San Francisco Youth Commission
Youth Justice Committee
Draft-Minutes
Thursday, May 9, 2013
5:00-7:00pm
City Hall, Room 345
1. Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl.
San Francisco, CA 94102

There will be public comment on each item.

Members: Angel Carrion, Ramon Gomez, Paul Monge-Rodriguez

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

The meeting was called to order at 5:57 pm.

Commissioners Present: Gomez, Carrion. Commissioners Absent: Monge-Rodriguez

2. Approval of Agenda (Action Item)

Commissioner Gomez, seconded by Commissioner Carrion, moved to approve the agenda. The agenda was approved by acclamation.

There was no public comment.

3. Approval of Minutes (Action Item)

A. April 4, 2013
(Document A)

Commissioner Gomez, seconded by Commissioner Carrion, moved to approve the minutes from April 4, 2013. This motion was approved by acclamation.

There was no public comment.

4. Public Comment on Items not on Agenda (Discussion Only)

There was none.

5. Business (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

A. Staff report and update on meeting with JPD

Staff member, Adele Carpenter, shared updates on state-level juvenile justice work, including AB 915 as well as a state bill aimed at mandating memorandums of understanding between police departments and school districts. She shared updates from a recent call with Dignity in Schools, and from campaigns around school policing in Oakland and Los Angeles. She shared updates from the recent Juvenile Probation Commission meeting and updated commissioners that TAY-SF had requested support organizing a youth forum to provide feedback on the Mayor’s Violence Prevention Plan.

B. Debrief April 16, 2013 off-site meeting event

Commissioners debriefed and shared reflections about the April 16th off-site full Commission meeting at the Bayview Opera House.

Positive aspects mentioned by commissioners: SFPD in attendance and willingness to answer questions; the members of the public who attended, including CCSF trustees, former commissioners, educators, and neighborhood leaders; the physical space of Bayview Opera House; the powerpoint presentation used by the committee; the fact that the meeting was overall informative and engaging to adult advocates for youth who were present.

Deltas/areas for improvement mentioned by commissioners: low youth attendance; needed more persistent outreach with follow up/confirmation calls to youth programs; commissioners could have been more prepared in their presentation by doing a rehearsal together beforehand; Commissioners wish they had had more facts and dates on recall about their issues; the committee could have pushed turn out to the May 2nd neighborhood services hearing on juvenile probation issues more heavily.

Insights shared by commissioners: If this had been a youth engagement event, things like feedback periods, break-out groups, ice breakers, and educational games would have been helpful. An event that is more laid back, less formal and more conversational, and involving more movement and dialogue would help engage youth; A video powerpoint would help engage youth; A townhall style event might be more engaging than a full YC meeting, at least if youth participation is the goal; It would have been helpful to conduct surveys on public interest and have more of a focus on how to get involved and stay in connection with the issues. Some of the aspects of youth engagement might be more appropriate outside the requirements of the how full commission meetings must be scheduled.

C. Next steps

The committee decided next steps on juvenile probation officers being armed should include drafting formal position letter to be approved by the full commission and presented to the Juvenile Probation Commission. The letter should outline aspects of their original resolution and outstanding concerns listed in the budget and policy priorities.

The committee would also like to do an Op/Ed in response to the articles in the Examiner that is focused on the youth perspective in how youth offenders are represented.

The committee also discussed wanting more clarity on the views of juvenile justice providers on the issue of arming juvenile probation officers.

The committee decided they would like to write a position letter and possible resolution in support of AB 915, supporting the redirection of funds from juvenile justice realignment to county deparments.

Committee members decided to wait until the next meeting to discuss the SFPD recommendations, but Commissioner Carrion agreed to ask for a progress update from Captian Lazar. The committee also decided they will follow up with the Office of Citizen Complaints and Strategies for Youth to advise on next steps regarding the joint Youth Commission and police department report to the Police Commission.

Commissioners discussed following up with the Mayor’s Violence Prevention Unit and decided to see how the conversation regarding the forum on Interrupt, Predict, and Organizing develops and check in about scheduling a meeting at the upcoming committee meeting.

D. Review draft budget and policy priorities

The committee agreed the full commission meeting presentation of the committee’s priorities had gone well, and that they did not require further review until presentation to BOS.

There was no public comment.

6. Items to Report to Executive Committee (Discussion Only)

The committee asked staff to follow up with the executive committee about agendizing the position letter on probation officers and the letter of support on AB 915.

7. Executive Committee Report (Discussion Only)

There was none.

8. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 pm