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Commissioner Carey said that he asked for this to be put on the agenda far informational purposes. He made it clear that this is in no way an attempt to get involved in the policy-making decision related to suspensions and truancy. He said that one of his roles is to co-chair the Orange-Chatham Justice Partnership Council. This board has a mandated representation that includes school systems. He said that neither school system has had a representative at the meetings recently. This cauncil focuses on the needs of youth, and trying to prevent them from dropping through the system. He said that there is a level of frustration there because the cauncil does not see the teamwork that they feel is needed to keep students out of the criminal justice system. He asked bath school boards about their perception of this group and their rate on this council. Superintendent Carraway said that they generally have someone to participate in these meetings. At the last meeting, there were three people - Director of Students Services Kathy Hicks and two other people from Orange County Schools' Central Staff. Also, at their last leadership team meeting, they had representatives from the District Attorney's office to talk with them about the process so that they were sure they were following the process as outlined. This is a serious issue far Orange County Schools. Commissioner Carey said that he did not realize that there were Orange County School representatives at the meeting. He said that there was a lot of frustration in the meeting about the relationship with the schools. Commissioner Brown asked Superintendent Carraway to go through the number of Orange County Schools suspensions. Superintendent Carraway explained that it is a duplicated count in that the number includes each suspension and not necessarily each student. One student could have been suspended several times. Superintendent Pedersen echoed Superintendent Carraway's comments in that they are equally concerned about student attendance, truancy, and behavior in Schaal. He said that if there is a sense that they are not an board, they need to hear from this group. Susan Spalt served in this capacity and retired in June. They filled her position with Stephanie Willis and she may not be aware of the meetings. He asked that there be contact with his office about the schedule of the next few meetings. He said that they did briefly survey their family specialists about how they perceive the relationship with juvenile justice. The response was very positive. Commissioner Carey said that there is a disconnection here somewhere and the only way to address it is by communication. He said that he would make sure CHCCS gets the information about future meetings. He pointed out Isabel Geffner and asked her to make any comments. Isabel Geffner is the Executive Director of the Community Backyard Organization. Their goal is to identify and keep kids who need services in our own County. There are a lot of gaps in services. She recognized Trish Randall with OCS and her work. She said that they did not have someone from the CHCCS. She said that schools are being asked to pick up mental health work in schools. She is hoping that Judge Buckner and other people will convene a smaller meeting of various agencies to try and figure out how to impact the legislature so that the kids at greatest risk are getting appropriate services. Commissioner Halkiotis said that it might be time again to convene a symposium on youth services. There has been money cut from youth services, but there have been many executions lately. He said that it is not cheaper to execute someone than to educate them. He said that the judges need to get behind Smart Start and mental health reform. Chair Brown said that she was extremely concerned about mental health reform and the issues involved with children in the schools. She wants to get together and find out exactly where we are