Members Absent: Justice Mary Maring
Staff:
Marilyn Moe
The Juvenile Drug Court Advisory Committee met at the Townhouse Inn, Grand Forks, on September 18, 2007.
Judge Braaten chaired the meeting in the absence of Justice Mary Maring.
It was moved to approve the minutes of April 20, 2007, by John Grinsteiner and seconded by Nicole Leitner. Motion carried.
New Business:
Sue Lass reported for the Fargo team. Fargo currently has thirteen participants in its program. During this reporting period Fargo has had six graduations and one termination. The Fargo team and participants held a bowling and pizza party to celebrate the court's 7th year anniversary. Three participants completed the summer Forestry Service Department job. Summer projects included music appreciation and the writing program. The participants continue to be involved in a mentoring program with the Fargo Police Department. The participants are involved in the Life Skills classes with Nicole Leitner.
Kim Hegvik, Cass County Assistant State's Attorney, will replace Jonathan Andersen on the Fargo team.
Jackie Presley reported for the Bismarck team. Bismarck currently has ten participants in its program. Ilene VanBoven has been hired as the JDC coordinator and Jackie Presley will provide the JDC probation.
Jackie and Ilene will begin a Life Skills Program with the participants this fall. The team and participants completed a community service project at the Dakota Zoo. They spent the day sprucing up the zoo with fresh paint.
Shawn Mattingley reported for the Grand Forks team. There are currently thirteen participants in the program. The participants worked on a photography project for the summer months. The participants were taught how to shoot digital photographs and how to design a photo journal. The journals were on display at the advisory meeting.
The team and participants held their 2nd Annual Kick-ball Game. The team members are the proud winners. The participants assisted in the set-up of the Special Olympics in Grand Forks.
Marilyn Iverson will replace John Fuher as the school representative on the Grand Forks team.
Les Malnaa reported on the Minot Juvenile Drug Court. Minot began operation on January 18, 2007, and currently has three participants. The participants completed a summer art project with the Taube Museum of Art. They designed and created face masks and also created two ceramic pieces and displayed them in the court room for the parents and team members.
Judge Nelson reported for the Williston team. Williston is in the process of training with the National Drug Court Institute. The court will attend an instate training with the Bismarck Juvenile Drug Court team in November. The court plans to begin operation in January 2008.
Digital cameras were presented to each team by Marilyn Moe. The cameras were used in the photography class in Grand Forks. Marilyn encouraged the teams to use the cameras to start a scrap book for their court and also collect pictures for the JDC News.
Dr. Kevin Thompson distributed a report on terminated participants. There were 250 participants from Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Fargo included in this study. The committee discussed the report and the recommendations made by Dr. Thompson. Dr. Thompson also expressed his concerns about juveniles within the court system who are not being assessed early enough for alcohol and substance abuse. Karen Kringlie, juvenile director for Administrative Unit 2, suggested that this information should be brought to the Juvenile Policy Board. The protocol for assessments is not in the Best Practices Manual for Juvenile Court. She recommended that Dr. Thompson present this information to the Juvenile Policy Board. Karen will arrange for Dr. Thompson to attend the next Juvenile Policy Board meeting. Nicole Leitner suggested that Juvenile Drug Court establish a Best Practices Manual also. Marilyn Moe suggested that the protocol be put into the Juvenile Drug Court Policy and Procedure Manual.
The committee discussed the release of terminated participants to the Division of Juvenile Services. John Grinsteiner stated that Bismarck JDC keeps the juvenile in drug court until the actual transfer takes place.
Dr. Thompson also reminded the teams that defense counsel needs to be present when the new participants sign their Releases. Judge Braaten stated that this is also a good time for defense counsel to explain the new detention statute for drug court participants.
Marilyn Moe explained the Technical Assistance Grant being provided by the National Center of State Courts. Dr. Jeff Randall, from the Medical University of South Carolina, will facilitate a two-day working session to assist the teams in establishing treatment standards for the juvenile drug court program. A team from each court comprised of a judge, defense counsel, prosecutor, court officer, one state treatment provider, and one private treatment provider will attend. The two-day session will be held at the Seven Seas in Mandan.
Williston team training will be held on November 8th in Bismarck. Marilyn Moe requested that any new team members from the other courts attend this training.
Old Business:
Destruction of working files - Marilyn distributed a memo from Justice Maring to Sally Holewa, State Court Administrator, in regards to the destruction of the JDC working file. The policy change is in the approval process. Marilyn will contact the teams when the final approval is made. Until that time, the teams should continue to retain all JDC files.
Next meeting date: March 6, 2008, Doublewood Inn, Bismarck, ND.
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Marilyn Moe