**Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency**

**Prevention Quarterly Meeting**

**September 14, 2007**

**U.S. Department of Labor**

**200 Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC 20210**

**Abstract**

At the September 2007 Quarterly Meeting of the Coordinating Council on
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Council members heard
presentations from representatives of the Shared Youth Vision (SYV), a
partnership of federal agencies led by the U.S. Department of Labor,
that serves as a catalyst at the federal, state, and local levels to
strengthen collaboration among youth-serving agencies to support the
neediest youth and their healthy transition to successful adult roles
and responsibilities.

Council members heard from Girard J. Melancon, Special Assistant to the
Secretary, Louisiana Department of Labor, and Pamela Wall, Policy
Planner, Louisiana Office of Youth Development, who spoke about the
application of the SYV approach to the New Orleans area. Following the
presentations, Council members discussed ways in which their agencies
might tie their work with at-risk youth in New Orleans into DOL's
initial investment.

Mr. Flores updated the Council on the federal response to the needs of
high-risk youth in New Orleans since the June Council meeting, and
members discussed how to provide assistance.

Panelists Reid Carpenter, President, Leadership Foundations of America;
Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode, Director of Amachi Program and Senior Advisor
on Faith-Based Initiatives, Public/Private Ventures; and Richard R.
Ramos, President/CEO, Latino Coalition for Faith and Community
Initiatives, spoke to the Council about their organizations and the
value of federal collaboration with the faith community.

In addition, Council members heard updates on the Council partnership
projects, and several attendees provided legislative and program updates
on behalf of their agencies.

The action items emanating from the September 2007 Council meeting are
as follows:

-   Council members were asked to identify the resources their agencies
    currently have in place in New Orleans (e.g., health care, mental
    health and substance abuse services, educational programs,
    afterschool programs, housing, mentoring) to help meet the immediate
    needs of youth who come before the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court.
    Each agency was asked to relay this information to Mr. Flores within
    the next 7 to 10 days.

-   Mr. Flores will investigate whether OJJDP could provide or access
    funds to cover the management of the effort to meet the needs of
    youth before the court in New Orleans. He will also speak with Reid
    Carpenter, President, Leadership Foundations of America, about how
    faith- and community-based organizations could be of immediate
    assistance to the Council's efforts in New Orleans. Council Planning
    Team members will receive an update on the New Orleans effort during
    the October 4 conference call.

-   Council members were asked to identify ways that their agencies
    might tie their work with at-risk youth in the New Orleans area into
    the investment made by DOL through the National Emergency Grant and
    provide that information to Gregg Weltz.

**Meeting Summary**

**Call to Order**

***J. Robert Flores, Vice Chair, Coordinating Council; Administrator,
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ)***

Mr. Flores called the September 14 quarterly meeting of the Coordinating
Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Council) to
order and welcomed members of the Council and the public. He thanked the
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for hosting the meeting.

Mason M. Bishop, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training
Administration (ETA), DOL, welcomed Council members to DOL. Gregg Weltz,
Chief, Division of Youth Services, ETA, introduced members of the DOL
staff who were present.

Mr. Flores announced two new agency designee Council members. Yvonne
Evans, Chief, Juvenile and Family Residential Management Unit, Detention
and Removal Operations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the new designee from DHS.
Melissa Pardue, Deputy Assistant for Human Services Policy, Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the new HHS designee.

Mr. Flores referred Council members to the minutes of the June 8 Council
meeting, and members voted to certify the minutes as correct and
official. Mr. Flores then provided a brief overview of the meeting
agenda and invited members of the audience to submit written questions
and comments for discussion following the presentations.

**Partnership Projects: Shared Youth Vision Briefing**

***Mason M. Bishop and Gregg Weltz, DOL; John Foster-Bey, Senior
Advisor, Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS); Martha
Moorehouse, Director, Children and Youth Policy Division, ASPE, HHS***

Mr. Bishop provided a broad overview of Shared Youth Vision (SYV). SYV's
genesis was the 2003 White House Task Force Report on Disadvantaged
Youth, which cited a lack of communication, coordination, and
collaboration among federal agencies that provide services to the
nation's neediest youth. In response to the task force report, several
federal agencies formed a partnership whose mission is to serve as a
catalyst at the national, state, and local levels to strengthen
coordination, communication, and collaboration among youth-serving
agencies to support the neediest youth and their healthy transition to
successful adult roles and responsibilities.

In 2004, the partnership hosted three regional youth forums in which
states brought cross-agency teams to discuss ways to better coordinate
resources across systems. These forums generated excitement among the
states, who said that they wanted to continue to bring together
resources from multiple systems to better serve at-risk youth. DOL
awarded small grants to 16 competitively selected states to help the
states develop strategic plans to connect their systems. Meanwhile, the
SYV partnership, which started with only four federal agencies (DOL,
DOJ, HHS, and the U.S. Department of Education), expanded to more than
10 agencies across the federal government. Mr. Bishop observed that SYV
is truly a shared federal interagency effort.

Mr. Weltz reviewed the timeline for the SYV project:

-   *Phase 1* (2004): The original federal partnership hosted three
    regional youth forums. Forty-nine states participated.

-   *Phase 2* (2006): The federal partnership expanded. To begin to move
    the federal partnership down to the states, SYV issued a competitive
    application for states to attend a technical assistance (TA)
    conference. Sixteen competitively selected states sent teams to
    Advanced Level State Forums, where they focused on strategies to
    collaborate and coordinate resources to better serve the neediest
    youth. Meanwhile, the federal partnership developed a Solutions
    Desk, a portal for states to receive help on policy issues and
    coordination of state activities and resources.

-   *Phase 3* (2007): The same 16 states were awarded funds in June 2007
    to implement SYV Pilot Projects, and each of these states is
    required to mentor other states that are moving forward with the SYV
    effort. The federal partnership continues to offer TA (for example,
    to help states engage the business community). The SYV federal
    partners have contracted with Abt Associates to conduct an
    implementation study of SYV, including an analysis of process and
    outcomes. The SYV Blueprint will chronicle activities that have
    taken place in Phases 1 and 2 and will examine what takes place
    under the pilot projects.

Mr. Weltz observed that SYV emphasizes meeting the self-interests of
each of the federal partners, and asked other panelists to reflect on
how SYV meets the interests of their agencies.

Martha Moorehouse said that HHS's Children's Bureau has been involved
with SYV since the partnership's inception, focusing on youth aging out
of foster care. As the partnership expanded, other HHS agencies joined
SYV, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), Family and Youth Services Bureau, and ASPE. HHS
views SYV as an exciting example of how the Council serves to set the
table for effective partnerships. Since the December 2006 Council
Planning Meeting, HHS staff have been actively involved in Council
discussions about how to best implement a pilot project at the local
level through a partnership of federal agencies. Ms. Moorehouse said
that she sees SYV, a federal partnership that has been working at the
state level, to be a powerful way to extend federal partnerships into
communities and to learn about this process.

John Foster-Bey reported that CNCS encourages community service and
works to build infrastructure and energy around citizen participation.
It seeks to extend its resources by engaging in partnerships at every
level. The Corporation regards young people as assets and looks for
opportunities to move that idea forward. Participating in SYV presented
CNCS an opportunity to work with other partners to move forward the
concept that young people are assets to their communities rather than a
problem to be solved. He observed that participating in SYV is
potentially a "big win" for CNCS because it provides opportunities for
the Corporation's existing state structures to connect with its federal
partners at the local level and will provide an opportunity for CNCS to
work more effectively with partners at the state level to reach youth
aging out of foster care.

Ms. Moorehouse said that using a state model that reaches out into
communities is also very useful for HHS. The process of mapping out
which agencies provide which services to youth aging out of foster care,
how those services overlap, and how gaps can be filled has been
valuable. As a result, federal resources are being put together with
state systems, and this will be translated to the local level. She
observed that SYV focuses on some of the most needy kids, and the
process of putting together substance abuse, mental health, employment,
and other services for these youth and helping states to better deliver
services is very powerful.

Mr. Bishop observed that in large bureaucracies, staff are not
necessarily connected. As a result of the SYV partnership, there is
better coordination of resources among agencies for juvenile justice
programming, mentoring, youth aging out of foster care, etc.

Mr. Weltz observed that SYV partners are trying to ensure that the
partnership is not seen as merely a policy of the current Administration
but rather becomes the way to do business in the federal government.
Career staff, who do the day-to-day work for the project, realize that
this model is a way for their agencies to be more effective and to
achieve better outcomes. He said that member agencies are contributing
funds as well as staff time to SYV. For example, HHS is funding the
Solutions Desk, and DOJ funded the regional forums.

**Discussion: Application of SYV Approach to New Orleans Area Work**

***Moderators: Mason M. Bishop and Gregg Weltz***

***Panelists: Girard J. Melancon, Special Assistant to the Secretary,
Louisiana Department of Labor (LDOL); Pamela Wall, Policy Planner,
Louisiana Office of Youth Development (OYD)***

Mr. Weltz reported that in June 2007, DOL awarded a \$15 million
National Emergency Grant to the New Orleans area to provide temporary
jobs, training, and educational opportunities for at-risk youth. The
grant is part of the ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts underway
throughout Louisiana and will provide youth the opportunity to
participate in the recovery of their communities from Hurricane Katrina.
He introduced the panelists and asked them to speak about their work
with at-risk youth in New Orleans.

Girard Melancon, who oversees the day-to-day operation of DOL's National
Emergency Grant at LDOL, said that his agency focuses on youth who do
not have a voice in the workforce (e.g., out-of-school youth). In the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana's various systems that work
with at-risk youth, including LDOL, OYD (which focuses on youth in the
juvenile justice system), and the Louisiana Department of Social
Services (DSS) (which works with youth aging out of foster care), are
being redesigned, and these agencies are partnering to better serve
at-risk youth. The partners are working together to provide
"just-in-time services," using a referral model in which youth are
referred to the appropriate services (e.g., health, work force,
leadership services) at the appropriate time.

Using funds from the National Emergency Grant, LDOL is partnering with
OYD and DSS to put forth a project that targets at-risk 16- to
24-year-olds. The project, which will help youth explore career and
talent development opportunities, will include cultural restoration, use
of new building technologies (e.g., green technologies), and historical
preservation. The overall goal of the project is to restore people
(i.e., empower youth) and to restore communities through collaboration.

Pamela Wall, whose role at OYD is to focus on workforce development for
the juvenile justice system, provided an overview of the landscape of
juvenile justice in Louisiana. Since 2001, the number of juveniles in
secure facilities has declined from nearly 3,000 per year to fewer than
900 per year. As the number of juvenile offenders who remain in the
community has increased, so has the need for community-based services
(including diversion, prevention, and intervention programs). In working
to build a continuum of care in the community, the juvenile justice
system has faced several challenges: (1) the need to coordinate the
array of federal resources the state is receiving; (2) the need to
provide services to high-risk youth who are not eligible for OYD
services because they have not been adjudicated; (3) the need for
vocational training at Bridge City, the newest secure juvenile facility
in New Orleans (LDOL will partner with OYD to provide these services);
(4) the need for better data sharing, particularly on juveniles who
remain in community placement; and (5) the need to expand the
alternative education system.

Ms. Wall remarked that cross-agency workgroups spearheaded by Mr.
Melancon have allowed agencies to work better together across systems
and have educated agencies about other agencies' programs for youth who
are truly the hardest to serve---those in foster care and those in the
juvenile justice system.

Mr. Weltz observed that Mr. Melancon and Ms. Wall painted a good picture
of the level of coordination and collaboration around serving the
neediest youth in Louisiana. He said that the \$15 million National
Emergency Grant will help catalyze further collaborations. He then asked
Council agency representatives to identify ways that their agencies
might tie their work with at-risk youth in the New Orleans area into
DOL's initial investment.

***CNCS:*** David Eisner said that his agency already has enormous
assets in the New Orleans area including hundreds of VISTA personnel and
a number of grantees. He suggested that the corporation could use some
of its existing resources in the area for the proposed program. For
example, it could encourage existing grantees to work with this
population of youth.

Ms. Wall observed that it has been a challenge for her agency to shift
the mindset of juvenile justice workers to see themselves as service
coordinators rather than simply as probation/parole officers. It has
been a challenge to get people working on the front lines to consider
how to access AmeriCorps/VISTA volunteers. In addition, it is a
challenge to match individuals who have the time, energy, and passion to
fill the many available volunteer "slots." Mr. Eisner responded that
CNCS could help with these issues.

***HHS:*** Melissa Pardue said that SAMHSA's Systems of Care model,
which emphasizes a coordinated network of community-based services to
meet the needs of children and youth with serious mental health issues
and their families, could be further explored as an opportunity in New
Orleans. SAMHSA has already awarded a grant to LA-YES (Louisiana Youth
Enhanced Services) in the New Orleans area, which is based on this
model. In addition, the Administration for Children and Families has
seven national child welfare resource centers, and additional attention
could be brought to these resources.

***U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):*** Ronald
Ashford said that HUD can provide services for youth in public housing.
In addition, families with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
vouchers are now being referred to the local housing authority to
provide case management services. So for youth from families living in
public housing or receiving FEMA vouchers, HUD can make sure that the
local housing authority coordinates efforts with the National Emergency
Grant project.

Ms. Wall responded that many youth in the juvenile justice system do not
live in public housing but on the streets. There is inadequate public
and transitional housing in the New Orleans area, and it is a challenge
for probation officers to find housing for these youth. She said that
New Orleans received \$74 million for prefabricated "Katrina cottages,"
and asked whether it would be possible for the partnership to access
funding to acquire two or three multifamily Katrina cottages to house
youth ages 18 to 21 whose families are not in New Orleans. She observed
that for this partnership focusing on high-risk youth to work, it is
essential to find a place for young people to live.

**Next Steps in New Orleans**

***J. Robert Flores***

Mr. Flores thanked the leadership of the SYV effort in New Orleans and
said that OJJDP looks forward to doing more with this effort.

He reminded Council members that, at the last Council meeting, members
had expressed concern that the Council needs to make a difference in the
lives of the neediest youth in New Orleans. Since then he has conversed
with agency designees, and it was proposed that the Council focus on
youth in the New Orleans Juvenile Court. These youth have a broad array
of needs including substance abuse, mental health issues, homelessness,
lack of job skills, being out of school, and being in foster care.

Mr. Flores reported that last week he met in New Orleans with local
practitioners and leaders including Judge David Bell, Chief Judge,
Orleans Parish Juvenile Court. Judge Bell said that the court's most
pressing need is for a facility to send high-risk youth (including
nonadjudicated youth) where they can be stabilized and receive needed
services (mental health, substance abuse, etc.). Judge Bell said that
currently it is necessary to formally process kids into the juvenile
justice system (even those who do not need to be adjudicated) in order
for them to receive services.

Mr. Flores presented data on juvenile offenders in New Orleans. City
officials have information on the ZIP codes where offenders live, so the
geographic areas where the highest-risk youth live are fairly well
defined.

Mr. Flores suggested that if the Council wants to develop a robust
partnership to work with a discrete population of youth, the juvenile
court could help to identify specific individuals. The target population
would be a manageable size. The Council could collaborate with local
officials and practitioners to develop a process that could then be
expanded statewide.

Mr. Flores observed that there are several ways that the Council could
move forward to help needy youth in New Orleans. For example, it could
(1) help develop a sophisticated information management system with the
ability to track programs; (2) help develop a cadre of staff people with
an expertise in where the money is, how it flows from the state, how to
access bed spaces, how to have the flexibility to access services, etc.;
(3) incorporate elements of the first two approaches. He posed the
question, if the Council chooses to collaborate to work with the
population that is before the juvenile court, how would this
collaboration be put in place? For example, could SYV be expanded to
serve this group?

Dan Vogel, Deputy Policy Director, Office of the Federal Coordinator for
Gulf Coast Rebuilding, DHS, said that it is important to identify a
specific population with specific needs and then to target resources to
meet those needs. This has been a challenge because local partners still
have diminished capacity. He observed that in their presentations Mr.
Melancon and Ms. Wall had identified the need for resource management,
data sharing, and integration of local and community stakeholders. He
remarked that these challenges are all concentrated among local
stakeholders and asked how the federal partners could provide manpower
or TA to help local stakeholders overcome these challenges. His office
is seeing that the problem in the Gulf Coast area is not a lack of
resources---there is plenty of money available---but rather connecting
the resources to those who need them.

Mr. Eisner (CNCS) congratulated Mr. Flores on the proposed project. He
observed that the project would target a finite group of the neediest
youth. In moving forward with this project, the Council can address the
needs of these youth and at the same time test its model of
collaboration. He said that CNCS is willing to (1) delegate
decisionmaking to some central place/decisionmaker to decide which youth
need help and what resources/services they need, (2) contribute
resources, and (3) coordinate local nonprofit youth-serving
organizations (e.g., Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, Catholic Charities) to
connect their efforts to this project.

Mason Bishop suggested that probation officers might be in the best
position to help adjudicated kids connect to programs and services. Mr.
Flores asked for suggestions on how to equip probation officers with the
information that they would need on programs available across systems.
Mr. Bishop said that SYV does asset mapping. Information on all the
public and private resources/programs in place will be available. Mr.
Eisner said that he envisions using probation/parole officers to
identify the specific needs of each youth, but someone else ("back
office support") needs to support probation/parole officers in
connecting youth to the appropriate services.

Mr. Melancon said that through the National Emergency Grant,
cross-agency teams will be formed to help each youth served by the grant
to navigate though the various services.

Mr. Flores asked Ms. Wall where she would envision placing the "back
office support." Ms. Wall said that Greater New Orleans Community Data
Center has been doing some mapping. She suggested interfacing their
information with provider information. Perhaps they could map where
services are being provided. She suggested that the juvenile court
system and the OYD field office in New Orleans could work together to
provide support for this project.

Mr. Eisner observed that the Council needs to be careful not to conflate
the development of an information tool/database with the actual work
that is to be done. Because the database will be constantly changing and
because each child in this target population has unique and complicated
needs, it is important to have personal interface with each child. He
identified three functions of this central back office: (1) provide case
management/support to parole officers, (2) develop tools (e.g., database
of available services), (3) identify gaps in services and relay this
information to the Council.

Mr. Flores said that, in the interim, as the National Emergency Grant
process unfolds and the team develops the ability to reach out to other
agencies, there is an immediate need to triage the needs of juveniles
before the court (e.g., health care, mental health and substance abuse
services, educational programs, afterschool programs, housing,
intervention, mentoring, etc.). He asked Council members to identify
what resources their agencies currently have in place to provide
immediate support to children who come before the juvenile court and to
relay this information to him within the next 7 to 10 days.

He said that, meanwhile, he will investigate whether OJJDP could provide
or access funds to cover the management of this effort.

Judge Steven Jones (practitioner member) observed that the restorative
justice model would be a good model for New Orleans to follow. Under
this model, probation officers function as case managers, and they are
trained to be experts about available resources. In addition, he
suggested that the five juvenile courts in the New Orleans region might
work together to establish an observation and assessment center. The
center would have direct contact with all the resources available and
could inform the courts.

Larry Brendtro (practitioner member) said that he applauds this effort.
Rather than simply repairing the system, this is an effort to transform
it. He observed that it is difficult to take the emphasis upon youth
assets from the conceptual level to make it actually work. For example,
an assessment center should use models of assessment that are
strengths-based. He urged the partners to take advantage of this
opportunity to truly redesign the program. He observed that this is what
"action-research" is all about.

Judge Gordon Martin (practitioner member) requested an update on this
effort during the October 4 Council Planning Team conference call.

Mr. Flores thanked the panelists. He concluded by saying that each step
that is taken, even in this triage situation, will help inform the
longer-term development of this collaborative effort (e.g., perhaps the
expansion of the SYV effort).

**Engaging with the Faith Community: Urban Ministries, Capacity
Building, and Opportunities for Federal Collaboration**

***Moderator: J. Robert Flores***

***Panelists: Reid Carpenter, President, Leadership Foundations of
America; Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode, Director of Amachi Program and Senior
Advisor on Faith-Based Initiatives, Public/Private Ventures; Richard R.
Ramos, President/CEO, Latino Coalition for Faith and Community
Initiatives***

Mr. Flores remarked that throughout his presidency President Bush has
advocated for small community-based organizations (CBOs) and faith-based
organizations (FBOs) to have the opportunity to compete for federal
money and resources to expand their efforts to provide services. He
introduced the panelists and asked them to provide an overview of their
organizations.

Richard Ramos provided an overview of the Latino Coalition for Faith and
Community Initiatives. The coalition, which is 3 years old, received a
3-year, \$10 million DOL grant. It has distributed these funds to 60
organizations in 15 cities in 6 states. This national network of FBOs
and CBOs focuses primarily on Latino at-risk and adjudicated youth. The
coalition helps existing churches and community organizations who have
been working with youth "under the radar screen" to be recognized as key
partners in their communities and to enhance/expand their efforts to
provide services.

Reid Carpenter remarked that the attention and support of President Bush
and the federal government have increased the self-esteem and capacity
of local FBOs and CBOs. He said that the Leadership Foundations of
American (LFA) is an international network of local leadership
foundations in 35 U.S. cities and 12 cities in Africa and Asia. At the
local level, it serves as a faith-based intermediary, bringing leaders
from a variety of sectors together to serve the most vulnerable people
in a community. When leaders are connected and work together, they can
begin to transform a community. With HHS funds, LFA implemented the Four
City Demonstration Project, whose purpose was to build the capacity of
FBOs and CBOs in Tacoma, Phoenix, Knoxville, and Memphis. An independent
evaluation of the project found that, in each of the four cities, all
project goals were exceeded. He concluded by observing that an FBO might
be a good intermediary to implement the New Orleans project and that his
organization has a leadership foundation in New Orleans.

Wilson Goode reported that the Amachi Program is a partnership of
secular organizations and FBOs working together to provide mentoring to
children of incarcerated parents. He said that 10.7 million U.S.
children have one or both parents in prison, and a significant number of
these youth will end up in the juvenile justice system or in prison. The
Amachi Program is an attempt to intervene in the lives of these young
people by training local congregations to provide volunteer mentors.
Because the President has leveled the playing field for FBOs, 90,000
at-risk youth have been served by the Amachi Program since its
organization in 2000.

Mr. Flores asked the panelists for their suggestions on how to sustain
the emphasis upon inclusion of FBOs after this Administration ends.

-   Mr. Ramos recommended establishing faith-based offices within state
    governments. Local FBOs are providing effective services, but they
    do not necessarily know how to access funding. Faith-based
    intermediaries could coach and train FBOs to improve their capacity.

-   Mr. Carpenter recommended persevering and continuing to have honest
    conversations. He observed that those on the front lines, doing
    incredible work in our nation's communities, have been there and
    will continue to be there long after this Administration. He
    reiterated the suggestion to look to FBOs to be allies in New
    Orleans.

-   Mr. Goode offered three suggestions. (1) Federal employees and
    local/state agencies need to let Congress and others know about the
    record of success. (2) States need to establish faith-based
    offices. (3) Federal employees can stretch out the funding streams
    as far into the future as possible to help carry the faith-based
    initiative into the next Administration.

Mr. Flores thanked the panelists. He observed that the President's
Faith-Based Initiative has made a huge impact on local FBOs and local
communities. He encouraged each agency to talk with the White House
Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to share successes from
the agencies' perspectives.

Judge Martin requested that Mr. Carpenter share with Mr. Flores
information about how FBOs could be of immediate assistance to the
Council's efforts in New Orleans.

**Legislative and Program Updates, Announcements, and Other Business**

**Federal Mentoring Council**

Theresa Clower, Executive Director, Federal Mentoring Council (FMC),
CNCS, provided an overview of FMC activities. FMC was developed with
Council funding by CNCS and the Family and Youth Services Bureau in HHS
to coordinate mentoring efforts for disadvantaged youth across eight
federal agencies. The FMC, which has met quarterly since spring 2006,
has accomplished the following tasks: identified 54 federal programs
with mentoring components; is identifying training and TA resources for
mentoring organizations, which will be posted on a CNCS-sponsored Web
site; developed a common set of criteria and broad description of
mentoring that can be used across agencies; is exploring how agencies
can collaborate in research on youth mentoring.

The FMC has identified two additional areas within the federal
government where there is potential for coordination. (1) It is drafting
an Executive Order on Mentoring, which would be a top-down effort to
emphasize mentoring across agencies (including the engagement of federal
employees as mentors). (2) It will coordinate a Life Coaches for
Transitioning Foster Youth initiative to provide support for youth aging
out of foster care.

Ms. Clower reported that the IAA is coming to an end but the FMC will
continue. She thanked the Council and Mr. Flores for their support and
their vision.

**HHS Activities**

Melissa Pardue announced two personnel changes at HHS. Jerry Regier,
former HHS designated representative to the Council, has been
reassigned, so Ms. Pardue will represent HHS at Council meetings. Harry
Wilson, former Associate Commissioner of the Family and Youth Services
Bureau, has left HHS. Karen Morison has replaced him and will work with
youth-related initiatives.

Ms. Pardue referred members to their packets for an update of the SAMHSA
IAA.

**Legislative Updates**

Robin Delany-Shabazz, Designated Federal Official, OJJDP, referred
members to their packets for information on pending federal legislation.

**Partnership Project Updates**

Ms. Delany-Shabazz reported that both the Comprehensive Community
Initiatives (CCI) Inventory and the Community Youth Development (CYD)
Partnership Pilot are moving forward. The support contract is now in
place for the CCI Inventory, and work on this project will begin during
the next quarter. The CYD Partnership workgroup has been working to
identify models of federal collaboration and to decide the best
mechanisms to transmit that knowledge to the field. It is in the process
of developing a statement of work, which should be completed during the
next quarter.

Judge Martin requested (1) an update on the life without parole issue at
the next Council meeting and (2) copies of the President's New Freedom
Commission on Mental Health report when it becomes available.

**Adjournment**

Mr. Flores thanked DOL for hosting the meeting. The meeting was
adjourned at 12:30 p.m.