MDT Leadership Team
Meeting Minutes
April 16, 2015
12:00 – 2:00 PM
ChicagoCAC Education Center
Members Present: Ana Correa, Ann Marakis, Annette Milleville, Carla Jackson, Char Rivette, Denyce Ellis, Jan Waters, Joan Pernecke, Megan McCormick, Dr. Michele Lorand, Lt. Patricia Casey, Shawnte Jenkins, and Tammy Bates
Members Absent: Arlene Grant-Brown, Sgt. Cindy Guerra, Elizabeth Mendoza, Jennifer Gonzalez, Kathleen Boehmer, Margaret Ogarek, Dr. Marjorie Fujara, Sgt. Nari Haro, Sgt. Senora Ben
Guests: Arllette Antunez, Tracy Lande
1. Welcome/Introductions/Lunch
2. Approval of March Meeting Minutes—Minutes were approved with no changes.
3. Building Update—Plans for Original Building
§ Char thanked everyone for working with Susan to make all the moves as smooth as they’ve been. Special kudos to DCFS in particular for how organized they were for their move. Tammy noted that was due in large part to Antoine. By next week everyone should be in their long-term correct seats (other than Shawnte Jenkins who may move again later; TBD).
§ There are plans in progress to continue refurbishing the original space. We have made improvements over the years, and will continue to do so, although things never happen as fast as any of us would like. Char noted that the expansion was paid for by TIF dollars, so we were limited in terms of exactly what that money could be spent on. We are continuing to fundraise, and have applied for a $300,000 grant from Cook County to be spent solely on the original space over two years. Our receiving that grant is not a done deal, but looks positive. All the carpeting will be cleaned over the next several weeks, and other touch-ups will happen soon as well. Any concerns can be brought to Susan.
4. Spirit Squad—Update and Future Plans (Tracy Lande-- Guest)
§ Two events are currently scheduled; the pancake breakfast on May 21 and the summer barbecue on July 9. The barbecue will be catered courtesy of the Employee Morale Fund set up by the Board, and may have a potluck component in addition. The Thanksgiving potluck and the holiday party will also occur this year, with dates TBD. The Staff Advisory Council is hosting a Happy Hour next week on April 22 and hoping to do them more frequently.
§ Everyone enjoyed the surprise beer/wine raffle a few months ago and we will try to have more of that kind of “intermittent positive reinforcement” as we are able.
§ The idea was raised for an event in the Garden after it’s cleaned up, such as an ice cream truck. The construction company will be back to get it cleaned up soon. Volunteer Chris V. is no longer with ChicagoCAC. Susan is working with some interested staff members to plan some weeding/set-up days and develop a longer-term plan. Lt. Casey noted that Sgt. Guerra is a pond expert, and she responded to Lt. Casey’s inquiry that she’d be happy to assist with our pond.
§ Anyone interested in joining the Spirit Squad is welcome, and any other ideas are welcomed as well.
5. Staff Advisory Council Update (Arllette Antunez-- Guest)
§ The next meeting is scheduled in two weeks. Obtaining consents to record when caretakers are the offenders will be on the agenda.
§ The program for referring juvenile offender cases is still being developed, but Clark has already provided some referrals on request and it’s been going well.
§ Advocates have been working to communicate any decisions made during post-FI meetings to the Medical team, as they are not able to attend meetings due to staffing issues.
§ CPD have provided a lot of advance court and vacation days to assist Intake with scheduling, and it’s been very helpful. Ray also provided two months’ worth of information from some DCFS staff and is working on getting more. It is very appreciated. The DCFS supervisors met and instituted a centralized location for subpoenas so court info is more easily obtained. They have also instructed their staff to call Intake back as soon as possible re: scheduling and really utilize their DCFS cell phones.
6. Improving MDT Communication and Collaboration
– Review of Collaboration Indicators
§ There was a dip in the percentage of cases receiving all services in February. Possible reasons include the weather, the government holidays, and a FI out on maternity leave. We’ll know in the next round of data if it was just a blip or the beginning of a trend.
§ There is still some concern about “investigator discretion” being a reason for no medical exam. Five cases in the past month were categorized that way. That should no longer be an option for a reason for no medical. Similarly, a juvenile offender is not in and of itself a reason not to schedule a FI. With the change to ETO coming, this is a good time to clean up the categories and make sure everyone is clear on what falls under each category. Other things to clarify: the difference between “uncooperative family” and “parent refused,” and the difference between “medical clinic discretion” and “second medical not needed per MDT,” as that’s not a decision anyone else on the team should be making. What we should be doing is separating the cases that should have received a medical and didn’t from those who don’t have one for a valid reason, such as already receiving an exam elsewhere. We also need to make a distinction between cases that don’t receive a FI here for a reason such as jurisdiction, but do receive one elsewhere, and cases that don’t receive a FI at all. If the crime occurs in another jurisdiction, it shouldn’t really be reported here, so that should be more like an “NA” category than a “reason for no FI’. If the crime occurs in Chicago but the victim lives out of jurisdiction, CPD will be able to learn if the victim receives a FI elsewhere. We need to continue to follow up on victims who live out of the jurisdiction.
**Action item: Shawnte will follow up with Intake and Advocacy to clarify the various categories, make sure it’s clear that “investigator discretion” and “juvenile offender” should no longer be options, and find out how we follow up on victims who live outside the jurisdiction.
§ The average days to FI from case receipt continues to be up. This is a concern for the entire team. While some of the reasons include the DD protocol and the occasional need for interpreters, these have always been issues and should not be accounting for this much delay. DCFS noted that there is an issue with the time slots; some (4pm) fill up very fast and others are rarely used. Since the second DCFS shift was discontinued, schedules and comp time policies do not allow for additional after-school time slots, which many of the families prefer, so even Lt. Casey’s offer to have her second-shift detectives come in earlier may not help because there are simply not enough slots. Summer break is approaching, so we may see a difference in this area. It would be helpful to break the data down more. A month-to-month comparison would allow us to see if other patterns emerge. Annette asked that the CAC look at FI availability to see if this is affecting timing. Char noted that more of our cases are going to court, which is positive, but it may have an impact on scheduling. Also, the FT FI out on maternity leave may have an impact. She also pointed out that we are still seeing about 75% of cases within 14 days.
§ CPD and DCFS have been discussing the fact that if we can do 123 same-day FIs this fiscal year, we need to look at how that’s happening and see what can be duplicated to help decrease delays in other cases.
§ Morning Meeting should be better utilized to help with scheduling. Cases 3-4 days from receipt that are still unscheduled for FI should be brought up there, at that point, instead of waiting until the delay is even longer.
**Action item: Include cases on Morning Meeting roster that take longer than 4 days to schedule.
**Action item: Review cases that are done within 24 hours and within 5 days to see what characteristics lead to them getting in quickly.
– Requests for Courtesy Interviews (Shawnte Jenkins)
§ A few recent issues have led to a policy change: moving forward, Shawnte and Elizabeth will review all courtesy case requests. Discretion will be up to them rather than Intake.
– DD Protocol (Shawnte Jenkins)
§ Getting this rolling has been a bit of a struggle, and we are basically starting fresh due to partner input and structural changes. What we have learned is that the FI needs to be involved very early on to help with the assessment and learn what they will need to have a successful interview. We need to figure out the best way to have that happen. In the meantime, in cases where the child is brought in for a FI and the interviewer then realizes there are special needs, the interviewer needs be empowered to back off and do some rapport building to see if that helps, and possibly even stop the interview to reassess with the team and reschedule the FI with appropriate support. No one wants to lose the case, so if that happens the team should decide right then when the case will be rescheduled.
7. CSEC Protocol
§ Several ChicagoCAC staff and partner staff met recently with the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force to figure out how we can develop a protocol for these cases, how we can better identify signs of likely victims, and what services we may be able to provide. ChicagoCAC will hopefully become a member of that Task Force. They are trying to develop a MDT model, which we should be able to assist with.
§ We should look at the existing Cook County protocol in developing our own. We may also send some staff to Denver or Boston, where strong protocols have been established, or invite some of their staff here, to help us get set up.
§ A training will be held soon (date TBD) by the FBI and the Salvation Army’s “Stop It” program about risk factors, so we can all learn what to look for. Our FIs will also take extended forensic interview training.
§ Detective Brown will be the liaison between the center and other law enforcement.
8. MDT Satisfaction Survey
– The second annual survey will happen in May. Administering the survey yearly is a DCFS requirement.
Supervisors will collect to insure participation. We will look into a raffle or something similar as an incentive.
– Part of the NCA outcome measurement involves giving feedback to specific teams. We would like to
institute something like that here, but first need to figure out the best way to select cases. Nothing will be implemented without further discussion among the leadership team.
9. MDT Announcements:
i. DCFS is struggling to get vacancies filled, but will continue to work on it.
Director Sheldon is coming for a tour at 10am on May 4. Char will keep MDT leadership posted if that changes.
ii. CCSAO has no further announcements.
iii. Medical—Dr. Fujara will be returning part-time in about a week.
iv. CPD—one new detective has started and is a good fit so far. Lt. Casey is working on getting another detective in soon. Two have left recently, so we’re currently holding even. Sgt. Ben will hopefully be back next week. Sgt. Haro is on Medical leave.
v. ChicagoCAC—Staff from the San Diego CAC want to come visit, as they are looking at building stand-alone CAC.
Char will not be at the May MDT meeting, so Shawnte will facilitate.
10. Next Meeting: MDT Leadership Meeting – May 21st (12:00pm – 2:00pm)
Future Discussions: