Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Meeting

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

1:00-3:00 p.m.

Liz Ryan, Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and Vice 

Chair, Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Vanita Gupta, Associate Attorney General of the United States 

Julie Herr, Designated Federal Official (DFO), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention, Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Miranda Lynch-Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Human Services Policy, U.S. Department 

of Health and Human Services

David G. Rice, Special Assistant for Housing and Services, U.S. Department of Housing and 

Urban Development 

Jennifer Kemp, Department of Labor, Division of Youth Services 

Kristen Kracke, Associate Administrator for the Policy Division, OJJDP and Chair, Policy 

Subcommittee of the Coordinating Council 

Kellie Blue, Associate Administrator for the Youth Justice System Innovation Division, OJJDP 

and Co-Chair, Programs and Practice Subcommittee of the Coordinating Council 

Adam Tierney, Detention & Deportation Officer – National Juvenile Coordinator 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

Nick Battles, Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and 

Nutrition Service

Kenya Pennington, Program Analyst, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition 

Service

Mary “Tib” Campise, Associate Director for Child Youth and Advocacy, Department of 

Defense

Sheryl Davis, Executive Director, San Francisco Human Rights Commission 

Mark Patterson, Administrator, Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center

Amy Solomon, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, 

Department of Justice

Michael D. Smith, Chief Executive Officer, AmeriCorps 

Shannon Horrillo, Director, Division of Youth and 4-H, Institute of Youth, Family, and 

Community, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture 

Beth Connolly, Assistant Director, Office of Public Health, Office of National Drug Control 

Policy

Rebecca Zornick, Acting Deputy Director of the National Mental Health and Substance Abuse 

Policy Laboratory, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 

Deborah Spitz, Group Leader, Teachers, Leaders, and Special Populations 

Office of School Support and Accountability (SSA), U.S. Department of Education 

Renee Rodriguez-Betancourt, Judge, 449th District Court, Hidalgo County, Texas 

Andrea Coleman, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention 

Lisa Johnson, Director, National Institute for Work and Learning
Julie Herr opened the meeting as DFO. 

Vice Chair Liz Ryan introduced Vanita Gupta, Associate Attorney General of the United States,

who gave welcoming remarks.

Associate Attorney General (ASG) Gupta noted she was grateful that Liz is leading OJJDP. She 

thanked the Department of Labor for hosting the meeting, and she welcomed all on behalf of 

Attorney General Merrick Garland, who serves as chair of the Council. ASG Gupta shared that 

she was incredibly inspired by the young people who spoke at the Coordinating Council meeting 

in October 2023 and pleased to hear of the work happening on behalf of young people at so 

many Federal partner agencies.

“The Coordinating Council is an important body to advance this work. We recognize the 

significance of this council and the weight of its charge to coordinate Federal programs that 

prevent and respond to delinquency and create opportunities that encourage young people to 

grow into responsible, contributing citizens in healthy and safe communities.”

The ASG continued: I am so glad to be here again today during Second Chance Month. This 

meeting topic is significant given the many services and resources that justice-involved young 

people need when they leave incarceration and launch new lives in their communities. Each of 

the agencies and organizations represented around this table play a key role in providing those 

resources and making them accessible to youth during reentry. As a prime example, the Labor 

Department’s Reentry Employment Opportunities program funds innovative, effective projects 

that help justice-involved youth improve their workforce outcomes. We all play a similarly vital 

role in offering real second chances to our young people transitioning back into their 

communities. I recall some of the insights from the youth on our October meeting panel who had 

been directly impacted by the system and took time to share their experiences and make 

recommendations. They stressed the importance of reaching young people before they become 

involved in the justice system. They spoke passionately about the impact of criminalization and 

incarceration. They noted the impact of fines and fees when leaving the system and that potential 

employers often aren’t interested in hiring young people with a record. DOJ will have more to 

say on that topic very soon, which I’m very excited about. 

Mental health was also an issue raised by the youth panel. This is a particularly hard time, and 

we don’t have the infrastructure that many people need. The youth panel touched on the topic of 

suicide and self-harm – issues that touch their lives far too often. 

Our policies and practices need to reflect very tangibly that we care about the issues raised by 

these young people and I hope this group will continue to keep these insights top of mind. 

Liz thanked ASG Gupta. She continued: I’d like to turn it over to Brent Parton, Acting Assistant 

Secretary for Employment and Training at the Department of Labor. Thank you for hosting us 

today. Glad to have these partnerships. 

Brent: Welcome to Department of Labor. My understanding is that this is the first time we’ve 

gathered outside DOJ in many years. At the employment and training administration, we want to 
ensure that we center this work on the young people. We have a broader workforce vision than 

what we are in. How do we use the workforce that we have? We are focused on how we structure 

cross-sector public–private partnerships. We want to take advantage of opportunities to services 

training and other chances and be mindful of where the future of work is going. How to get a 

strong foundational base. These are big priorities across all of what we do. Youth in general are 

at the center of all those pieces. You have to meet people where they are. We are committed to 

youth. How do we build with them at the center? How do we measure equity? Department of 

Labor initiated a youth strategy called Youth Employment Works to orient youth around those 

shared principles. There’s no wrong door. How do we build the wiring of a system for young 

people at risk to be able to access services no matter which door they choose first. 

Paid worked experiences is an anchoring part of that vision. Who has access to mentorship 

opportunities? This helps youth see what they can be. We have significant funding from formula 

programs through the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act. These are decisions that are made 

at a local level. We can provide policy guidance to make sure local agencies get the support they 

need and advance those best practices and use those resources creatively. We as the Council can 

advise on how to make the best use of those formula resources in every community. 

We have our strategic investments and growth opportunities (GO) grants. We can serve these 

young people before they get into the system. Money matters but what is the message. Are there 

shared best practices that can be the power of what we address. How do we leverage networks? 

How do we engage? Let’s think about technical assistance. How can we leverage networks? 

There will never by enough money, grants, or resources, but we can work together and learn 

from partners on the ground. 

Liz: Thank you so much, Assistant Secretary Parton. You really underscore the importance of 

partnership, which is what this Council is all about. We’ll hear more about some of the efforts 

here at the Department of Labor throughout the course of today’s meeting. I’d like to give a 

special thanks to Jennifer Kemp and her staff, who were instrumental in helping to make this 

meeting happen. When member agencies show a willingness to share hosting responsibilities, it 

truly reflects our shared commitment to young people, and we are so very appreciative. 

I’d also like to extend a special welcome to our newest Council member, Lourdes Rosado, who 

joins us from New York where she serves as President and General Counsel of Latino Justice. 

She is a champion for civil rights and an advocate who uses and challenges the law to pursue 

justice for everyone. Her insights and passion will strengthen this Council and I’m so happy to 

have her join us. Finally, I’d like to welcome the young people from the National Juvenile 

Justice Network and the Coalition for Juvenile Justice who are listening in on today’s meeting 

virtually. These are some of the same young people who joined us in October and are following 

the work of the Council. They are the reason we have a Coordinating Council and their expertise 

and insights matter. When young people with lived experience take the time to share their 

recommendations with us, it’s our responsibility to listen. These insights help shape our agenda 

and the issues that we tackle, including our subcommittees, who will provide their reports later in 

this meeting.
This is Second Chance Month and we’re focused on providing support to justice-involved youth, 

especially young people who have been incarcerated. I’m very pleased to share that OJJDP 

recently released a solicitation under the Second Chance Act called Youth Reentry Programs,

which provides comprehensive reentry services for moderate- to high-risk youth. We also 

released the second solicitation for our Second Chance Act funding, which addresses the needs 

of incarcerated parents and their minor children. The goal of this program is to reduce recidivism 

among parents and support responsible parenting and foster positive development of all young 

people. 

Our Community-Based Alternatives to Youth Incarceration initiative supports the closure and 

repurposing of youth detention and correctional facilities and expansion of services based in the 

community to both advance community safety and improve outcomes for young people. 

With that in mind, I’m thrilled to announce our plans to hold the Council’s next meeting in 

September in Houston, Texas, so that we can visit an innovative new program known as The 

Opportunity Center. I believe this is the first time the Council will convene outside the 

Washington, DC, metro area for a meeting. The center is housed in what was once a juvenile 

detention center in Harris County, Texas. I visited the center recently with some of my 

colleagues and they can attest I have not stopped talking about it! 

 

The program uses blended funding streams and features a long list of onsite, community-based 

services, including education services, housing, financial literacy, mental health, food assistance, 

and the list goes on. This model exemplifies how young people and communities can benefit 

when disparate agencies come together with a focus on community-based services for young 

people. 

 

We’ll hear from our speakers next. Lisa Johnson, Director of National Institute for Work and 

Learning, will discuss the Department of Labor’s Compass Rose Collaborative, which works 

with communities nationwide to improve education and employment outcomes for young people 

ages 18 to 24 who were involved in the justice system. 

 

We're also going to hear from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, about programs that 

are helping to provide nutrition for low-income youth and families that receive services in their 

home communities. USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food 

Program are in addition to the National School Lunch Program, and the Supplemental Nutrition 

Assistance Program, which is better known as SNAP. 

 

OJJDP is preparing to send a letter to our stakeholders with more information about USDA 

programs that help ensure our youth and families get the nutrition they need each day. This is 

especially important right now with the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency 

on May 11, which means that many Americans will lose some benefits that they have received 

throughout the pandemic. We want to make sure that justice-involved young people are aware of 

the services that USDA can provide. 

 

I’ll close by mentioning some of OJJDP’s Second Chance Month activities: we are partnering 

with our sister agencies at the Bureau of Justice Assistance and also the National Institute of 

Justice and other federal agencies to highlight the significant needs of young people reentering 
their communities and providing resources to help them succeed. So, along with this council 

meeting, we're hosting webinars, youth-led podcasts, and panel discussions. We also offer a 

number of resources and funding opportunities that can be found on our website at 

https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/. I hope that today's meeting will help identify even more opportunities for 

partnership around these important issues. 

 

Now, we’ll hear from Lisa Johnson. 

Lisa Johnson 

Director, National Institute for Work and Learning

Lisa: Twenty-three years ago, when then Secretary Alexis Herman announced Youth 

Opportunity grants, I’ve been addicted to doing right by youth and surrounding myself with 

people who care about young people. I remember when the then assistant secretary said, “If not 

you, who. If not now, when?” I’m honored to be here to speak on behalf of young people. 

 

FHI 360 is a nonprofit. There are 4,000 of us around the world who care about humanity and 

locally led solutions. We focus on education, workforce, and health. Our staff focuses on college 

and career readiness. We have a Compass Rose collaborative that serves young people touched 

by the justice system to change their trajectory in a positive way. We’re pleased that federal 

agencies care about youth in this care economy. Some of the foundations are incubating new 

ideas and they're also sustaining some of the ideas that have gone into systems. 

 

I’d like to spend the remaining time on the re-entry model since it’s Second Chance Month. I 

also want to focus on apprenticeships as a workforce strategy, then offer some considerations for 

you in policy and practice. 

 

We started our DOL affiliation in 2017 with Compass Rose. 

 

There are stories and there are numbers. These numbers are impactful and big. There are a lot of 

people returning to communities post-covid from jails/prisons. We need a safety net to support 

them in economic success. A new journey is beginning—reentry. Entering their former 

communities. Youth need support. To young people: share your voice. We are listening. The 

Council is here for you. 

 

Evaluations of programs showed that increases in educational attainment, increases in labor 

market, and Pell grant increased when adequate resources are given to a community. When 

opportunities are present, good things happen and people’s lives change. 

 

We work with service providers and employers. No one can do it alone. It’s a human-centered 

design approach. It takes an ecosystem to get there. Providers in the program provide clothes, 

food, bus passes, etc. The numbers speak for themselves. We see a two-percent reincarceration 

rate. Positive things happen, negative things diminish. 

 

We work in four different areas. Large urban, small urban, rural, and tribal nations. We make 

sure everyone is served. We learn a lot from differences and similarities, and it’s exciting to 
know how young people take a look and connect with others. That sense of community gives to 

others and makes things more possible. 

We ask communities what they need. We create issue briefs. There are a lot of resources out 

there. You provide resources that the field takes and uses. There’s power in sharing. We make 

sure we hear from young people and from participants from different geographies. How are they 

reacting? What is good? What needs to change?

Our motto is nothing for us without us. 

Youth development practitioner became an occupation about 20 years ago. Labor invested in 

staff and professional development of the 36 communities. Thousands have been trained. How 

do you collect the data? How do you document successes? We registered an apprenticeship. We 

want to make sure professionals have what they need and the tools they need to support them, for 

example, afterschool providers. When people are home alone, they are treated by professionals 

certified in these competencies.

The apprenticeship is built on youth voice. We are an ambassador. We give a voice. The model 

has a dual purpose. It’s for the young people to have the opportunity and for the caring adult 

to guide them along the way. This becomes a career pathway. They don’t want to see other 

young people taking a similar path they did. In the apprenticeship, you are learning and earning. 

We want to prepare young people but also prepare employers with workshops, interns, 

apprentices, and meaningful experiences to young people but also ensure the preparation is 

effective for their business needs. 

Basic needs must be met. Incarceration throws these needs off balance. We start here and we 

build. It is a circular system. Take a minute to hear what is happening in the life of our young 

people. A day in the life often means people don’t eat. They don’t have a home. They can’t earn. 

They can’t learn.

To the issue of housing. It is an unmet need. In our economic times, it’s more prevalent. 

Recommendations from the field (shown on slide). 

Healing practice and trauma-informed care. Receiving someone who has experienced trauma, 

and what does that look like. How can we make those relationships stronger? 

Young adults need a range of services. They have a multitude of needs. Childcare, wellness, safe 

places, mental health. As you put solicitations together, think about partnerships for the 

continuing of services, blending and braiding, and using dollars smarter. We have ideas for the 

field on how to do that so there aren’t gaps in services. It’s an ecosystem. We can’t do it on our 

own, but multiple agencies can help. 

Thank you for your time and thank you for your commitment to Second Chances and also for 

first chances, so that there isn’t a need for a second chance.
Questions? 

 

Sheryl: Thanks for saying “first and second chances.” Not everyone realizes that some people 

don’t have a first chance. Regarding learning and earning models: is that in the sense they didn’t 

go to college and get paid while they do that? 

 

Lisa: Employers are great to work with, both small and large corporations. They are ready and 

willing to want to learn. There are frameworks we use, what are the approaches, and encourage 

people to be open to learning. You have to be open to learning and listening to make 

connections. 

 

Sheryl: In San Francisco, we want employers to be a letter of recommendation. 

Lisa: We created a cadre of the social capital. Seventy percent of jobs are gotten because of 

connections and social networks. These connections boost self-esteem and confidence.

Unknown participant: What ages do you serve? 

Lisa: We have to tweak the age but middle school through 30, and maybe over. Our company 

works in early childcare as well. We work and customize if it’s a teacher, employee, guidance 

counselor, or a parent. And we also consider if the environment is in person, virtual, or a hybrid. 

 

Renee: Where have studies been done to see when an individual is released from residential 

facilities, does work start then or before? 

Lisa: That works better if we can “go behind the wall” and there’s a soft handoff post-release. If 

I’m an offender I might not be able to go back to my family if they are on public assistance; I 

can’t live there. Don’t drop off people in the middle of a city, but drop them off somewhere with 

a helping hand, drop them off with some opportunity built in. 

 

Mark: In 2018, Hawaii passed a law that established the Kawailoa Center. It housed 200 and now 

we’re down to 20. 70 of those beds are correctional facility. 20 homeless shelter, 10 beds for 

victims of sex trafficking, 10 for residents for vocational training. 

 

We’re at the stage now where the second chance is pulling them out of adult jails. We’ll ask the 

judge if they can have another chance. We’ll keep them on our campus. In the 5 years we’ve 

been doing this, none have run. 

 

Housing vouchers are important. They need help, training, alignment with unions, and housing 

assistance. There must be an educational component. Many weren’t good students but working 

with hands allows them to be more successful and get a GED. Mental health becomes more 

prevalent after 20; there are more serious diagnoses. Partnering with vocational rehab when those 

rehab facilities can pay them while they are with us.

 

These wraparound services on campus show success. 

 
Potential is huge for apprenticeship programs. Workforce development boards in America’s job 

centers show an easy win to infuse system with same competencies.

 

In my hope, wages go up the more professionalized we get. When people see themselves as part 

of a larger cohort, that will allow us to expand. 

 

USDA Food and Nutrition Services

 

Kenya Pennington, Program Analyst; Nick Battles, National Hunger Fellow. 

 

Kenya: We focus on child and adult food program. Thankful to the Council to be able to speak 

about programs we’re passionate about. We’re excited to partner to enhance food security and 

nutrition nationwide. 

 

Nick: We’ll touch upon just how vital food is to youth. 

 

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federally funded, state-administered program. 

It provides aid to childcare centers, adult day care, and emergency shelters. It provides children 

with very important access to nutrition. Close to 4.7 million children receive meals and snacks 

daily through CACFP in addition to 140,000 adults. It’s important to note that meals and snacks 

must meet USDA requirements to be reimbursable. Standards differ based on age. The benefit is 

the reimbursement meant to offset the cost to supply meals to children and adults. 

 

Sponsoring organizations/sponsors can take on administrative and financial responsibilities. For 

example, at-risk after-school care centers are a safe place to be after school but are only available 

during a school year. They can serve reimbursable meals on holidays and weekends. Tend to be 

located at schools, community centers, libraries. Program is for children in low-income areas. If 

50 percent or more qualify for free or reduced meals, that defines a low-income area. Centers 

must provide education and enrichment activities, such as life skills, organized fitness classes, 

homework assistance, or arts and crafts.

 

Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). What is it? It’s a federally funded, state-administered 

program to ensure kids have access to nutritious meals and snacks during summer or when 

schools are closed for an emergency, such as a snowstorm. Free for children 18 and under. Must 

be in low-income area, defined by the 50-percent criteria noted previously. Household 

applications can be used in lieu of an eligible area. It is a congregant setting. Participants eat 

together. 

 

Three major players outside of the federal government: state agencies, sponsors, and sites.

 

State agencies are responsible for ensuring the federal administrative requirements of the 

program are being met. They act as the go-to contact for our sponsors. Our sponsors are 

responsible for a wide range of functions, including supporting the administration of sites and 

reporting to the state agency. Sponsors serve as a vital link between the federal government and 

the state government. 

 
Meal service sites maintain the responsibility of serving the meals to children in a safe 

environment that’s ideally located in a place that’s easily accessible to children like a park or a 

library. Operating sites are in locations where there’s both a capacity and a need, which holds 

true for both urban and rural areas.

One of our more innovative methods of providing meal service is mobile feeding. Brings meals 

to an area using a route that makes stops at approved sites in communities. These can be in rural 

areas where kids live far from schools. But in cities, violence and traffic might be prohibitive, so 

that’s why there are approved sites in both urban and rural settings. 

We at USDA can’t accomplish the mission alone. It is essential to coordinate across federal 

agencies. For example, USDA staff participate in federal workgroups. Partnerships focus on 

children under 5. HUD coordinates and participates in annual webinars for community health 

and housing. Program participants enrolled in benefits like SNAP will have an easier path to 

enrollment if they are enrolled in Head Start.

Want to get involved? Learn more about us when promoting grant programs. Assist with food 

costs. Raise awareness on issues impacting our communities through the use of webinars, 

conferences, presentations, and work groups with staff from other agencies. 

We’ve realized that federal programs tend to serve similar or overlapping populations and so it’s 

important to find the opportunities of overlap and policy as well. With some federal programs, 

you realize they can work in tandem. We can work in tandem to realize that we play on the same 

team.

Resources: SFSP webpage. CAF webpage.

Updates: There are updates to child and nutrition programs due to new rulemaking and 

legislation. SNAP housed in USDA. SNAP used to be known as the food stamp program. Now, 

benefits are provided on an EBT card. 

Changes: Baseline benefits increased. Adjusted every year in October. The change in 2021 was 

more significant, 40 cents more per meal. By March 2023, all SNAP benefits returned to preCOVID benefits. The nationwide public health emergency ends in May, and that will bring an 

end to several other waivers and provisions that made it easier to access SNAP and Medicaid.

USDA new rules: allowing non-congregant meal services in rural areas, for example, where 

congregant meal service might not be available. This benefits hard-to-reach areas.

Summer EBT allows greater access when kids aren’t in school. 

Revisions to meal plans – enhances nutrition in meals. We’ve received 67,000 comments. We 

want to expand the community eligibility provision, making it easier for more kids in schools to 

receive free meals.

Lourdes: Are any of the programs available to residents of Puerto Rico and the territories? 

Kenya: Yes.
Lourdes: Good. They have NAP, not SNAP, which isn’t the same. Has USDA done research into 

the disparity that contributes to food scarcity and insecurity? 

Kenya: Will get back to you on that. 

 

Brent. How will the end of the Covid emergency change demand? 

Kenya: During pandemic, our participation nearly doubled. 2.7 million meals during summer 

2019, and fiscal years 2020–2022, it went to 5 million during the pandemic. Our series of 

waivers helped make programs easier to access.

 

Sheryl Davis: The ability to pick up meals and leave had a huge impact on communities. Rules 

around when you need to stop serving or how long food can stay out or the ability to leave with 

food. Some sites are so strict that if apples are left out and can’t be eaten onsite, they are tossed; 

some kids will take those apples that would otherwise be wasted. 

 

Can you do SNAP for programs so they can buy and cook the food themselves? That might be 

culturally helpful. Nutritious doesn’t always mean it’s edible. Rules and regulations apply, but if 

you’re hungry, take the apple even if it’s not eaten here.

 

USDA Representative: It’s a matter of knowledge and getting word out on our programs. We 

have a series of waivers available and the non-congregant meal option for rural areas. 

 

For extreme heat, unanticipated closures, emergencies, crime. Not being able to take food offsite 

part of the statute, mandated by Congress. Value of non-congregant feeding because it provides a 

safe space but it’s not always doable. 

 

Renee: Detention centers get meals. Those are for children in detention. For those not in 

detention but come to courts and programs, to prevent them from detention, how can we work to 

get funding for that or have money for facilities that are doing it for those who are detained? 

 

Kenya: Contact state agencies. They could be sponsors. They could be reimbursed. We require 

some sponsors to promote their services. Knowing who in your area provides those meals and 

knowing who to talk to; that’s why we’re here. There’s also a summer site finder. There’s a map 

so you can see what’s available, and the map is updated every week in the summer beginning 

May 4. 

 

Next on the agenda: two reports from our subcommittees. 

 

Subcommittee Reports

 

First up, Kellie Blue, who is Associate Administrator over the Youth Justice and System 

Innovation Division at OJJDP. She is also co-chair of the Council’s Subcommittee on Programs 

and Practice. 

 

Kellie: This committee has a total of 19 members representing 11 federal offices as well as 

practitioners from the field. We’ve had the opportunity to meet twice. Our first meeting focused 

on the recommendations of October’s youth justice leaders panel. We discussed mental health 
and substance abuse and increasing and improving supportive services for youth returning to 

their communities from confinement. We also discussed fines and fees and addressing financial 

hardship as barrier for youths. We discussed preventing the school-to-prison pipeline, and also 

equity issues. 

 

The subcommittee agreed that it is important for us to identify opportunities to create new 

partnerships and be innovative, but also to leverage existing partnerships. 

 

Our second meeting took place in April. We focused on partnerships that the subcommittee 

might leverage to help us move towards implementing some of the recommendations from the 

youth panel. Representatives from HHS-ASPE provided info on the establishment of a new 

children’s interagency coordinating council that will focus on child poverty and improving child 

wellbeing. ASPE provided an overview of the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, 

including youth.gov and the MapMyCommunity feature, which provides information on more 

than 10,000 federally funded programs from more than 100 federal agencies.

 

We discussed ways that we might complement the efforts of these other coordinating bodies, 

rather than duplicating them.

 

In addition, the subcommittee has developed a recommendation for the full council. We 

recommend that the Council serve as a cosponsor of the OJJDP national conference in 

Washington, DC, in November 2024. As co-sponsor of this event, the Council might host a 

session featuring a panel of multiple agency representatives to provide info about available 

funding resources and/or programs of interest at their respective agencies. In addition, the 

Council could consider sponsoring a series of workshops, focused specifically on 

recommendations from the October youth panel. The Council served as sponsor of a similar 

conference in 2006, which was very successful. As co-chair, I’d like to formally offer this

recommendation to the Council for consideration. Vote: The ayes have it. 

 

Kristen Kracke is Associate Administrator over OJJDP’s Policy Coordination Division at 

OJJDP. She is also chair of the Council’s Subcommittee on Policy. 

 

The Policy Subcommittee met for the first time on April 5, including eight members, 

representing five federal agencies as well as practitioners. We want to identify and explore 

policy opportunities that would benefit from interagency coordination to serve our youth more 

effectively. “Policy” for the purposes of this committee includes legislative and regulatory 

actions, but also federal policy found in program instructions and guidance that impact practice. 

 

We identified policies and actions planned for the year and shared about some of those activities. 

We also reviewed and focused on recommendations from the October meeting’s youth panel. 

Two important examples include mental health access and Medicaid as a barrier to access. We 

may need to expand membership of the subcommittee to bring in additional federal partners who 

work in these areas, but there needs to be further discussion of more concrete strategies before 

making any final decisions about expanding. 

 

We also explored:
• Considering large-scale interagency demonstrations that test both practice and policy 

strategies to address barriers.

• Developing a compilation of federal authorizing legislation (where relevant to youth) 

across partner agencies to better inform the committee’s coordination and awareness at 

the federal level.

• Developing common language that addresses cross-agency differences in the definition of 

terms. Examples include, “congregant care” and “youth out-of-home placement.” We use 

these words differently across federal agencies.

 

The committee will meet monthly moving forward. 

 

Liz: Are notes approved from subcommittee meetings? Yes. Notes are approved. 

 

Julie closed the meeting at 2:50 p.m.