CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION
FULL COMMITTEE MEETING
CareerSource Board Room
3400 Belvedere Rd, West Palm Beach, FL 33406

Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 12:00 pm

 

MINUTES

 
Members Present:
Alexcia Cox, State Attorney, 15th Judicial Circuit
Dan Eisinger, Public Defender, 15th Judicial Circuit
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
Joseph Casello, PBC Legislative Delegate
Julia Dattolo, President/CEO, CareerSource PBC
Kathleen Kroll, Administrative Judge, Juvenile Division
Karen Hansen, The Collective Projects
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
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
Darcy Davis, Chief Executive Officer, HealthCare District
Dominick Pape, Chief, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department
Jorge Garrido, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Management Strategies
Joseph Abruzzo, Clerk of the PBC Circuit Court & Comptroller
Lauren Whetstone, FPL Energy Services, Inc.
Lawrence Gordon, Palm Beach County League of Cities
Leontyne Brown, d.b.a Leontyne Brown
Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
   
Guests Attending:
Alejandro Rodriguez, Research Team, Florida Atlantic University
Andrea Rocha, Director, Court Operations, Palm Beach County Clerk's Office
Arlene Griffiths, Palm Beach County Public Safety
Brian Bees, District Aid, Florida Legislative Delegation
Danielle Groton, Associate Professor, Florida Atlantic University
Javaro Sims, Co-Chair, Community Engagement Task Force
Jennifer Copp, Director, Jail Research & Policy Institute, Florida State University
Jeremy Doner, Palm Beach County Electronic Services and Security Division
Jessica Hidalgo, Reentry Services, Palm Beach County Public Safety
Kariana Ingram, Palm Beach County Legislative Affairs
Shantel Drayton, Manager of Court Services, Palm Beach County Public Safety
Stephanie Sejnoha, Director, Palm Beach County Public Safety

CJC Staff Present:
Angelique J. Pickett, Executive Director
Brad Allen, Criminal Justice Analyst
Cayla Severin, Administrative Assistant
Christopher Slydell, Criminal Justice Analyst
Dawn Caveness-Davenport, Senior Criminal Justice Analyst
Katherine Hatos, Criminal Justice Systems Manager
Margo Smith, Criminal Justice Analyst
Helene Hvizd, 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

  • Marcia Andrews made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Maria Antuña, and passed unanimously.
     

IV.   Approval and/or Corrections to the April 28th, 2024, Minutes

  • Michelle Suskauer made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Joe Casello and passed unanimously.
     

V.    Chair's Comments

A.    The Honorable Glenn Kelley elected for a third term as Chief Judge of the 15th Judicial Circuit Court

    • Chair, Dr. Docekal, congratulated Chief Judge Glenn Kelley on his reelection
       

B.    Acknowledgement of Rev. Kevin Jones for his years of dedication and commitment to the Criminal Justice Commission, Palm Beach County, and its residents.

    • Chair, Dr. Docekal, acknowledged Reverend Jones' service to the community, to the Commission, and expressed well wishes for his future endeavors.
       

VI.   Executive Director Updates

A.    Justice Leadership Academy Graduation held Thursday, May 15th at the Community Foundation of Palm Beach & Martin Counties

  • Director Pickett gave an update on the final session of the Justice Leadership Academy, stating that although the academy began with 24 participants, there were a total of 12 that completed the program. Director Pickett also thanked those who supported the program and assisted the participants in determining which task forces they would be of the most interest to them.

B.    Citizen's Criminal Justice Academy Session #49 Graduation held Wednesday, May 14th at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

  • Director Pickett acknowledged the work of Community Engagement Coordinator Rosalind Murray and celebrated the participation of the 63 graduates from this session.

C.     CJC Letter of Support: Butterfly House at Boca Regional Hospital approved and signed at May 12, 2025, CJC Executive Committee Meeting

  • Director Pickett thanked CJC Executive Committee member Karen Hansen for her work in drafting the letter of support for the second Butterfly House at the Boca Regional Hospital. She reported the letter was approved by the Executive Committee members.

D.    2024 CJC Annual Report

  • Director Pickett announced that the 2024 CJC Annual Report was nearing completion and would be available for electronic and physical distribution once finished.

E.     Data Trends Report

Director Pickett indicated this quarter's report that is available in the agenda packet, and briefly discussed Staff plans to incorporate new components over the summer break to be ready for review in the fall.

​​ F.     Year End Meeting Schedule

  • Due to holiday breaks and the new quorum requirement, it was decided that:
    • The November 2025 meeting would be rescheduled for Monday, November 17, 2025 in lieu of the Executive Committee meeting.
    • The December 2025 meeting would be rescheduled for Monday, December 8th, 2025. ​

G.    Task Force Membership

  • Director Pickett made note of the requirement that each of the task forces have at least one sitting Commission member and indicated that CJC Staff could begin reaching out to the current members to gauge interest in joining the task forces in order to continue to meet that requirement.

​VII.     Presentations

    1. Update on FSU Bond Schedule Evaluation – Dr. Jennifer Copp, Associate Professor, Director, Jail Research & Policy Institute, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University
  • Dr. Jennifer Copp gave a presentation on the preliminary findings of the FSU Bond Schedule Evaluation that studied the effects of the changes implemented by House Bill 1627 beginning January 1st, 2024. She reported the following:
    • HB 1627 attempted to standardize and strengthen pretrial release and detention procedures across the state by implementing a uniform bond schedule and placing limits on who could be released prior to a first appearance hearing.
    • Preliminary findings suggest that the changes have:
      • Increased the size of the pretrial population
      • Decrease in the number of individuals being released immediately following their booking
        • HB 1627 decreased in the number of individuals who are eligible for non-monetary releases
      • Made no improvement to public safety
        • Re-arrest rates remain stable
  • Daniel Eisinger requested that CJC Research Staff look into Length-of-Stay data for misdemeanor charges for Palm Beach County to see if there is a correlation with the FSU Research team's findings.
     
    1. Update on FAU Trauma-Informed Training Evaluation – Dr. Danielle Groton, DSW Coordinator & Associate Professor, College of Social Work & Criminal Justice, Florida Atlantic University
  • Dr. Danielle Groton gave a presentation on the Trauma-Informed Train-the-Trainer program evaluation conducted by her team at Florida Atlantic University. She reported the goal of these trainings was to provide instruction for law enforcement officers and those working in similar fields or responding to people who are having different elements of distress on a daily basis and are experiencing levels of distress themselves as well. She continued to report implementing these trauma-informed practices in the community can have the following benefits:
    • Less resistance from survivors coming forward to report crimes
    • Lower rates of secondary traumatization
    • Improved community perception and relationships with law enforcement
    • 55 people completed the Train-the-Trainer event, with just under half representing law enforcement and an 85% response rate for the pre and post-tests.
    • The findings conclude that the participants had increased knowledge and more favorable perceptions of trauma-informed practice after the training.
    • After six months, FAU research staff reached out to check in on the participants. 26 of the participants responded, and only four had facilitated trainings of their own (11%) – none of which were completed by or delivered to law enforcement. When asked what the primary barriers were to facilitating trainings, the responses included:
      • Schedule and timing issues (For trainers and trainees)
      • Too much time had lapsed between their initial training and when they had the availability to facilitate, and they no longer felt confident in the material
      • Lack of agency buy-in
      • Staff turnover – Individuals who had taken the training were no longer working in roles where they could facilitate
      • For individuals who had not yet facilitated a training, many were uncomfortable doing so because they did not know what to do if someone were to bring up their own trauma in the training
    • Due to the lack of facilitation, it was decided that instead of evaluating the findings, the FAU researchers would work on developing an implementation guide that focused on bringing law enforcement to the table for trauma-informed initiatives. The guide is currently under review and will be finalized over the next month and should be available in July.
      • Karen Hansen asked whether any survivor/victim input was being included in the implementation guide and volunteered to assist in this area if needed.
      • The Commission briefly discussed issues that may impact implementation, such as compassion fatigue/peer support programs for law enforcement and working with the Law Enforcement Planning Council (LEPC) to secure agency buy-in from the top down. 

VIII.     Old Business

    1. Text Reminder System: Upcoming Expirations of Maintenance Memorandum of Understanding with Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller of Palm Beach County (October 2025), contracted text reminder services with Uptrust (December 2025), and funding through the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge (September 2026)
  • Director Pickett called attention to Dr. Jennifer Copp's evaluation of the Court Text Reminder System that has been funded through the MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge grant monies, asking that the Commission review the preliminary findings over the summer in preparation of the end of the pilot phase in September of 2026. The CJC will need to make a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners on whether or not to continue the program.

IX.      New Business

    1. CJC Task Force Name Change: new task force name recommendations needed for consideration for/by the Racial Equity Task Force
    • Director Pickett requested that any suggestions for a new name for the Racial Equity Task Force be put forth as the current name must be changed. She reported the temporary name selected by the former chair is Jail Reduction Task Force.
    • Director Pickett stated any suggestions can be submitted by email to her by Friday, June 20th. A reminder email will be sent out two weeks prior to that date.

X.      Task Force Reports

    1. Community Engagement Task Force:
  1. Safety and Justice Challenge Sustainability Grant Adjustment Recommendations to be ranked for consideration
      • Director Pickett asked each present member of the Commission to briefly review the recommendations for the Sustainability Grant Adjustment and rank them according to priority. The rankings of these recommendations will be sent out to the CJC members and taken back to the Community Engagement Task Force for consideration before being submitted to the MacArthur Foundation for approval.
         
  2. 2025 Palm Beach County Safety and Resource Fair - Rosalind Murray, Community Engagement Coordinator, CJC
      • Community Engagement Coordinator Rosalind Murray introduced retired Delray Beach Police Chief Javaro Sims, co-chair of the Community Engagement Task Force. Chief Sims gave an update on the projects currently in progress and the Community Engagement Task Force 2025 Work Plan, broken down into quarters:
        • Q1: Community listening – engagement and strategy workshops
        • Q2: Building trust and visibility through youth and police forums
        • Q3: Community investment and collaboration – neighborhood cleanup, Public Safety Resource Fair
          • County-wide initiative designed to bring together law enforcement, community service providers, and residents to reunify efforts to promote public safety, strengthen relationships, and connect citizens with valuable resources.
        • Q4: Review and recommit community safety roundtable; Year-end report


    1. Finance and Fundraising Committee Updates – recommendation to formalize CJC monetary request procedures in line with County policies and procedures
  • Director Pickett gave an explanation of the past processes for funding requests and where the funds come from for each type of request. In their meeting on Monday, May 19, the Finance and Fundraising Committee looked back through 16 years of budget reports to determine how the previous requests had been handled and who had made them, and it was established that while there has been a straightforward process for intergovernmental transfers and sponsorship requests, there has not been a 501(c)(3) request made to date. The Finance and Fundraising Committee's recommendation to the Commission was to formalize CJC monetary request procedures in line with County policies and procedures. The issue was put forth for discussion and was accepted with no opposition.
     

XI.       Member Comments – None report​

XII.      Guest Comments – None report

​ XIII.    Adjournment – Meeting Adjourned

​