration with law enforcement partners. This partnership is expected to enhance participation and buy-in from law enforcement in the evaluation process.
Delray Beach Police Department Community Outreach Team project connects and provides alternative diversion services to those who are dealing with mental illness, experiencing homelessness, or battling addiction. They provide daily outreach to the community to improve their quality of life. The schedule was extended by three months for each of the remaining reports to allow time for FAU to work with a law enforcement partner. The original deadline for the three year final report had been October 5^th, 2025, and is now January 5^th, 2026.

First Amendment to the Interlocal Agreement with Palm Beach County and the Public Defender's Office of the 15^th Judicial Circuit

This program, developed and implemented in collaboration with Florida State University (FSU) in its second iteration, provides linkage to community-based social services for clients following their first appearance in court. The amendment extends the agreement by 12 months, from December 31^st, 2024, to December 31^st, 2025.

Second Amendment to the Interlocal Agreement with Florida State University (FSU)

This contract has encompassed the work of several projects, but only three are remaining: Next Steps Pilot Project, Court Date Text Reminder Program, and the Public Defender 2.0 Contract evaluations. The Second amendment increased the contract by $100,000 by adding the Public Defender and the Court Date Reminder evaluations and extending the contract period by eight months to allow time for the extra evaluations. The original deadline was December 31^st, 2024, and was extended to August 31^st, 2025. The second preliminary report for the Next Steps Pilot Project was just received, with a projected due date of June 30^th, 2025, for the final report to allow time to look at recidivism data. The Court Date Reminder evaluation report is due on April 30^th, 2025.
The deliverables for the Public Defender evaluation will need to be extended through a subsequent amendment due to the 12 month extension of the Public Defender contract. We need to match the period to give FSU adequate time to evaluate the efficacy of the program. Dr. Jennifer Copp will provide more information about the evaluations at the May 27^th CJC Full meeting, as well as updates on the status of the bond schedule, the FDLE partnership, and the NIJ grant.

C. CJC 2025 Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners Proclamation recommendations for approval and support

Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Dawn Caveness-Davenport, presented two proclamation recommendations to the members of the Executive Committee for their consideration. The goal for each is to highlight the stakeholders and partners that the CJC works with and some of the challenges that they face, and doing so by way of proclamation shows support through the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners.

Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day - The first proclamation would come out of the work of the Behavioral Health Task Force, and would entail an appreciation event such as a breakfast with personalized 'thank you' notes, as well as activities like office decorating, 'thank you' videos, and community involvement with discounts and perks at local businesses and organizations. This was a need that was identified in the 2023 SIM with the high levels of burnout in mental health care providers, and showing appreciation for them could be one of many ways to help to alleviate that. This would be taking place in May.
Thank a Police Officer Day – The second proclamation comes out of the work of the Law Enforcement Planning Council and would aim to improve community relations and opinions on police officers. This stems from the damage done to police-community relationships a few years ago nationwide, and the proclamation would facilitate sharing a positive story about law enforcement. We can encourage the public to wear blue clothing and put blue lights out in front of their houses. This would be taking place in September.

The Executive Committee supported moving forward with both of these proclamations.

D. A presentation on Palm Beach County's efforts under the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge will be held at the Board of County Commissioners Workshop on March 18, 2025

The Criminal Justice Commission Staff is scheduled to go before the Board of County Commissioners for their workshop day on March 18^th to talk about the history of the Safety and Justice Challenge with the MacArthur Foundation. Margo has but putting together a presentation that will be given at the Annual Planning Meeting in February, and should be finalized this week.

Marcia Andrews asked whether it was necessary, or would be at all helpful, for members of the Criminal Justice Commission to attend with staff to show support, and Director Pickett replied that it would be nice to have that show of support and asked for members to please let staff know if they would be attending so that we can make sure there is adequate seating prepared.

E. SEFBHN/Rebel Recovery Next Steps Pilot Program: Staff File Review & Finance Division Programmatic and Fiscal Monitoring Review

The Year Two file review has been completed, as well as an audit of their finances by the Finance Division. The program ended in mid-December, so we now have the six-month period for recidivism rates and we will soon have the final report on the final recidivism rates.

VII. Presentations – none

VIII. Old Business - none

IX. New Business

By-Laws Committee Meeting Updates – Michelle Suskauer, Vice-Chair

Vice-Chair, Michelle Suskauer, thanked all those involved with the By-Laws Committee, both members and staff, for their time and efforts devoted to updating and revising the 2016 By-Laws. These changes will be presented to the Commission at the February 24 CJC Full meeting.

Revision to 2016 CJC By-Laws

Changed wording to reflect the verbiage of the amended 2023 Criminal Justice Commission ordinance
In answer to a question asked by Jorge Garrido, Director Pickett called attention to Article V: Legislative Advocacy – Removed “Without prior authority of the Executive Committee" so the provision now states that the CJC will not support candidates and they will not take positions on other legislative affairs

Application Process, Non-Public Sector Members

An application process for Non-Public Sector Members of our Task Forces will assist with record keeping and giving credit in the Annual Report

Ethics Training

Strongly recommend, but not require, Non-Public Sector Members of Task Forces to take the same ethics training that would be required of a board member as they are acting on behalf of the CJC and the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners.

X. Discussion Items/Updates

Legislative Updates

Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Stephanie Molière, gave an update on the information she had compiled regarding the impact of the executive orders and changes in state legislation and how they impacted Palm Beach County. Director Pickett asked the Members present if this was something they wanted pushed out to the full CJC membership for awareness, and the consensus was to wait until there was an actual bill that had passed and then discuss it with the Full Commission at that time.

Katherine Waldron was our Legislative Delegation member, but as she was not reelected, we are currently in the process of determining who that new representative will be. That individual will be responsible for keeping us informed of these changes as they occur.

XI. Task Force Meeting Dates

The list of upcoming Task Force meeting dates were provided to give membership the opportunity to attend the meetings if they were interested in doing so.

Marcia Andrews spoke briefly about having recently attended a Behavioral Health Task Force meeting and mentioned how impactful and informative it is as a member of the Executive Committee to be able to experience first-hand the work that is being done, especially as it is influenced by the decisions being made by the members of this committee. She emphasized the importance of getting involved with the work, especially as a new member, so that everyone is fully informed when it comes time to vote on certain issues.
Daniel Eisinger suggested the addition of an abbreviated version of the Task Forces' meeting minutes and upcoming agendas be included along with the upcoming meeting dates as an attachment in the CJC Full agenda packet for membership's awareness.
Vivian Rodriguez suggested creating a rotation for members of the Executive Committee so that everyone has a chance to increase their involvement.

XII. Member Comments

Jorge Garrido asked for an update on a potential mentorship program for at-risk youth whose parents were incarcerated. He stressed the importance of prevention efforts, as the age where juveniles start to commit crimes is about 14 years old as they start getting into high school.

Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Dawn Caveness-Davenport, answered that she would follow up with the Behavioral Health Task Force in regards to this, but that the date to request funding for it had passed by the time they were able to look into it. It is possible that a new cycle has started and funding opportunities may be available again.

Jorge Garrido responded that he wants to see an initiative targeting juvenile prevention specifically, but mentioned that perhaps there is insufficient research to support such an initiative at the moment. He talked about the role that mental health plays in the crime rate, and emphasized again the importance of focusing on prevention efforts for that age group.

Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Stephanie Molière, also brought up the bill that is currently in progress for the youth peer support pilot program in the schools. She will bring information on the progress of that bill to the next meeting.

Vice-Chair, Michelle Suskauer, asked if there was a way to check in with the chairs of each of the Task Forces to make sure that the members they have are showing commitment and engagement, and see if any need additional members.

Director Pickett responded that part of the purpose of the introduction of the application process for the Task Force members is to highlight areas where there may be gaps.

Karen Hansen raised the issue of prevention efforts for sexual assault, domestic violence, and suicide. She referenced Victim Services Director Nicole Bishop's presentation given at the January 27^th Full CJC meeting where Director Bishop stated that “No one wants to pay for prevention," and asked where we could find that funding instead, mentioning Palm Tran buses as a possible advertising campaign.

Jorge Garrido made the point that prevention funding can be difficult to secure because results are not measurable.
Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Dawn Caveness-Davenport, mentioned the difficulties of securing grant funding amidst changing administrations.

Daniel Eisinger brought up non-profits operating at the local level that would be willing to work with us and at-risk or already incarcerated youth, specifically Ricky Aikens with Inner City Innovators.
Community Engagement Coordinator, Rosalind Murray, mentioned Palm Beach County Community Services Department's Financially Assisted Agencies (FAA) and brought up the possibility of having CSD Director Dr. James Green come to give a presentation on what prevention efforts they already have in place through their FAA non-profits.

Vice-Chair, Michelle Suskauer, asked what needed to be done to help CJC staff and Task Forces get access to the grants and funding they need to continue the work and the programs that are so essential.

Director Pickett stated that there is a standing committee that is not currently active called the Finance and Fundraising Committee, and Michelle Suskauer said that this is something that should be brought to the attention of the Chair, Dr. Rachel Docekal.

Daniel Eisinger made the point that before securing funding, Law Enforcement must be on board to ensure that we will even be allowed to work within the jails and detention centers, so that it is a prevention and rehabilitation effort at the same time.

Karen Hansen asked what the necessary steps would be to get another Butterfly House in Palm Beach County, mentioning several interested parties such as Nicole Bishop, Director of Victim Services, as well as County Commissioner Sara Baxter.

Daniel Eisinger suggested working more closely with Commissioner Baxter if she was already on board with the idea, as she is in a position to be a very strong advocate for the cause.

Vivian Rodriguez offered to work with them on behalf of Commissioner Flores' office as well.

Karen Hansen mentioned that she has many resources that would be able to be donated in terms of architectural services and engineering, as well as a potential partnership with Boca Regional as they are in the midst of an expansion project.
Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Dawn Caveness-Davenport, raised the point that this is another area that lacks funding. She talked about the challenges that arise when using federal funds due to the restrictions they place on the money they allocate, and suggested looking for private donors instead – or getting funding directly from the Board of County Commissioners

Marcia Andrews suggested sending out a list ahead of the Annual Planning Meeting on February 24^th to all of the CJC members on the Task Forces to notify them and give them the opportunity to change assignments if they so choose. She also mentioned having met with Nancy Stellway, the Executive Director of Take Stock in Children, and talked about the work they do with mentoring at-risk children. She suggested partnering with them as an established organization and adding a component that targets the children of parents who are incarcerated instead of trying to create a program from scratch. She offered to provide Director Stellway's contact information.

XIII. Guest Comments

Vivian Rodriguez gave a brief summary of her background as a personal introduction to the Executive Committee, as she will be attending for Commissioner Joel G. Flores when he is unavailable.
Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Stephanie Molière, provided some clarification on two points raised earlier on in the meeting:

Per the CJC By-Laws, there is a CJC member that sits on each Task Force/Subcommittee. Staff will provide the board a list of CJC Membership that sits on those committees to see if they want any others to attend as a spokesperson.
Staff are receiving and reviewing legislative updates as they come out. Any topics that board members want updates on regarding new or changing legislation, please notify CJC Staff by email or by speaking with us directly. There are currently three bills that are staff are monitoring closely.

Criminal Justice Analyst, Christopher Slydell, made the comment that a CJC member had requested information on what CJC staff members were assigned to each of the Task Forces for accountability purposes, and informed the Executive Committee that that information was available to them upon request.
Director Pickett spoke briefly about the upcoming Annual Planning Meeting on February 24^th, mentioning that the plan was to give the Commission members as much information as possible about what the Task Forces have been doing. In addition, the Research and Planning Unit will provide a data update to follow up on the questions that were asked during the November 25, 2024 Full Commission meeting, and we will provide status updates on the 2023-2025 Work Plan to inform membership of what projects were prioritized previously and have been completed, or are in progress, and what has not yet been started. Within the next week, once membership has had time to digest all this information, they will be asked to complete a survey to determine what they feel the priorities are for each Task Force to work on.
Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Dawn Caveness-Davenport, announced the date of the Behavioral Health Task Force's Peer Workshop as having been tentatively scheduled for May 20^th, with information to follow. The workshop will cover the process of integrating peers with in the systems of police departments, universities, and schools, all with the overarching goal of reducing burnout.
Vivian Rodriguez asked about whether the CJC has the ability to apply for federal grant opportunities through the U.S. Department of Justice.

Senior Criminal Justice Analyst, Dawn Caveness-Davenport, responded that there are some grants we cannot apply for as a government entity, but that we are aware of those that are available. She also mentioned that she looks specifically for grants that coincide with the CJC Work Plan, but that there are not many opportunities for prevention funding.

XIV. Adjournment – Meeting Adjourned

ACTION ITEMS

Rosalind Murray to distribute CCJA flyer to interested members of the Executive Committee before the next session begins.
Rosalind Murray to follow up with the Public Defender's office about having CCJA added to the list of community service hour opportunities provided to individuals on probation.
CJC Staff to provide Executive Committee members with the dates that we are scheduled to present to the Board of County Commissioners to give them the opportunity to attend if available.
Executive Committee members to review the revised bylaws and notify CJC Staff of any comments or concerns ahead of February 24 Annual Planning Meeting.
Stephanie Molière/CJC Staff to monitor Legislative Affairs updates and report the passing of any new bills at the February 24 Annual Planning Meeting.
CJC Staff to provide Executive Committee members with abbreviated minutes and upcoming agendas of Task Force/Subcommittee meetings.
Executive Committee members to notify CJC Staff of any bills or topics they want updates/reports on.
Dawn Caveness-Davenport to follow up on the funding for mentorship of at-risk children whose parents are incarcerated,

Marcia Andrews suggested looking into partnership with existing youth mentorship organizations, such as Take Stock in Children, and will provide information for her contact there.

CJC Staff and Officers to look into reactivating the Finance and Fundraising Committee.
Rosalind Murray to reach out to Dr. James Green with Palm Beach County Community Services about a presentation on prevention efforts.
Karen Hansen to collaborate with Vivian Rodriguez regarding BCC support for a second Butterfly House.
CJC Staff to send out a list to all CJC Members who currently sit on any Task Forces or Subcommittees ahead of February 24^th Annual Planning Meeting to allow time for those members to make changes if they so choose.

Next Meeting: Monday, May 12, 2025 at 12pm
Hanley Center Board Room
933 45^th Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33407

2-10-25-E-Minutes

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