Return to Board of Directors Page

April 25, 2008
Wintergreen Resort & Conference Center, Wisconsin Dells, WI

President’s Report

Case Problems
Question about ordering consecutive sanctions for multiple violations of a court order. There is case law addressing this issue, supporting the process of ordering multiple, consecutive sanctions.



Department of Corrections Report: Michelle Buehl and Gretchen Kubnick

Brief discussion about Advanced Intake Training being offered by the WJCIA Training Committee.
Feedback from the J-SOAP Training being provided to counties has been very positive.
A handout with an updated of list of municipalities with living restrictions for registered sex offenders was provided.
The new web-based intake training process is still in development. Volunteers are needed for five remaining topic areas.
The “Administration Memorandum Series” provided by the State is now going to be posted electronically only. The memos are also posted on the Department of Juvenile Corrections website.


DHFS Report

Cathy Connolly and her replacement, Julie Bachir were present. Cathy introduced Julie as her replacement and provided a little background information. Julie has a background in child welfare legal representation. She has attended Rice and University of Wisconsin Law School. Julie has also worked in the Public Defender’s Office and will be completing intake worker training with Frank and Gretchen.
An informational memo regarding disaster planning for children in foster care was discussed.
Act 199, Change in time lines for CHIPS cases was discussed. Cathy reports a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is being developed to assist counties with court attached intake units that could potentially have problems with the time lines.
The governor vetoed the “Juvenile CCAP records” bill. Cathy reports the governor currently supports the creation of a bill that would allow information to child welfare workers for the purpose of making placement decisions, etc. The governor indicated he is concerned about allowing broader access to juvenile records because of confidentiality issues with juveniles.
The State is still working out the details for caseworker contact of children in alternate care. The goal is to meet federal guidelines for receiving Title IVE funding. The state will continue to provide updates when available.

Committee Reports


Conference Committee
Conference 08 planning going well. Some discussion took place regarding the giveaway for 2008. Overall, board members agreed the giveaway is important but would like to limit the cost of giveaway to $10. The committee is again putting together the compact disc with information for the conference. If anyone has additional information they would like to add to the CD, they should contact Fran no later than August 1, 2008.
Conference Site Committee
Site Committee needs to make a decision on a location. Motion to hold the upcoming 2009 Conference in Wisconsin Dells. Motion carried.
Newsletter Committee
Deadline for the upcoming issue of Prima Facie is May 15, 2008. A suggestion was made to the committee to start a series of articles profiling retired board members.
Curriculum Committee
The committee reviewed the Statement of Purpose. There has been a recommended change in some of the wording. The Statement of Philosophy will also be reviewed.
Nomination Committee
There will be several openings for the upcoming 2009 Board.
Intake Directory
A final updated version of the Intake Directory will be sent by the end of the current week. A suggestion was made to place a copy of the Intake Directory on the compact disc provided at the conference.
Legislative Committee
Legislation for AB 269 – Threat to Harm Social Worker Bill, is not moving forward in the State Legislature and will likely be dismissed. Committee had no further recommendations.
Suggestion for the Legislative Committee to pursue sponsoring legislation that would address young children (ages 5-9) being referred to the Juvenile Justice System. Board members were in agreement this would be beneficial.
Recognition Committee
The committee has one candidate nominated for the upcoming annual award.
Training Committee
The recent Madison training went very well. There will be five trainings in the upcoming year; all are currently in the process of being scheduled.
Committee on Position Statement
The recent Madison training went very well. There will be five trainings in the upcoming year; all are currently in the process of being scheduled.
Information Technology Committee
Amount of server space has been doubled.

Regional Meetings


Region 1
The next meeting is scheduled for May 21, 2008.
Region 3
Met on April 18, 2008, for the J-SOAP Training presented by Gretchen Kubnick. The next meeting is scheduled for May 18, 2008. Northland Group Home will present updates of their program.
Region 4
The next meeting is set for 05/01/08 and will include a training regarding AODA services.
Region 5
The next meeting is scheduled for May 20, 2008.
Region 6
The next meeting is scheduled for May 8, 2008. Gretchen Kubnick will provide training on the J-SOAP information. LaCrosse County was invited to this regional meeting.
Region 7
The next meeting is scheduled for June 4, 2008

Special Assignments


WCHSA
Topics discussed include;
Forming a CPS Coordination Committee to address physical exams conducted by doctors to detect child abuse. The goal is to develop more and better use of medical information.
Discussion of problematic adoptions conducted by the State for children that are considered hard to adopt.
The formation of a citizen review panel to address ongoing procedures conducted by Child Protective Services and Juvenile Justice.
Discussion was held regarding the use of restraints in residential treatment centers.
The Office of Juvenile Administration will be providing $450,000 to the State of Wisconsin for counties willing to pursue new programming in the areas of truancy, mental health, and AODA. Counties will need to apply for funding using “concept papers” to outline their idea.