LA CROSSE COUNTY NOTICE OF MEETING
COMMITTEE OR BOARD: CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANAGEMENT COUNCIL RETREAT
DATE OF MEETING: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2021
MEETING PLACE: VIA ZOOM
PLEASE SEE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW ON HOW TO CONNECT
TIME OF MEETING: 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
PURPOSE OF MEETING: Monthly Meeting
1. Call to Order
2. Approval of the November 18, 2020 Retreat minutes of the CJMC
3. Public Comment – Public is able to participate in this agenda item via zoom link 4. Review, discuss and finalize 2021 CJMC work plan (see attached)
5. Review of agency update report (see attached submitted reports) 6. Informational / Misc. items
7. Future Agenda Items 8. Adjourn
NEWS MEDIA OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS
La Crosse Tribune Kim Vogt Tim Gruenke – chair Coulee News Mayor Timothy Kabat Dr. Lisa Kruse – vice chair WKBH / WLFN Peter Kinziger Chuck Ashbeck
WLSU Patrick Brummond Kim Cable
WKBT-TV Jim Speropulos Judge Scott Horne
WIZM Joseph Sumner Tom Jacobs
WXOW-TV Mark Clements Dr. Troy Harcey
Onalaska Community Life Judges Bjerke, Levine, Horne, Doyle Jeff Wolf
Holmen Courier Patrick Barlow Jerri Hertel/Jean Young
FoxNews Kate Holinka Monica Kruse
COUNTY DEPARTMENTS Shawn Kudron Margaret Larson
County Administrator Duane Teschler Araysa Simpson County Clerk Becky Spanjers Rob Abraham
Facilities Teri Serres Jayne Rifenberg
Justice Support Services Maureen Freedland Joella Strieble
Corp Counsel Bev Heebsh Jason Witt
Jim Verse Angel Lee
Dr. Suthakaran Veerasamy Keonte Turner
Toya Reynolds
Andrew Alvaro Rasmussen
A quorum of the Judiciary and Law Committee may also be present at this meeting
MEMBERS: If unable to attend, call Tiffany Cornell at (608) 785-6150.
PUBLIC COMMENT: The Committee may receive information from the public, but the Committee reserves the right to
limit the time that the public may comment and the degree to which members of the public may participate in the meeting.
PERSONS WITH DISABILITY: If you need accommodation to attend this meeting, please contact Tiffany Cornell at
(608) 785-6150 as soon as possible.
DATE NOTICE FAXED/MAILED/EMAILED AND POSTED: January 14, 2021
This meeting may be recorded and any such recording is subject to disclosure under the Wisconsin Open Records Law.
ZOOM LINK: https://wicourts.zoom.us/j/94632125414?pwd=M3RiNk1vaWpCMHRrMjBscWhSNi9hZz09 Meeting ID: 946 3212 5414 Passcode: 817131 Dial in location: +1 312 626 6799 Meeting ID: 946 3212 5414
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANAGEMENT COUNCIL RETREAT NOVEMBER 18, 2020
MEETING HELD VIA ZOOM
MEMBERS PRESENT: Judge Horne, Kim Cable, Tom Jacobs, Araysa Simpson, Jeff Wolf, Lisa Kruse, Jerri Hertel, Tim Gruenke, Avrie Schott, Margaret Larson, Troy Harcey, Sutha Veerasamy, Jason Witt, Joella Striebel, Andrew Alvaro Rasmussen, Monica Kruse, Charles Ashbeck, Keonte Turner
MEMBERS EXCUSED: Toya Reynolds, Jean Young, Jayne Rifenberg, Angel Lee
OTHERS PRESENT: Mandy Bisek, Jane Klekamp, Jenna Theler
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Tim Gruenke called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m. via Zoom.
APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 21, 2020 MINUTES OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
MOTION by Scott Horne/ Tom Jacobs to approve the October 21, 2020 minutes of the
Criminal Justice Management Council. Motion carried unanimously; Reynolds, Young, Rifenberg, Lee excused.
PUBLIC COMMENT: There was no public comment. RETREAT ITEMS:
a. PROCEDURE:
Jane Klekamp gave the Council an update on County procedure
considerations for virtual meetings of all standing committees, that includes audio recordings of meetings to be made available as a link within the minutes beginning, hopefully, in January. Consideration of a live streaming option in a safer format was considered, with requests for public to register to receive live links proposed. Alignment with other County committees will be considered.
- Council membership participated in break out groups to review the current agenda and meeting structure and completed a “Stop, Start, Continue” exercise. Report out to the group at large upon completion, with feedback that included:
Stop Start Continue
Updates, although
helpful, takes up time Submit updates ahead of time to review prior to meeting – allows members to consider questions and discussion Make specific to
significant, new
initiatives, or “high alert items” significantly relevant to mission
Zoom as platform – user friendly, compatibility, and stream on YouTube
Doing agency updates
at the beginning of Move agency updates to end of agenda
meeting – tend to get wrapped up in these Using system language that is not well
understood
Consideration of
membership and public to give context to the updates shared – transparency
Use words that are clear Make agendas more accessible and clear to the public – i.e. post to County FB page, “opt in” emails for updates, etc. Consideration of live stream option
Register public to speak
b. 2021 STRATEGIC PLANNING:
- Standing subcommittee updates:
o School Resource Officer Subcommittee as reported by Dr. Lisa Kruse:
Currently in the write up phase which will include such areas as: research around SRO programs, community feedback, current use of SRO’s throughout the County, and La Crosse School District’s work on this issue. Dr. Kruse is hoping to have the report completed by January and distributed to committee to review. The group will then present to the Council. The intention is to have this report as a resource for schools within the county at large regarding
considerations for SRO programs. La Crosse School District’s decision as it relates to the work of this subcommittee will be included within the report.
o Training of Law Enforcement Subcommittee as reported by Chief
Ashbeck:
At this time, the group is focusing on getting the subcommittee back together to meet.
o Citizen Advisory Subcommittee as reported by Joella Streibel:
The work of this committee will likely go well into 2021, perhaps beyond. The presentation at last month’s CJMC meeting was
extremely helpful to the subcommittee. The focus now is input from different interested parties – Chief Ashbeck shared some of his input for example, Sheriff Wolf and Chief Kudron are also invited to provide feedback, as well as some City Council members. The subcommittee is looking at how to communicate more frequently and transparently on the intention of the subcommittee with the community. They are also working on an online survey to go out to the community for feedback – hoping to go out in December or after 1st of year and the
subcommittee will bring back data to the CJMC to share. Once this feedback is received then the subcommittee will need to get into details of how the committee would be structured and work.
Next the Council broke into breakout groups to discuss: What topics are crucial for CJMC to remain tuned in to or complete specific action on in 2021? Feedback included the following:
- Available treatment resources for substance abuse, mental health, and victims of crime
- Diversity training across all agencies including police, county employees, etc. - Reevaluate use of Compas
- Training on cultural sensitivity, microagressions, and addressing people they want to be addressed across all agencies
- How are people picked for jury service to ensure fairness
- Input on the perspective of law enforcement on different matters - More resources for substance abuse, homeless and mental illness - Drug court evaluation
- Bail reform
- Fresh start outcomes and sustainability plan - Disparities in pre and post diversion opportunities
- Innovative approaches to public safety – proactive approaches instead of reactive approaches to mental health, mobile crisis teams, focus on impacted neighborhoods/get their input on what they need. Shifting funds vs.
defunding the police
- Level of supervision in sober living facilities
- Mental health services for calls to police for out of control people
- Disproportionate minority arrests. Look into the reasons why beyond the police
- Revocation and bail jumping issues particularly with substance use disorders and domestic violence
- Identify racist policies, their history, why we are doing what we are doing, the consequences and advantages of the policies – we know they are
disadvantaging certain people but are also advantaging others. Must also talk about that
- Increase problem with gun crimes and strategies for enforcement - Case study. Start case from beginning to end
- Education and reflection of our country’s history with slavery and racism, its generational impact, impact on our community. Stories from local speakers to increase awareness, keep revisiting this issue frequently and keep at the forefront to take action. (Noted that we must be careful when making requests of others to share their stories as we may retraumatize by asking this)
- Marsy’s law discussion
- Hate crimes / incidents in the area, the face of racism in our community, how the council can take action / stand up against these acts
- Reentry issues – better support for reentry and education on reentry (such as rights)
- Immigrant and refugee justice
- Contextualizing how power is distributed in conversations about laws and policies
Tim, Lisa, and Mandy will use this list to prioritize the agenda for 2021. Should further feedback be needed from the council in order to do this it will be done in the form of a survey to the council.
ADJOURN: There being no further business, Chair Gruenke adjourned the meeting at 7:00
p.m.
Disclaimer: The above minutes may be approved, amended or corrected at the next committee meeting.
2021 CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
WORKPLAN
Meeting
Agenda Items
Presentations/Education / Training
Council Action Required
January 20
2021 Workplan - Review, Feedback, and
Finalize
February 17 For discussion / planning:
Mayoral candidates – discuss Criminal
Justice issues
SRO report presented by subcommittee
Any feedback from SRO report /
recommendations from Council
Share report with local school districts within
the County
March 17
Mayoral candidate forum
(Feb 16 = Primaries)
April 21
Hate Crimes – La Crosse data
Immigrant law
NPR podcast series on Cuban Refugees at
Ft. McCoy Omar Granados
May 19
Presentation on bail in WI / La Crosse
June 16
Case breakdown/walk through
- Begin subgroup work in March to
identify case and prepare
presentation
Identify barriers, disparities, power issues
within policies and procedures
July 21
Services / Resources available in community –
focus on: sober living (level of supervision),
mental health, etc.
- Covid impacts on these
- Overdose deaths in 2020
August 18
Drug Court Evaluation Findings &
Recommendations Presentation by Fred
Cheeseman, Lisa Kruse, Nick Bakken
Sept 15
Crisis Program changes and collaborations??
October 20
Second Chance Evaluation Findings and
Sustainability Planning – Nick Bakken, Lisa Kruse,
Jodie Muth, Mandy Bisek
November
(TBD)
RETREAT
December
NO MEETING
TOPICS TO KEEP ON RADAR:
- Court appearance post-Covid when we consider in-person hearings again
- General “lessons learned” from pandemic and how it will re-shape CJ system
- Police Training subgroup
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
AGENCY UPDATE
DATE: ______________________
AGENCY: _____________________________________
SUBMITTED BY: _______________________________________________________________________
CJMC mission related agency updates and any relevant background or context:
Relevant service data:
Media attention, community events, etc. – please include links or relevant details
1/11/2021
La Crosse County Board
Monica Kruse
The La Crosse County Board will be approving an additional $100,000 for Homelessness
Prevention services in '21 at the full board next meeting. The $500,000 previously allocated has
been spent down. COVID19 has made homelessness more dangerous and dire for those affected,
and has limited the residential resources for COVID positive individuals. The County is collaborating
with other community providers to address the crisis.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
AGENCY UPDATE
DATE:
______________________
AGENCY:
_____________________________________
SUBMITTED BY:
_______________________________________________________________________
CJMC mission related agency updates and any relevant background or context:
Relevant service data:
Media attention, community events, etc. – please include links or relevant details
1-12-21
DOC / DCC
Jean Young, Chief Region 8
New revocation standards for Extended Supervision clients began Jan 11th.
Our office's remain minimally staffed and will remain so for the immediate future. While there is a
hiring freeze for support staff, we were able to receive an exemption and will be hiring one support
staff person for our local office.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
AGENCY UPDATE
DATE:
______________________
AGENCY:
_____________________________________
SUBMITTED BY:
_______________________________________________________________________
CJMC mission related agency updates and any relevant background or context:
Relevant service data:
Media attention, community events, etc. – please include links or relevant details
01/12/2021
Human Services
Jason Witt
The Youth System of Care has been awarded a grant in the amount of $3,286 from the Department of Justice to support the use of a consistent Youth Assessment Tool (Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale – CAFAS) and database across several youth serving agencies within the community including: La Crosse System of Care, La Crosse Family YMCA, The Good Fight, and Boys and Girls Club of Greater La Crosse. By utilizing a shared assessment tool across youth serving agencies, it is expected that the needs of youth, especially youth of color, will be better identified and met, resulting in less involvement with the youth justice system.
JSS Adult Unit recently promoted Anne Patton to Supervisor (replacing Becky Spanjers who recently retired). Anne has been the Drug Court Coordinator for JSS for the last 14 years and is excited to transition into this leadership role.
Youth System of Care Administrator Bridget Todd-Robbins was highlighted in the La Crosse
Tribune as a local “hometown hero” for her work to bring Christmas cheer to teens in the La Crosse
area. Link to article here:
https://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/hometown-heroes-update-making-sure-students-get-gifts-this
-year/article_18a9968e-7909-58f1-8c83-63d46806e4b3.html?
fbclid=IwAR3n8kUKMA2e5gJ2Yu2jCjoR-PJdIztLM7d9kNar3pj_HDNTw3e3X3PVIH8
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
AGENCY UPDATE
DATE:
______________________
AGENCY:
_____________________________________
SUBMITTED BY:
_______________________________________________________________________
CJMC mission related agency updates and any relevant background or context:
Relevant service data:
Media attention, community events, etc. – please include links or relevant details
1/11/21
Sheriff
Sheriff Wolf
The Jail Ministry has hired a new chaplain for the jail. Ann Wales will begin her duties as jail chaplain on January 19th.
Jail programming is busy trying to return to previous levels of programs. Last week, Mike Kiefer held orientation and registration for the return to face to face classes this week through WTC. 39 inmates are scheduled to begin face to face classes the week of January 11th.
UWL is set to begin a combination of self-learning packets with individualized zoom feedback sessions in February when their semester is scheduled to resume.
We continue to provide individual zoom reentry planning meetings for inmates with community providers a few weeks prior to their scheduled release dates. Using COVID protocols, the jail continues to minimize inmate movement between blocks..
