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Orange County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council Meeting <br />Friday, April 7, 2017 (12:00noon – 2:00pm) <br />Southern Human Services Center <br />Chapel Hill, NC <br /> <br />Proposed Minutes <br />Attendees: Meg McGurk, Sherita Cobb, Tina Sykes, Anna Orr, Peggy Hamlett, Stephanie <br />Jones, Bernard Miles, Sharron Hinton, Penny Rich, Arianna Hinton, Conrad Weiden, Jay <br />Bryan, Donna King, Nick Allen, Raquelle Hawkins, Amanda Farris, Samathryn Witham, Tami <br />Pfeifer, Corrie Piontak, Pam Weiden, Susan Worley, Georgia Gamcsik, Robin Shores, Val <br />Hanson, Gayane Chambless, Kate Giduz, Matthew Herr, Denise Briggs, Rebekah Rapoza <br />(*Members in Bold) <br /> <br />Absent: Tracy Perry, Dana Graves <br /> <br />Excused: Carol McClelland, Kysha Thompson, Lee Barnes, Kristi Price <br /> <br />Welcome <br />The meeting opened with a welcome from Chair, Meg McGurk and introductions. <br /> <br />Guest Presentation <br />Matthew Herr, Policy Analyst with Disability Rights NC presenting on Raise the Age NC <br />• In NC there are approximately 200 youth in YDC and only 1 does NOT have a mental <br />health diagnosis; over 80% of the youth have 2 or more disabilities <br />• Almost half of law enforcement referrals for youth come from the schools for disorderly <br />conduct; kids with disabilities are more likely to engage in disorderly conduct in schools <br />and are twice as likely to be referred to justice system <br />• Currently in NC, all 16-17 year olds are automatically charged as adults (we are only 1 of <br />2 who still do this) <br />• Kids with disabilities already have difficulty transitioning into adulthood and adding an <br />adult criminal record into the mix make things even more difficult <br />• Since 2006, some form of Raise of the Age legislation has been introduced every year; in <br />2013 a misdemeanor only bill passed in the House but died in Senate <br />• This year things are looking more optimistic because of organizations who have recently <br />joined the movement, including law enforcement <br />• Chief Justices Commission recommends: <br />o All 16-17 year olds are tried as juveniles except A-E felonies (violent) <br />o More victim involvement, including being able to appeal not filing a petition <br />o Increase information sharing among law enforcement <br />• 84% decline in YDC commitments from 1998 to 2015 (1360  217) <br />• Current estimation is $53 to $60 million per year to implement under Chief Justices <br />recommendation; Independent studies show that we will have about $50 million net <br />savings per year <br />• House Bill 280 was filed in March with lots of support (reflects Chief Justices <br />recommendation); some bills were also filed in the Senate – 1 matches House Bill and the <br />other is a misdemeanor version only bill