December 2015 CJAB Meeting Summary

The Franklin County Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) convened on December 10^th, 2015 at noon for an annual meeting with a focus on reviewing the work, progress, and accomplishments of 2015.

A final draft of the 2016-2019 CJAB Strategic Plan was presented to the committee, approved and adopted. CJAB Chair and President Judge, Carol Van Horn, commented that it has been an easy process to reach consensus on the strategic plan document as it accurately reflects CJAB discussions.

The Jail Opioid Treatment (JOT) Program is a new project that will allow for substance-dependent inmates to receive Vivitrol beginning prior to release and will assist in connecting eligible inmates to medical providers post-release as well as to recovery support specialists. A committee of stakeholders was formed to develop program policies and procedures which will be ready for implementation upon the passing of the state budget.

As per a strategic plan objective, subcommittees have been examining crime prevention programs and measures currently underway and reported on the results.

The Endowment Act Funds have been released and Over The Rainbow Child Advocacy Center and Women In Need have both received their full requests.

Subcommittee chairs reported on the various work done in each group, respectively. Some highlights include:

• The Executive Committee believes the new meeting format has helped the CJAB process.
• Criminal Case Flow Management restructured their committee which proved successful for completing action items and promoting communication in regards to Central Court (CC) operations and logistics, committee involvement in action plans, policies, forms, court statistics, etc.
• Behavioral Health has been working on a SAMSHA federal trauma informed training grant. Some 2015 subcommittee action items included: collaboration between Keystone Navigators, Medicaid, Mental Health and the Jail; GIS mapped trends in substance use, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, expanded trauma informed care, etc.
• First Contact Committee completed their first full year. A 2015 goal was to increase fingerprint compliance, which did increase from 91% to 97%, one of the highest rates in the state. This committee also examined the intake triage form versus the bail information form, the fingerprinting process for all CC scheduled cases, and enforced no contact bail conditions.
• Technology Committee implemented Unified Case Management in Adult Probation and Public Defender’s office with District Attorney’s office and Jail scheduled for 2016. The committee facilitated communications between court-related offices which streamlined bail and nolle prosse processes and reduced travel between jail and courthouse.
• Victims Impact is reviewing the Crime Victims Act, which is a statue on victims’ rights, and is cross referencing the act with CJAB processes to ensure compliance. Using the Sequential Intercept Model framework, the committee is looking at how to improve systems for victims. The Victim Impact Statement is being revised.
• Juvenile Justice has addressed overcrowding at the Masters Complex when Juvenile Probation and CYS hearings are held. The committee was also able to implement the ACE resilience questionnaire and collect data on scores to see what types of trauma youth are having and how to get them the services they need. The Youth Court program has been further developed this year.
• The Forensic Initiatives Committee revised the bail form for MDJs. A reentry planning grant was received and allowed for the formation of the Franklin County Reentry Coalition. The committee is exploring the need for a child mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents.

Chief Arnold of the Chambersburg Police Department spoke on behalf of the group, giving thanks and well wishes to Sheriff Dane Anthony for his years of service.

Full December Meeting minutes can be found here.

The next meeting of the Franklin County Criminal Justice Advisory Board will be held on February 25, 2015 at noon in the 3rd Floor Jury Assembly Room at the Courthouse.

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