Pinellas
County Juvenile Justice Council Outreach Committee
February 9, 2005 at 1:00 to 2:30 PM
The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County
Conference room ‘C’
6898 68th Ave N
Pinellas Park, FL
Present: Braden
Malnic, Michael Whalen
Next meeting will be held on March 9,
2005 at 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas
County, 6898 68th Ave N Conference room ‘C’, Pinellas Park, FL
I.
Agenda Topics
-Discuss approaches, suggestions, and
recommendations for the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council meeting on
February 24, 2005 and the Outreach Committee’s role in organizing its success
-Discuss alternate methods of outreach
-Create and Approve Brochures and
Website in order to maintain public awareness in the community and pursue goals
established in the 2004 Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council Strategic Plan
-Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council
meeting on February 24, 2005
Discussion began on an update of actions already
taken by the Committee, which included the scheduling of proposed sites to
conduct the General Membership meetings in public forums throughout Pinellas
County four times in 2005. This update was vital as the Committee was
reestablishing its roles since its Chair had recently stepped down and
Committee participation has dwindled over the past month.
Michael Whalen, who had been involved in the
scouting and scheduling of locations appropriate for Council meetings, talked
about progress in regards to the August 25th
meeting and the November 17th meeting. For the August 25th meeting, the Lealman
Neighborhood Family Center, with space adjacent to the Prince of Peace Church,
was a tentative location. On February 17, 2005, Mr. Whalen will attend the Lealman Neighborhood Family Center Board Meeting in order
to present general information and the mission of the Pinellas County Juvenile
Justice Council to secure approval from the Board to have the August 25th meeting. For the November 17th
meeting, Union Academy was also tentative since it needs a six-week’s
prior notification and will not take a reservation so far in advance. Mr.
Whalen will also follow up with Tony Hinson on the status of the Campbell Park
location tentatively set for May.
Regarding the immediacy of the of the February
24h meeting at the North Greenwood complex, the committee
established action items that needed to be achieved and completed within the
week.
·
Create
an e-mail to Juvenile Justice Council members reminding them of the evening
meeting and including a map and directions.
·
Contact
the North Greenwood Complex and ask if it intends to display the meeting and
the meeting’s date & time on the sign outside of its facility. Such
Advertisement could greatly improve attendance from the public.
·
Contact
Cathy Corry in order to collect her media contact list.
·
On
Monday, February 14, 2005, Mr. Whalen will distribute DJJ-approved pamphlets to
the N. Greenwood complex in order to advertise and raise public awareness and
attendance.
·
Discuss
with Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council Chair Jackie Griffin-Doherty and
the Executive Committee on the format of the public comment portion of the
meeting and how to adapt the Agenda accordingly.
The
committee discussed possibilities for the format of the February 24th meeting, and how a similar procedure from
previous inquiry meetings should be absorbed into the beginning of the meeting.
If the public comment portion was mediated by someone and members actively
responded, then it would actually be a reciprocal forum, where the public may
not be intimidated by the regular JJC activity and agenda.
-Alternate
Outreach
Mr.
Whalen suggested that the progress from previous inquiry meetings and public
surveys, as incorporated into the 2004 Juvenile Justice Council Strategic Plan,
should be distributed to those community members who offered contact
information. These steps by the Outreach Committee and the Council as a whole
would complete a circular flow: “As the Council desires input, the community
wants feedback.”
A
more effective way of continuing involvement in the community would be to drop
off a bound copy of the Strategic Plan to the Greenwood, Union Academy, and
Wildwood sites for their use as a resource and as a follow-up “thank you” for
their efforts. As these inquiry meetings were targeting the communities served
by these centers, this specific information could further educate centers to
the effects of Juvenile Justice on broader issues.
Besides
returning to previously visited/ used sites, it was also suggested (over the
next 2 months) to deliver the Strategic plan and JJC brochures to the twelve
Neighborhood Family Centers located in Pinellas County. The outreach purpose
would be to engage organizations with an invested interest in their specific
communities and build and foster relationships and communication with them.
These relationships could also begin the process of establishing a Pinellas
County Juvenile Justice Council Speakers Bureau, a proposed project of Tony
Hinson.
-Brochure
and Website
The
brochure, as approved by the Department of Juvenile Justice, will remain
without update until information that is added or removed can be approved by
the Council. Suggested Modifications include clearer contact information for
Circuit 6 and an Annual Schedule or Calendar of Meetings.
The
website, as expressed in the January council meeting, needs a more defined
proposal to present to the Council. As expressed by the Outreach Committee, the
website would be a tremendous tool in propagating the Pinellas County Juvenile
Justice Council’s mission and activities to the community. It would act as a
contact or one-stop source for information, including approved minutes,
strategic plans, and calendar events, which could also be a useful resource
internally for the Council. Public Notices of Meetings and copies of the
Minutes could be posted thus eliminating some of the e-mail traffic that has
apparently ‘plagued’ the Council.
Dave
Plyer, who has built the website prototype for the Council, needs to outline,
along with the other Outreach Committee members, a sort of Policy &
Procedure for how the website will be maintained and updated in order to seek
Council approval. If possible, the Outreach Committee will approach Dave Plyer
for ‘tech speak’ in defining the role of Webmaster as well as on the creation
of a blanket rule on website content. As discussed, it seemed to the Outreach
Committee members in attendance that the website would only have marginal
updating needed as a large portion of the site would
contain static information that would rarely change, like Juvenile Justice
council mission, history, and objectives, etc.
Of
course, much of this dialogue is also contingent on how the Council can or
cannot accept money. These aspects are further compounded by the Outreach
Committee Chair resignation of Chris Ortiz, the original, possible financier of
the website project.
-Other
Topics