Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority s5

MINUTES

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting Thursday, February 19, 2009 10:00 a.m. Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority 300 West Adams Street, Eighth Floor Conference Room Chicago, Illinois

Call to Order and Roll Call

The Budget Committee of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority met on Thursday, February 19, 2009, in the Eighth Floor Conference Room at 300 West Adams Street, Chicago, Illinois. Budget Committee Chairman Eugene E. Murphy, Jr. called the meeting to order at 10:18 a.m. Other Authority members and designees present were Bridget Healy Ryan for State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, Waisu Fashina for Clerk Dorothy Brown (via teleconference), Elaine Romas for Sheriff Tom Dart, Director Pat Delfino (via teleconference), Barbara Engel, Cynthia Hora for Attorney General Madigan, State’s Attorney Bill Mudge (via teleconference), Mariyana Spyropolous, Colonel Michael Snyders for Director Larry Trent, John Z. Toscas (via teleconference), Tony Small for Director Roger Walker (via teleconference), and Rachel Johnston for Superintendent Jody Weis. Also in attendance were Director Polly Poskin of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Rick Krause of the Illinois Department of Corrections, Authority Executive Director Lori G. Levin, Authority Associate Director John Chojnacki, and other Authority staff members. Budget Committee members present constituted a quorum. Only members and designees physically present at the meeting were permitted to vote.

Executive Director’s Comments

Director Levin noted that an Authority Regular meeting would be held on March 6, 2009. She said that some budgetary items would be added to the agenda for that meeting. She said that the Authority would soon apply for funds from a new federal program called the Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP). Director Levin announced that Congress had passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). She said that the anticipated Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds probably would not be sufficient to replace all of the funds that had recently been cut. However, she said that Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and especially JAG funds under ARRA were expected to be substantial. She said that meetings would be held in the near future to address planning issues relating to these funds.

Director Levin said that her understanding at the time of this meeting is that the ARRA funds would first be made available 30 days after the date that the Act was signed by President Obama and the funds would be available for use through September 30, 2010. She also said that many questions remain about rules regarding the use of ARRA funds

Director Levin said that the expenditure of ARRA VAWA law enforcement funds would likely be a concern, as that has historically been problematic. She also said that the anticipated ARRA VOCA award would likely be approximately $1.3 million.

In response to a comment by Ms. Engel, Director Levin said that the forthcoming planning meetings would include reviews of each program’s priorities. Director Levin added that the meetings would not entail designation recommendations, but instead they would serve as broad-ranging reviews of the programs in general. She also said that the idea of eliminating matching funds requirements in an effort to expedite the expenditure of ARRA funds was raised.

Chairman Murphy said that a meeting would be planned for some time in the next two weeks. He said that the board has upheld its mandate to do more with less. ARRA funds provide an opportunity to make up some ground. Determining priorities for these funds will be a difficult task. There are many good causes and programs and perhaps it will not be necessary to choose one over another, but priorities should be established in any event.

In response to a question by Ms. Romas, Director Levin said that any ideas that board members have regarding priorities could be submitted to Mr. Chojnacki. She also said that the planning meetings would not entertain specific funding proposals. She added that these funds represent a temporary infusion of money, but it should not be expected that the funds will be sustained beyond the end of the ARRA performance periods and that entities receiving ARRA funds should plan accordingly; for example, if ARRA funds are used to start a new program, fund recipients should understand that they would need to assume the fiscal responsibilities for that new program once ARRA funds expire. Chairman Murphy emphasized project sustainability. Director Levin said that perhaps sustainability itself might qualify as a valid priority for ARRA funds.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting February 19, 2009

Director Levin said that she would investigate the possibility of using ARRA funds to effectively support current programs for a one-year period. She said that it is possible the FFY09 awards might be higher than awards made in recent years, but it would also be reasonable to expect significant decreases in FFY10 awards.

Ms. Engel said that there is an obvious emphasis on job creation with ARRA funds. She said that there is a lot of downtime when new programs start; job descriptions must be written, individuals must be interviewed for new positions, etc. She suggested making it a priority to reinstate funds to programs that were forced to cut staff due to the recent cuts to their funding. The services provided by those individuals who were laid off were valued by their respective constituencies and those laid off individuals represent trained and talented candidates for reinstated positions. A secondary priority might be to build on or add to existing programs, she said.

Director Levin said that if programs are to be reinstated, they should have proven records that they had worked and met their goals in the past and they should be sustainable.

Chairman Murphy said that the concept of doing less with more will not be abandoned. He said that while the Budget Committee considers what to do with an infusion of money this year, in the near future it will revert back to managing budget cuts. He reiterated that the programs must be sustainable. He said that there would be no bigger waste of money than to start a new program and then, once it is up and running, to have to shut it down for a lack of sustainable funding.

Director Levin said that the federal government would enforce accountability for ARRA funds. She said that they want to be able to prove in a transparent fashion that ARRA funds are creating jobs. She said that in the event that ARRA funds are eventually used to purchase equipment, grantees would need to show how that purchase created a job.

Chairman Murphy said that it is important to set goals that can reasonably be met for the use of ARRA funds. He said that it will be important to show that the Authority has spent the funds wisely and has produced desired tangible results.

Ms. Engel requested that information on ARRA funding streams be made available on the Authority’s website.

Minutes of the November 12, 2008 Budget Committee Meeting

Ms. Johnston moved to approve the minutes of the November 12, 2008 Budget Committee Meeting contained at Tab 1 of the meeting materials. Ms. Hora seconded the motion and the minutes were approved by unanimous voice vote.

Approval of the FFY05 and FFY06 Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) Plan Adjustments

Program Supervisor Mike Carter, referring to the memo at Tab 2 of the meeting materials regarding FFY05 and FFY06 JAG Plan Adjustments, said that since the last Budget Committee meeting on November 12, 2008, $403,322 in JAG FFY05 funds and $53,810 in JAG FFY06 funds had been returned to the Authority. He said that staff recommended designating $30,000 in FFY05 funds to the Illinois Integrated Justice Information System (IIJIS) to host its biennial conference. He said that this year’s conference will showcase integration successes and systems from various Illinois counties and that the conference is expected to host more than 250 attendees.

Mr. Carter said that staff recommends designating $120,000 in FFY05 funds to the Illinois Department of Mental Health (DMH) for the purpose of expanding DMH’s Jail Data Link (JDL) project. He said that this will assist in establishing new JDL services and MHC programs.

Director Levin said that the Authority has funded JDL programs before and that this would nearly double the number of counties participating in the JDL program. She said that the DMH provides daily downloads to jails to cross-match inmates with individuals who have documented mental health histories and the program provides information on individuals’ treatments and / or prescriptions. This allows jail staff to properly treat inmates. The JDL programs will also employ coordinators so that mental health services can be coordinated with incarceration, parole, or probation. The JDL programs would be connected to local mental health courts. She said that once the initial $40,000 is expended to get these programs up and running, Medicaid will provide the future funding. She said that these three programs were proposed by the DMH, so it is reasonable to assume that they will be viable.

In response to a question by Chairman Murphy, Director Levin said that in the event that any one of these programs closed down, the funds would be returned to the Authority.

In response to a question by Ms. Engel regarding the $314,248 returned by the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), Mr. Krause of the IDOC said that staff vacancies were the primary cause of the lapsed funds. He said that the IDOC had a significant amount of money allocated to transitional housing for juveniles, but the IDOC did not secure the needed housing. Therefore, funds were reallocated away from juvenile transitional housing and they went toward adult juvenile housing. He said that this resulted in eight staff vacancies; one coordinator and seven case managers. He said that the program is now fully staffed.

Ms. Engel said that if this issue illustrates that these inmates have no place to go once their sentences are finished, then that is a problem that need attention. She said that the fact that this money didn’t help solve the problem doesn’t mean that the problem doesn’t exist. This issue needs attention because effective re-entry programs have a lot to do with whether or not an individual recidivates.

Mr. Carter said that staff recommends designating $60,000 in FFY05 funds to the Illinois Department of Mental Health (DMH) for the purpose of contracting with a technician to establish a statewide mental heath court (MHC). This would be in addition to the JDL programs.

In response to a question by Ms. Hora, Director Levin said that there is a MHC association, which began in Cook County. She said that currently there were approximately 10 MHC's either planned or in existence.

Mr. Carter said that staff recommends designating $140,500 in FFY06 funds The Illinois State Police’s Crimes Against Seniors Program (CASP). He said that the Authority has funded this program for the last three years at $170,500 each year. During the last funding year, CASP lapsed approximately $64,000 and is on pace to lapse the same amount in this funding year. The reason for these lapses was an inability to get the hiring of an investigator approved by the State of Illinois’s Central Management Services. He said that staff recommends reducing CASP’S designation from its FFY06 level by $30,000 (from $170,500 to $140,500) with the expectation that funding may be restored, as needed, at the end of this 12-month period. Col. Snyders said that the paperwork for the hiring approval had been submitted to the governor’s office so that hire should take place in the near future.

Mr. Carter said that staff recommends designating $81,000 in FFY06 funds The Macon County Public Defender’s Office for its specialized defense initiatives program.

Mr. Carter said that staff recommends designating $70,000 in FFY06 funds to The Cook County Social Services Department for its Community-Based Transitional Services for Female Offenders program.

Mr. Carter said that assuming the approval by the Budget Committee of the designations proposed in the memo, there would be $294,591 remaining in JAG FFY05 and $104,285 remaining in JAG FFY06.

Director Levin said that funding recommendations regarding JAG FFY05, which expires in September of 2009, would be proposed at the March 6, 2009 Authority Regular meeting. She said that a request for proposals (RFP) for law enforcement equipment was

about to be issued. The RFP was for approximately $600,000. She said that these funds need to be expended quickly.

Ms. Engel moved to approve the FFY05 and FFY06 plan adjustment recommendations contained at Tab 2 of the meeting materials. Ms. Spyropoulos seconded the motion and the minutes were approved by unanimous voice vote.

New Business

Old Business

Adjourn

Ms. Healy Ryan moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Ms. Engel and passed by unanimous voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 10:57 a.m.