Youth Services Advisory Board

CITY OF NORWALK YOUTH SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 20 2011 ATTENDANCE: Darlene Young, Lt. Ashley Gonzalez, Candice Mayer, Jessica Fogg, Betty Karkut (4:13 p.m.); Anna Duleep (4:25 p.m.) STAFF: Linda Wilock, Youth Service Director; Jason Getner, Juvenile Review Board, Robert Maslan, Corporation Counsel CALL TO ORDER Ms. Mayer called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. She explained that Ms. Sarkin, the Acting Chair, was not able to attend. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 7, 2011 ** MS. FOGG MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JUNE 7, 2011 AS SUBMITTED. ** LT. GONZALEZ SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. DEPARTMENT UPDATES Youth Service Bureau Grant Year End Report. Ms. Wilock distributed copies of the year end statistics from the Youth Bureau Counseling program and the Juvenile Justice Board portion. Age wise, the clients are mostly under 16, how ever that will change in the future to include 17 year olds. Parenting/Family issues make up the largest category in the statistics. Delinquent behavior and Defiance of school rules were the next two highest categories. Ms. Karkut joined the meeting at 4:13 p.m. Lt. Gonzalez gave an overview of the differences between Bridgeport’s handling the juvenile cases as a judicial case, whereas Norwalk refers the students to the Juvenile Review Board. When the law changes in June or July, it will include the 17 year olds as juveniles. The case loads are expected to increase. The clients who are handled through the JRB do not have a record if they follow through with the program. Those who do not are turned over to the judicial system. Students who go through the judicial system have a permanent record. JRB Update City of Norwalk Youth Services Advisory Board Regular Meeting September 20 2011 Page 1 Mr. Getner then distributed documents that indicated the various cases by offense. He noted that 51% of the cases have a single female parent. Ms. Duleep joined the meeting at 4:25 p.m. There is only a 15% re-arrest rate, which is unfortunate. However, this also means that there is a 85% success rate. The discussion then moved to letting the community know about the program without breaching confidentiality. Police/School Grant Award Ms. Wilock spoke about the Police/School grant, which is not able to be renewed. However, an extension has been approved. She added that the grant that Mr. Getner has been working under will finish at the end of the month. Ms. Wilock said that during the summer, the Town of Westport was not able to finance participation in the program. ART Grant Update Ms. Wilock said that getting the kids to attend the anger management program has been difficult. Fridays are a challenge along with summer time. Referrals from the JRB are required to attend, but if it is a school reference or parent referral, there is no way to enforce it. Ms. Wilock gave a brief overview of the program. Summer Youth Employment 2011 Ms. Young said that this past summer was an unusually different group of kids. 168 students were employed. Approximately 25 students were either fired or in jeopardy of being fired. A number of interns decided not to show up at their assignments. Discussions were held with approximately half of the students who did not perform well and their parents. CDBG is changing and the funding for next year will be reduced. An advisory group has been put together for moving forward. The newly formed group is not incorporated as 501(c)3 but it is important to know that the State also has a $1,200 credit for businesses that contribute to the summer youth programs. There was no financial literacy piece for the interns this year because last year that program was funded with CDBG funding. Mentoring Program Ms. Young said that Human Services Council has hired a new person for a position that was vacated earlier this year. The fingerprinting aspect of the program has been a bit of an obstacle. There will be a recruiting event on the 12th and will be focusing on African American men. In order to do this, there will be a focus on the late Richard Fuller. Collaborating with other groups is underway. City of Norwalk Youth Services Advisory Board Regular Meeting September 20 2011 Page 2 The Our Lives with Gwen Edwards program was taped in July. Ms. Edwards called back a few days after completing the piece and signed up as a mentor. There are a few students that have not been matched, but this will increase as the school year progresses. Discussion followed about the issues that are involved with holding the mentor meetings at the YMCA. OTHER Ms. Karkut spoke about the new staff member at the Human Resource Council and her credentials. There are 258 mentors matched but still a need for another 50-75 mentors. NHS has over 30 matches which is amazing. In Building Futures program, if a student has a mentor and graduates, there is $2,000 college grant available. Dr. Weinberger is being honored at a Governor's Luncheon on October 19th. The next meeting will be on November 15th. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business to discuss, Ms. Mayer adjourned the meeting at 5:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services City of Norwalk Youth Services Advisory Board Regular Meeting September 20 2011 Page 3