JDC Advisory Board
June 28, 2000
Fargo, ND - Radisson Inn
| Members Present | Members Absent | ||||||
| Justice Mary Muehlen Maring | Greg Wallace | ||||||
| Dr. Kevin Thompson | Judge Ralph Erickson | ||||||
| Ron Schneider | Judge Deb Gordon Kleven | ||||||
| Mary Hall | |||||||
| Deb Carlson | |||||||
| Deb Davis | |||||||
| Wendie Hickey | |||||||
| Birch Burdick | |||||||
| Steve Mottinger | |||||||
| Staff | |||||||
| Alyson Schmidt | |||||||
Justice Mary Maring, Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. She asked Mary Hall to report on the progress of Fargo's JDC. Mary said that there were currently five juveniles in JDC, one female, four males. Three juveniles chose not to participate and three were being screened in the following week. Other items she mentioned:
One JDC participant has violated the conditions of JDC. There is good parental involvement.
The prospective participant meets with the public defender and decides whether or not to opt into the program. If the person opts in, they sign the required forms. Mary said that the team is looking for more ways to utilize incentives.
Deb Carlson updated the board on the progress of the JDC in Grand Forks. There are currently thirteen juveniles participating in JDC, seven are female and six are male. She said that the Grand Forks JDC team has been flexible with the program. They make changes as necessary for the program to succeed.
Other items of interest:
Parental involvement is good. Parents attend the True Colors program as an orientation to JDC. JDC participants get community service credit for clean UA, completed assignments and submitting job applications. Wendie Hickey, JDC Coordinator, has contacted many businesses in the Grand Forks region to promote community involvement. She has received donations from pizza places, movie theaters, bowling alley, etc. Judge Kleven asks that each JDC participant write an essay on "What is a perfect day?" This allows the team too get to know the participant a little better.
Justice Maring then asked whether a plan to involve Law Enforcement and school systems in JDC should be developed. The board discussed having the judge, prosecutor and other JDC team members meet with the chief of police and sheriff to discuss drug courts. They would then work to get a line-officer to attend team meetings and possibly the review hearings. Justice Maring said that a plan to engage law enforcement would be developed by the September 8, 2000, JDC Advisory
Board meeting.
The advisory board then began discussing a plan to further engage the school system. Ron Schneider suggested there be a regular dialogue with principals and superintendents about JDC and its benefits. He suggested that a letter be sent with anecdotal evidence of how JDC affects the participants.
The advisory board suggested incorporating the progress reports developed by Fargo and Grand Forks into the JDC Manual. They also suggested developing a participant's guide to the drug court. An advisory board member also suggested nominating a JDC participant for the "JDC Youth of the Year." The board members then said that after JDC has been running for awhile, a parent's involvement on the board may be beneficial.
Justice Maring then asked what the advisory board thought about further media attention. Deb Davis suggested sending out information in September to pertinent people because it is National Adolescent Recovery Month. She suggested that the booklet "Effective Principles of Drug Treatment" be mailed to all legislators along with other information about drug courts.
Justice Maring informed the board that she and Alyson Schmidt have had preliminary discussions with Karen Larson, Greg Clark, Doug Seiler, and Joanne Hoezel, about MultiSystemic Therapy. The discussions have been exploring what is MST, how can it assist current treatment services, is it available, what is the cost, etc.
The advisory board then discussed technical assistance needs. They suggested incentives and sanctions, the role of the prosecutor and defense attorney, team building, adjudication - pre or post, whether JDC participants should be in the court room throughout the review hearing.
Justice Maring said that the next JDC Advisory Board meeting will be September 8, 2000, at the Radisson in Fargo. It will last from 10:00 a.m. untill 1:00 p.m. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.