DeKalb Times

DeKalb County Law & Justice Committee met Aug. 24.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

The Law and Justice Committee of the DeKalb County Board met virtually via Zoom. Committee Chair Dianne Leifheit called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Those members present via Zoom were Mrs. Karen Cribben, Mr. Tracy Jones, Mr. Jim Luebke, Ms. Linda Slabon, Mr. Paul Stoddard, Mr. Jeff Whelan, and Chair Dianne Leifheit. A quorum was established with all seven Members virtually present.

Others that were present included Gary Hanson, Tom McCulloch, Michael Venditti, Jill Olson, Pete Stefan, Deanna Cada, and Kathy Lampkins.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

It was moved by Mr. Whelan and seconded by Mr. Stoddard to approve the agenda as presented. Those voting yea were Mrs. Cribben, Mr. Jones, Mr. Luebke, Ms. Slabon, Mr. Stoddard, Mr. Whelan, and Chair Leifheit. The motion carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Mr. Luebke moved to approve the minutes of the July 27, 2020 Committee Meeting and Mrs. Cribben seconded the motion. Those voting yea were Mrs. Cribben, Mr. Jones, Mr. Luebke, Ms. Slabon, Mr. Stoddard, Mr. Whelan, and Chair Leifheit. All Members voted yea. The motion carried unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no public comments.

PUBLIC DEFENDER’S REPORT

DeKalb County Public Defender Tom McCulloch submitted his July 2020 standard monthly report to the Committee. He shared that as the numbers suggest, they are still dealing with the restraints of COVID 19; that is not to say that cases are not coming in at a breakneck pace with no end in sight, as the local newspapers show.

COURT SERVICES REPORT

DeKalb County Court Services Director Michael Venditti reported that his department is starting to see an increasing number of clients as the court continue to play catchup from the COVID-19 shut down.

He additionally shared that Court Services was able to convert four exiting Salary Subsidy positions for which the County gets reimbursed at the rate of a flat $12,000 annually by the State to Grants-in-Aid positions which are reimbursed at a level of 100% of salary only (benefits are picked up 100% by the County). This resulted in an additional $129,000 in annual revenue for the General Fund retroactive to July 1, 2019. Additionally, the Drug Testing Technician that was funded 82% by the HOPE Probation Program under the Adult Redeploy Illinois Grant and 18% by Probation Services will now, effective October 1, 2020, be 100% funded by the HOPE Probation Program.

Mr. Venditti additionally reported that on the juvenile-side of things, they had to deal with an unfortunately lockdown of the Juvenile Justice Center in Kane County. Due to the positive spread of COVID-19 in the facility the Juvenile Justice Center had to be on lockdown. Because of this, two DeKalb County juveniles who were sent to the facility had to stay there longer than usual. The facility is just now opening back up.

Lastly, Mr. Venditti shared that more Community Service sites are opening back up with COVID-19 restrictions and individuals are beginning to put in restitution hours again. Another option that has been given during this time is for individuals to donate to local food panties in order to get time off their Community Service sentence.

COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE (CASA) UPDATE

CASA DeKalb County Executive Director Jill Olson joined the Law & Justice Committee via Zoom to provide an update.

Ms. Olson explained that the mission of CASA is, “To advocate for and serve as the voice for abused and neglected children in DeKalb County.” CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is the designated Guardian ad litem (GAL) appointed to abused and neglected children in DeKalb County (DeKalb County is one of eleven GALs in Illinois). These children are in the court system through no fault of their own. CASA advocates interview the child and all relevant parties in his or her life and share this information with the judge so the judge can make decisions that enhance the child’s well-being. CASA’s vision is a community where every child is given the opportunity to thrive in a safe and loving home.

CASA trains community members as volunteer advocates for abused and neglected children in DeKalb County. A CASA volunteer stays with each child until the child’s court case is completed by having the child placed into a safe, permanent and nurturing home.

CASA DeKalb County Inc. was founded in 1993. They have over 65 DeKalb County residents as volunteer advocates. Annually, CASA serves over 200 abused and neglected children in DeKalb County. The advocates provide over 9,500 hours of volunteer service each year.

Ms. Olson also reported that last year CASA DeKalb County represented 253 children and on average cases stay open a little over three years. This was an 18.5% increase from the pervious year. Of course, 2020 has been a very different year. CASA has made adjustments to do many meetings virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions. Many of their well checks have been done virtually, when possible. Others have meetings outside when possibly as well. They have been continuing to do the work that they do but in different ways. Ms. Olson also described what it has been like to attend court virtually.

Advocate trainings are planning to be done online and they even conducted their big 50 Men Who Cook Fundraiser online this year. She believes that many of these new changes will continue into 2021 and they will continue to adjust and adapt where needed.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DCCMHB AND LAW & JUSTICE INITIATIVES

DeKalb County Community Mental Health Board (DCCMHB) Director Deanna Cada virtually joined the Committee to provide an overview of some law enforcement-related initiatives that the Mental Health Board funds.

The DCCMHB directs annual funding allocations to nonprofit and governmental agencies that provide behavioral healthcare services that relate directly to criminal justice and policing. According to “How Community Behavioral Health Providers are Supporting Police and Reducing Recidivism” published by the National Council for Behavioral Healthcare, “Community‐based treatment lowers the chances of reincarceration, decreases the burden on jails and prisons to provide mental health services and improves outcomes for these (individuals with serious mental illness or substance use disorders) by providing evidence‐based treatment that can help them avoid arrest”. Ms. Cada briefly reviewed some agencies and programs that are receiving DCCMHB funds in Grant Year 2021 (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021).

A few highlights of funding that specifically relates to criminal justice and policing includes:

 Funding a peer support person to work with DeKalb County Treatment Courts

 Funding jail‐based behavioral healthcare services at the DeKalb County Jail

 Funding Substance Use Disorder/Medication Assisted Treatment at Greater Elgin Family Care Center

 Funding Clinical Services and psychiatry services for people who are homeless at Hope Haven.

 Funding the Living Room program at Ben Gordon Center, a part of Northwestern Medicine.

 Funding the Mental Health/Law Enforcement Liaison program at Ben Gordon Center, a part of Northwestern Medicine that benefits City of DeKalb and City of Sycamore Police Departments.

Other DCCMHB activities that relate to criminal justice and policing include participating in City of DeKalb Police Department Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Grant. These activities included a visit to Justice and Mental Health Collaboration learning site in Portland, Maine, attendance at the Crisis Intervention Team Training International Conference in 2018 and 2019 and technical assistance from the Bureau of Justice Assistance with monthly calls and an in‐person workshop in Washington, D.C. This was a planning grant that resulted in a DeKalb JMHCP Strategic Plan and a Community Analysis for the Police‐Mental Health Collaboration Strategic Planning Project.

In 2016, the DCCMHB funded a “Mental Health Education and Training for First Responders” at DeKalb Police Department consisting of four separate 4‐hour sessions. The training provided law enforcement officers with basic knowledge of mental health crisis intervention that is intended to decrease use of physical force, decrease injury to officers and consumers, decrease criminalization, increase partnerships between law enforcement officers and mental health professionals, and expand knowledge and use of resources for consumers. Topics covered for the 4‐hour portion: Signs/symptoms of mental illness, psychotropic medications, child and adolescent disorders, autism and developmental disabilities, TBI, dementia, veterans, cultural elements of crisis, de‐escalation techniques, scenario deconstruction, officer wellness. In 2017, funded “Mental Health Education and Training for First Responders” at Sycamore Police Department.

In September 2016, co‐funded and hosted Mental Health First Aid for Law Enforcement with 35 DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department employees received the specific Law Enforcement training.

Ms. Cada is additionally is the co‐chair of the Mental Health/Law Enforcement Subcommittee of the Trauma Informed Committee of DeKalb County, an outgrowth of the DeKalb County Juvenile Justice Council. This subcommittee meets quarterly and discusses trauma informed training opportunities, and trauma informed programming for the community.

Looking ahead, one of the top priorities of the DCCMHB is to assist with mental health/law enforcement initiatives with DeKalb County law enforcement partners. This would mean funding (a) Support Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for local law enforcement partners. (b) Explore and assist with development of a CIT Team/Super‐utilizers group to convene on a regular basis. (c) Explore the opportunities to pilot a police/social worker position for DeKalb County law enforcement partners.

Chair Leifheit also shared with the Committee that the Sheriff’s Body Cam Program was fully implemented September 1, 2020. Additionally, the Engineers for the Sheriff’s Digital Radio System are scheduled to come back September 21st. With COVID, the Engineers were not able to travel, so the hope it that they will address the last few ongoing issues that the System has had.

ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Whelan moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:19 p.m. Mr. Luebke seconded the motion. Those voting yea were Mrs. Cribben, Mr. Luebke, Ms. Slabon, Mr. Stoddard, Mr. Whelan, and Chair Leifheit. The motion carried.

https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/min20-lawaug.pdf