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MINUTES
WASHINGTON STATE JAIL INDUSTRIES BOARD MEETING
January 19, 2001
10:00 AM–2:00 PM
King County Regional Justice Center
Kent, Washington
Board Members Attending:
Mary Boehnke, Ed Crawford, Doug Jacques, Debra Latimer, Andre Loh, Randy Loomans,
Runette Mitchell, Jim Powers, Ted Rutt, Bruce Thompson, Dan Tonkovich, Julie Wilson,
Marvin Wolff, Julie Beck (staff), Jill Will (staff)
Proxies Presented:
David Oster for Andrea Bynum
Advisory Committee Members Attending:
Guests Attending:
Sergeant Greg DePaul, Whatcom County Sheriff's Office; Barbara Brandhorst, Offender
Services Manager, Cowlitz County Corrections Department; Sandy Hyppa, Pierce County
Clerk's Office; Nancy Mason, Apprenticeship Program Manager, Department of Labor and Industries.
At 9:00 a.m. members toured the facility.
Call to Order:
Chair Bruce Thompson welcomed the guests and thanked those attending. He officially
called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
A. Election of Officers
As required by the Board bylaws, election of officers was held at the first meeting
of the year. Nominations were taken from the floor as follows:
Chair—Bruce Thompson and Marvin Wolf
Vice Chair—Randy Loomans, Runette Mitchell,and Debra Latimer.
The results of the election were as follows:
Chair—Bruce Thompson
Vice Chair—Runette Mitchell
Vice Chair—Debra Latimer
B. Approval of the Minutes, September 6, 2000 Meeting
It was moved and seconded that the minutes of the September 6, 2000 meeting be
approved. The motion carried.
C. Meeting Dates and Locations for 2001
Board members reviewed their calendars and picked the following dates and locations
for the remaining Jail Industries Board meetings in 2001:
April 20th, Criminal Justice Training Commission
July 13th, Whatcom County
October 26th, Criminal Justice Training Commission
D. Budget Status Update and Discussion
Jill Will updated Board members on the status of the Jail Industries Board budget
request for 2002–2003.The Office of Financial Management (OFM) denied the Board's
budget enhancement request. OFM also neglected to include proviso language in the
Governor's budget for the Department of Corrections (DOC) that would direct $100,000
per fiscal year to the Board. The DOC believes that it needs the proviso language
to authorize transfer of funds to the Board. Upon inquiry, OFM stated that it does
not believe a proviso is necessary, but will work with the Department to secure
the proviso language if they so desire. Lisa Brown of Spokane is the new Senate Ways
and Means chair; Board member Randy Loomans can discuss the issue with her if required.
The Board may be able to get help from other organizations.
In order to make a case for the budget proviso, the Board needs to have a consistent
message to tell to legislators. Legislators need to understand our mission, goals,
and hear some success stories; the Board needs to highlight some outcomes and accomplishments.
The Board should also seek the support of business and labor together because that
can ensure action with bipartisan support.It may also be helpful to note that a
Department of Labor study on youthful offenders showed that employment preparation
was the number one factor to reduce recidivism.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—develop proviso language and supporting information for legislative
review at the $100,000 per-year level.
The group decided that more investigation was required regarding the issue of where
the appropriation should be housed in the future. It appears that the Department of
Corrections budget is too volatile.A funding committee was established to look at
where to house money for the next biennium. Members are Doug Jacques (Chair), Ed
Crawford, Randy Loomans, and Marvin Wolff.
- ACTION ITEM:
Doug Jacques—convene the funding committee.
E. Apprenticeship Opportunities Information Project
Project Development—Jill Will
Introduction of Julie Beck
Project Questions and Answers
Possible Washington Service Corps Request
Jill Will provided background on the development of the project and introduced
Julie Beck, newly hired apprenticeship coordinator on loan from the Department
of Labor and Industries.Ms. Beck is a journey-level operating engineer and has
an excellent background in apprenticeship issues.This project will be a continuation
of her previous School-to-Work apprenticeship project.
Julie discussed some of the requirements for apprenticeship, including a strong
work ethic, being drug free, having basic math skills, and passing an asset test
of basic skills. She also discussed the possibility of doing baseline tests on
offenders interested in apprenticeship to determine strengths/weaknesses and provide
an opportunity for career exploration.
The group identified assistance with driver’s license recovery as an important
piece to address in the project, because a valid Washington driver's license is
a requirement for all apprentices.
- ACTION ITEM:
Julie Beck—get more information on programs in Pierce County/ Clover Park and ANEW
for license recovery.
Ms. Beck went over articulation agreements—agreements between students, schools,
and apprenticeship councils—which provide incentives for apprenticeship applicants
who complete specified course work. Students may receive bonus points on their
applications, special consideration for entry into an apprenticeship, or direct
entry into apprenticeship upon completion of training. Ms. Beck will be working
to establish articulation agreements that offenders can use.
The group discussed that offenders interested in apprenticeships will very likely
need more help than simply access to information: they need to establish consistency
in their lives, and they need help to do that. Members suggested that a mentoring
component would be a "make or break" issue for the project. Mentors are
available in King County for indentured apprentices. Perhaps the project can look
to faith-based organizations to provide mentors to prospective apprentices. Additional
training should be made available for mentors in dealing with offender manipulation.
- ACTION ITEM:
Julie Beck—pursue mentoring options for the project.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—send apprenticeship information matrix to all city and county jails even
if they are outside the pilot project area.
Nancy Mason, Apprenticeship Program Manager for the Department of Labor and Industries,
joined the meeting to express her thanks and support for the project.
Jill Will requested that the Board consider expending $3,000 of its funds to support
the work of an Americorp volunteer to assist Ms. Beck.A volunteer would work for
11 months full time, be covered by workers’ compensation and health insurance,
receive a stipend, and receive an educational award at the end of service.It was
moved and seconded that the Board expend funds for support of an Americorp staff
person. The motion carried.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will and Julie Beck—follow up on Americorp staffing.
F. JIB Program Focus for 2001
Chair Bruce Thompson lead a discussion on the Board's program focus for 2001. He
reviewed the mission statement and past priorities.The group confirmed the following
areas of focus: Clark County PIE industries, Whatcom County tax-reduction industries,
successful completion of the apprenticeship project, and a new "Jail Industries
Month" publicity effort along with other publicity efforts to increase awareness
and support of jail industries.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—to facilitate Board members' speaking engagements, develop a speaker's
package and post it on the JIB Web site.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—order Board members’ business cards.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will and Board—Jail Industries Month planning.
G. Governor's Quarterly Quality Award
Chair Bruce Thompson noted that the Jail Industries Board received the Governor's
Quarterly Quality Award along with the Departments of Corrections and Ecology for
efforts on the Community Litter Clean-up Program.Bruce and Jill accepted the award
on the Board's behalf at a reception hosted by Governor Locke in the Executive Mansion.
H. 1999 Work In Jails Report
Jill Will distributed copies of the 1999 Work In Jails report.
I. Board Re-appointments
Several gubernatorial appointments to the Board will expire on February 15th.
The Governor's office has expressed willingness to reappoint Board members who have
served less than three terms. Board members seeking reappointment need to write a
letter to the Governor's office.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—send a reappointment letter template to the relevant Board members.
J. Executive Director's Report
Jill Will gave the Executive Director's report. There was discussion on some items.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—follow up on the three-percent transfer for budget increase with the
Department of Corrections.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—on behalf of the Board, attach a letter of appreciation to
Tina Powers' evaluation recognizing her dedicated service.
K. Other Business
Doug Jacques showed a video of Juvenile Vocational Industries at Green Hill School.
Adjournment
It was moved and seconded that the meeting be adjourned at 2:22 pm. The motion carried
and the meeting was adjourned.
Summary of Action Items
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—develop proviso language and supporting information for legislative
review at the $100,000 per-year level.
- ACTION ITEM:
Doug Jacques—convene the funding committee.
- ACTION ITEM:
Julie Beck—get more information on programs in Pierce County/Clover Park and ANEW
for license recovery.
- ACTION ITEM:
Julie Beck—pursue mentoring options for the project.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—send apprenticeship information matrix to all city and county jails
even if they are outside the pilot project area.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will and Julie Beck—follow up on Americorp staffing.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—to facilitate Board members' speaking engagements, develop a speaker's
package and post it on the JIB Web site.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—order Board members’ business cards.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will and Board—Jail Industries Month planning.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—send a reappointment letter template to the relevant Board members.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—follow up on the three-percent transfer for budget increase with the
Department of Corrections.
- ACTION ITEM:
Jill Will—on behalf of the Board, attach a letter of appreciation to Tina Powers'
evaluation recognizing her dedicated service.
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