Directions: a publication of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Vol. 14, no. 1 (Spring 2008)

Directions

D A publication
of the Georgia

epartment of Juvenile Justice

Volume XIV, Issue No. 1 Spring 2008

COMMISSIONER'S CORNER

A s we approach the
Spring season of 2008, the priorities and strategic direction of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) remain essentially unchanged. They include, but are not limited to: improved public safety, a greater investment in community services, Commissioner Albert Murray the continued safe operation of secure juvenile facilities which also meet constitutional requirements, a continued emphasis on quality customer services, and seeking more balance in the juvenile justice system's overall delivery of services. As we seek new and creative ways to accomplish these goals, it is critical that we not lose sight of our core mission which is to improve the behavioral patterns of youth who have become a real threat to public safety as demonstrated by their behavior. Every decision made, every program implemented, and every initiative undertaken must focus on this group and be based on what we believe to be in their best interest. It is also critical that we make the absolute best use of our agency resources in working with this most difficult, but most important population.
In 2007, we saw an increased number of serious offenders enter the juvenile justice system with many special needs. They included youth with significant mental health issues, sex offender needs, a need for more alcohol and drug services, and youth with violent and explosive behavior who need to be under high security for long periods of time within our secure facilities. These are the types of youth we expect to enter the system and why we exist as an agency. These are the youth that we must concentrate most of our resources on as they are the youth who occupy beds in our secure facilities 24 hours a day,

seven days a week. Approximately 60-65% of the agency's operating budget is spent on this population to assure they are given the right kinds of opportunities for change and to also assure we are meeting our public safety mandate. However it is the following population that we must find a new and different way of dealing with in the future in order to demonstrate good fiscal responsibility and to otherwise assure the best use of resources.
In 2007, we saw an increased number of lower level offenders enter the system who were sentenced for a period of time to be served in a secure DJJ facility. I speak of youth who committed technical violations, status offenses, and other minor offenses. Current law allows for such a sentence requiring the agency to house these youth, in some cases, with more serious offenders. There should be consequences, but perhaps not as severe as called for by present practice and law. I believe there are a number of viable alternatives to detaining these youth in secure facilities. There is much debate on this issue, but we believe unless changes are made DJJ will need many additional beds to detain serious juvenile offenders in the next few years. Although unsuccessful in bringing about change this legislative session, I will continue to work at improving the juvenile justice system.
As we continue to push for needed system change and new ways of addressing juvenile issues, we want to highlight in this issue of "Directions" the internal initiatives and programs that continue to make a difference in the lives of many youth served by the agency. This also includes the many staff of DJJ who take their jobs very seriously and are trained to provide good professional services to youth from day to day.
-Commissioner Albert Murray

BOARD NOTES

BOARD MEMBERS VISIT DJJ FACILITIES

Members of the Board of Juvenile Justice have been getting out of the boardroom and into the field, taking time out of their busy schedules to visit DJJ facilities.

In December, Board Members Bruce Garraway and Dexter Rowland made visits to Regional Youth Detention Centers. The trips give the board members an opportunity to see firsthand how the facilities operate and how the staff there interact with the youth in their care.

"I had the opportunity to visit the Gwinnett RYDC. Gwinnett County has the largest school district in the state; with over 160,000 students enrolled, which in turn will produce more at risk youth," said Garraway. "Mr. Bell and his staff were very courteous and willing to take time out to educate and answer questions about the facility, the culture of today's youth and some of the challenges that face the facility and its staff. What is in place is clean and maintained, but the facility is aging and has run out of room. Moving forward this RYDC will need more resources as Gwinnett is quickly moving away from a rural county to an urban core."

Rowland visited the DeKalb RYDC, which marked his third visit to

DJJ Board Member Bruce Garraway with District 3B a DJJ facility. He said it was his goal to visit all of the agency's

Director Sheree Young and Gwinnett RYDC Director

Bedarius Bell at the Gwinnett RYDC.

facilities during the first two years of his board term.

"My visit to the DeKalb RYDC was very enlightening," Rowland said. "It helped me to have a clear understanding of the enormous responsibility DJJ detention center employees face every day and the limited amount of resources they have to do their jobs. I walked away with a great appreciation for the staff and the work that they do. Their compensation does not justly reflect the work that they do. I also walked away with a personal commitment to do all that I can as a board member to support their efforts."

STAFF APPOINTMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS

WRIGHT, PONDER AND HARPS RETIRE AFTER LONG CAREERS

Alicia Wright

Alicia Wright, a JPPS II in Walton County, retired at the end of January after a 33 year career with DJJ. Wright began her career in 1975, working in the Gainesville Community Treatment Center. She has also worked in court services in Winder and Gainesville and served as assistant director of group homes in both of those cities. Wright was in her last position for over two years.

Cathy Ponder retired from the Department of Juvenile Justice January 1 after 30 years of service with state government. She began her career with the

Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services and later worked as a secretary III in various offices within DJJ. She joined the newly created Office of Quality Assurance (the Office of Continuous Improvement) in May 1999. Ponder was promoted to administrative assistant, the position from which she retired.
Elfrida S. Harps retired on March 1, 2008 after 34 years with the Department of Juvenile Justice. Harps began her career with the Department in 1974 as a YDW (youth development worker) and later became a JPPS II. Harps worked all 34 years in the Paulding County Court Services Office.

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STAFF APPOINTMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS
WILSON RETIRES AFTER 33 YEAR CAREER

Lena Wilson, secretary III in the Office of Public Affairs, retired at the end of January after a 33 year career in state government. Wilson took her first job as a secretary/typist with the State of Georgia in 1974 at the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), where she worked for 13 years. She came to DJJ in 1987 and worked for the agency for 20 years. She spent 11 years working in the Office of Public Affairs, where she was responsible for providing assistance to office staff, as well as members of the Board of Juvenile Justice. She was also responsible for preparing for board meetings and keeping the minutes of those meetings.

Lena Wilson holds her vase com- "Lena brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to her position in the

memorating 33 years of service to Office of Public Affairs," said Office of Public Affairs Director Steve Hayes.

the State of Georgia.

"The kind of institutional knowledge she had is impossible to replace."

HEMBREE AND HILL RETIRE AFTER MANY YEARS
Phil Hembree (left), a property and supply supervisor II at the Marietta Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC), retired at the end of February with 34 years of service. Hembree began working at the Atlanta Youth Development Campus (YDC) part-time one month before he graduated from high school. Over the years, he served as a maintenance mechanic, trades supervisor, and a maintenance engineer. When the Atlanta YDC (which was renamed the Lorenzo Benn YDC) closed in 2000, Hembree transferred to the Marietta RYDC, where he also worked as a maintenance engineer, trades supervisor, and a juvenile correctional officer before being named to the position from which he retired.
Dianne Hill (right), a quality assessment & evaluation coordinator in the Office of Continuous Improvement, retired on August 1, 2007 after more than 13 years with DJJ. During her career with DJJ Hill also served as a regional health services administrator for the Office of Medical Services and senior staff nurse at the Macon YDC.
OCI Director Shirley Turner stated, "Ms. Hill possesses exceptional skills and was critical to the development of an effective medical quality assurance process."

PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
Tiffany Gooden has been selected as the new Juvenile Program Manager (JPM) for the Upson/Butts/Lamar Court Services Office (CSO) in District 4. Gooden has been employed in increasingly responsible positions by the department since October of 1999. Most recently she served as a juvenile probation and parole specialist III in the Henry County CSO. Gooden received her bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the State University of West Georgia.
Dr. Renza "Craig" Ferguson has been selected as the Director of the Macon Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC). Ferguson previously served as the assistant director at the Macon RYDC for three years. Prior to his work at the Macon RYDC, he served as a counselor at the Sumter Youth Development Campus (YDC) for two years. Ferguson holds a doctorate of education from the University of Sarasota and a master's of science administration from Georgia Southwestern and a bachelor's of science degree from Fort Valley State University.
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OPERATIONS

NEWELL JOINS OPERATIONS AS ASSISTANT DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

The Operations Division has a new assistant deputy commissioner.

Diana Newell joined DJJ as the second assistant deputy commission-

er for Operations on December 3, 2007. She has over two decades of

experience in juvenile corrections. Newell spent 21 years with the

Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, where she served as a

caseworker, clinical director for a detention center, statewide director

for the short-term care program and director of special placement

clients. She also worked for the Louisiana Office of Youth

Development, where she served as the deputy assistant secretary of

community based services. Newell has a bachelor's degree in human

services from Fitchburg State College and a master's degree from

Anna Maria University in counseling psychology.
Diana Newell, left, with Deputy Commissioner of

Operations Rob Rosenbloom, center, and Assistant

Deputy Commissioner James Frazier.

Newell has assumed the responsibilities formerly assigned to Deputy

Commissioner James Frazier. Those duties include supervision of

division office staff, coordination of the closure process for incidents, budget and personnel oversight and facil-

ity project management. Frazier now directly supervises community programs and RYDC operations.

DJJ HOLDS CONFERENCE FOR JUVENILE PROGRAM MANAGERS

The Department of Juvenile Justice, in recognition of the importance of front-line managers to ensuring quality care for youth committed to the department, held its first ever conference for Juvenile Program Managers (JPMs) in February.
The conference, held February 7-8, brought JPMs from around the state together in St. Simons Island to discuss a host of issues related to management. JPMs are responsible for managing juvenile probation and parole specialists (JPPSs), who are in-turn responsible for supervising youth in the community. At any given time, approximately 90 percent of youths committed to DJJ are in the community, so JPMs and their staffs play an essential role in ensuring service delivery.
"(Being a JPM) is an important job and it's time to focus on the skills and training you need," Deputy

Commissioner of

While DJJ

Operations Rob

does intend

Rosenbloom told

to open a

attendees during his

new YDC in

address on the con-

2009, there

ference's opening

is no way

day. "All of us here

the agency

today play a major

can build

role in the juvenile

enough to

justice system and Deputy Commissioner of Operations Rob k e e p u p

have a major stake Rosenbloom speaks to JPMs.

with growth

in its success," he added.

because the costs would be enor-

Population growth coupled with the rise in the number of designated felons, who must serve their sentence in a secure facility, Rosenbloom said, will make placing

mous. Building all the new facilities the agency is projected to need would cost $135 million, and operating them all would cost $48 million a year, Rosenbloom said.

and treating youth in the communi- DJJ, the legislature and Governor

ty imperative. By 2011 intake into Sonny Perdue have all recognized

DJJ facilities will have increased 27 the importance of increasing the

percent over its current level, capacity for community treatment.

Rosenbloom said, and there will be There are currently 25,000 youths

a n e e d f o r 4 0 0 n e w Y o u t h under community supervision, and

Development Campus (YDC) beds the average JPPS has a caseload

and three new 64 bed Regional ratio of 1:45. A ratio of 1:35 is a good

Youth Detention Centers (RYDCs). one, Rosenbloom Continued on next page

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OPERATIONS

JPM CONFERENCE CONTINUED

said, but 250 more new JPPSs are needed by 2011 just to maintain the current ratio.
"People can't continue to expect quality supervision if your caseloads are out of whack," Rosenbloom told the JPMs.
Approximately 120 DJJ staff members, both JPMs and assistant district directors, attended the conference,

where they attended sessions on succession planning, Balanced and Restorative Justice, legal and personnel issues, and many other topics.
"The primary purpose of the conference was really about building trust, developing competencies and empowering staff so that they can grow tomorrow's leaders," said Yvonne Saunders-Brown, assistant director of the Office of Training.

FISCAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
THIRD MANAGEMENT TRAINING CLASS GRADUATES

The DJJ Management and Leadership Development Training Unit graduated 11 agency managers from the third Management Development Program Class on February 21, 2008. The graduation ceremony was held at the Marietta Conference Center and Resort.

The graduates were nominated to the program by their supervisors. They met regularly for classes and did a great deal of work outside of class over the course of a year to successfully complete the program.
The graduates were:

Assistant Director of Training Yvonne Saunders-Brown congratulates Management and Leadership Development Training graduates.

Kimberly Porter, JPM-Lowndes C o u r t S e r v i c e s O f f i c e ; Kevin George, L i e u t e n a n t - B l a k e l y Regional Youth Detention Center; Cami Stokes, J P M - L a u r e n s Court Services Office; Cassandra Scott, JPPS III-Sumter Court Services Office; Shanntel Hanks, Lieutenant-Blakely Regional Youth D e t e n t i o n C e nt e r ; Lydell Chestnut, Assistant DirectorAaron Cohn Regional Youth Detention Center; Dennis Day, Assistant District Director-District 10; Kim Hanson, JPPS III-Floyd

Court Services Office; Rochelle Taylor, JPM-Columbus MultiService Center; Brian Hardeman, Transportation Officer-Office of Classification and Transportation and Tara Fields, SergeantBlakely Regional Youth Detention Center.
Dr. Thomas Coleman, deputy commissioner of Program Services, addressed the graduates. He told them to take what they had learned during their year of study and apply it in the workplace.

Coleman encouraged them to work toward promotion. He told the class to look at graduating from DJJ's Management Development Program as a step on the road to success. Many DJJ senior managers will retire in the coming years resulting in a need for skilled management staff to take their place, Coleman said.
"You don't know how far this is going to take you," he said.

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PROGRAM SERVICES

FIRST ANNUAL COUNSELING CONFERENCE: A QUEST FOR CHANGE

The most important person for a DJJ youth in a secure facility is the youth's counselor. Counselors are critical to the development of youth who are held in DJJ facilities. Therefore, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice is focusing on improving the skills and effectiveness of facility based counselors through training.
On January 29-31, DJJ held the first training conference specifically for facility based counselors in St. Simons Island, Georgia. Campus Operations and the Office of Training organized the event.

Dr. Susie Strickland's workshop, `Motivational Interviewing & Stages of Change' focused on shifting the responsibility to youth rather than mandating youth change. The information included a system for interviewing youth and working with the youth so that they will recognize and change behaviors on their own.
Dr. Tom Coleman, deputy commissioner of Program Services, called the counselor position one of the most important jobs in the facility.

Vinceint Vickers, who has been a DJJ counselor for only 7 months working at the Bob Richards RYDC, said the conference provided the opportunity to network. He said by getting to know the other counselors there would be more opportunities to discuss individual youth cases in order to determine how best to work with specific youth.
Thomas Hall, a 5 year DJJ veteran who works at the Savannah RYDC, agreed saying it was a chance to put names with faces and learn about what others are doing in their facilities.

The conference was the idea of Bill Parks, director of the Campus Programs Office in the Program Services Division. Parks says because the counselor is one of the most important direct care workers in DJJ, he felt it was important that all counselors received additional training in order to help youth who go through the secure facilities and return to the community.
Parks says, "It's important to have the counselors on the same page, thinking `Exit at Entry' throughout the time the youth is in a secure facility." He says he wanted to, "bridge the gap" between the counselors working in the different facilities. Parks says it's important that counselors in the RYDCs and those in the YDCs each know what the other is doing for the youth in order to make that youth's transition to the community as smooth as possible.
This conference was titled, "A Quest for Change," and part of the conference focused on changing how counselors work with youth in the facilities.

Jimmie Lee Hooks, a counselor at the Muscogee YDC, was named YDC Counselor of the Year at DJJ's first annual counseling conference. He is pictured with Muscogee YDC Director William Samuel, left, and Assistant Director Betty Brown Williams.
He said, "There are those who say, if you take a job like this, you should have your head examined. I say, if you don't take a job like this, you should have your heart examined."
Coleman challenged them to pick out the one youth that is the most difficult and work with that kid.
The three day conference brought together 85 DJJ counselors including Tyrone Kesler. Kesler, a DJJ employee since 1996, works at the Bill Ireland YDC. The message he received was to be, "more of a counselor (to the youth)."

The conference included workshops on victim services and evidence based practices.
The conference also provided an opportunity for counselors to understand their role in Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) compliance.
Deputy Commissioner of Operations Rob Rosenbloom, speaking to the counselors, emphasized MOA readiness. Rosenbloom told the counselors it was important for them to help the youth understand their rights in the facilities. He said interviews the Department of Justice (DOJ) will hold with youths will test the youths' knowledge in this area. He told the counselors part of their job continues to be to ensure the youth have a clear understanding of their due process rights.
Rosenbloom says the conference was important in order for counselors to recognize the important role they play in our facility operations and assist them in developing new skills and meeting their job responsibilities.

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AROUND DJJ

MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION MEETS AT AUGUSTA YDC

When the Governor's Commission on Mental Health Delivery met at the Augusta Youth Development Campus (YDC) in January, DJJ staff presented them with detailed information and some frank assessments of where the system needs to be improved.

Commission, asked Rosenbloom if there were opportunities to intervene with youth after they get in trouble but before they end up in the court system.

In August, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed a 15 member commission to examine the state's mental health system and report back to him with recommendations for making delivery of mental health and substance abuse services more efficient. The commission is made up of legislators, state officials, mental health professionals and citizens. The January 29 meeting was one in a long series of meetings the commission has held at state facilities.

DJJ Commissioner Albert Murray was on hand to welcome the commission to the Augusta YDC, which is dedicated to housing youths with special needs, and to provide the commission with an overview of DJJ operations. Deputy Commissioner of Operations Rob Rosenbloom and Rick Harrison, director of the Office of Behavioral Health, also addressed the commission and provided detailed information about how DJJ serves youth and what mental health services the agency provides to youth entrusted to its care.

Mental Health Commission Chairman Abel Ortiz and commission members, Lynda Hammond and Dr. Dev Nair tour Augusta YDC with Education Principal Audrey Armistad, followed by Director John Brady and staff.
Rosenbloom said that intervening early was a good option, but that more work needs to be done before that sort of system can be implemented.

One of the greatest challenges facing the agency, "I think there's a lot of work to do in Georgia to devel-

Murray told the commission, is growth.

op that kind of capacity," Rosenbloom said.

"The growth we're seeing in our department is consis- B.J. Walker, commissioner of the Georgia Department

tent with the growth we're seeing in the state of of Human Resources and a member of the Mental

Georgia," Murray said.

Health Commission, agreed with Rosenbloom and said

Murray said the department plans on opening one keeping youths out of the court system would require a more YDC in 2009, but also acknowledged that the change in values.

department needs to make better use of existing beds "The first decision we have to make is a value based by pursuing community based alternatives for low decision as a state," she said. level offenders.

Rosenbloom followed up Murray's comments, and told the commission how youths end up in the juvenile justice system. Youths get placed into the system for

Rosenbloom said low level offenders with mental health problems are prime candidates for community based treatment.

many reasons including running afoul of school zero "When you have low-risk kids who present mental

tolerance polices, a lack of supervision at home and health issues they present an opportunity to divert to

falling in with bad influences in the community, the community," Rosenbloom said.

Rosenbloom said.

Harrison, who spoke after Rosenbloom, agreed that

A b e l O r t i z , c h a i r m a n o f t h e M e n t a l H e a l t h many youth with mental health Continued on next page

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AROUND DJJ
MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION MEETS AT AUGUSTA YDC

problems who get committed to DJJ should be served computer application, certified construction, land-

in the community first.

scaping and horticulture classes.

"I don't think we should have to provide services As part of the tour, commission members also had an

behind the fence because there are no services on the opportunity to sit down with staff members for a ques-

other side of the fence," he said.

tion and answer session.

After the meeting, commission members went on a tour of the Augusta YDC where Director John Brady and Janice Shieh, the campus clinical director, were both on hand to show commission members the facility and answer questions.
The facility was recently the site of a $1.3 million renovation, which turned a former housing unit into a vocational education building which houses GED,

"I'm very impressed with this facility," said Commission Member Lynda Hammond after the tour. "There are good processes in place, and these clinicians are clearly doing this because it's in their heart."
The Governor's Commission on Mental Health Delivery is scheduled to report to the Governor on its progress in June.

DELEGATION FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM TOURS DEKALB RYDC

A small delegation of officials from the United Kingdom visited the DeKalb Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC) in November and left impressed with the facility, the agency and many of the procedures used here.

Peter Herbert, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) in London, England, said he was very impressed with a number of system programs including DJJ's educational system.
The group was hosted by the British Consulate-General's office in Atlanta. Members of the group included officials from the London Race Hate Crime Forum and the Trade Union and Professional Association for Family Court and Probation Staff (NAPO) in London. Interest in the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems in Georgia was the primary reason for the visit.

In addition to receiving an overview of the department from Commissioner Albert Murray, DeKalb RYDC Director Edward Boyd gave an overview of the facility followed by a Members of the UK delegation listen as DeKalb RYDC Sergeant tour.
Juanita Webster explains intake procedures.
Herbert, who has also presided over juvenile cases as a barrister in London, indicated DJJ was far advanced when comparing the agency operations and programs with similar programs in the UK. He noted the DJJ's superior suicide risk assessment procedures and Mental Health Case Management and tracking procedures. He also pointed to the facility's behavior level point card system used throughout DJJ.

Cordell Pillay, assistant general secretary with NAPO, lauded DJJ's Case Management and Juvenile Tracking System (JTS).
The group indicated they planned to take the information back home to discuss with decision makers in hopes of possibly implementing some of DJJ's programs or duplicating some of DJJ's successes.
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AROUND DJJ
DJJ GETS HIGH MARKS IN CUSTOMER SERVICE SURVEY

It's official. Employees of the Department of Juvenile Justice are taking Governor Perdue's customer service ini-

tiative to heart.

DJJ Scores on the Georgia Customer Service Quality Index

The Governor's Office of Customer Service, in collaboration with the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, developed a survey to measure customers' perceptions of service quality and workers satisfaction. This survey, conducted in 18 state agencies, was designed to provide a baseline measure of service quality, customer satisfaction, workplace quality and overall worker satisfaction.

The survey revealed that the vast majority of families who interact with juvenile probation and parole specialists, the front-line service providers to youth in the community, reported having a positive experience. Overall, DJJ had a score of 8o percent on the Customer Service Index (CSI), which measured customers' satisfaction with the agency. This score put DJJ at the top of the agencies surveyed. The mean CSI score for all agencies was 70 percent. Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents reported the specialists were courteous. Eighty-five percent said they were knowledgeable, and 83 percent said they were responsive. Eighty-two percent found the juvenile probation and parole specialist they dealt with to be helpful and 77 percent said they were accessible. The scores in all these categories exceeded the mean scores for all agencies surveyed.

"We're very pleased with the results," said Dr. Tom O'Rourke, DJJ's customer service chair. "It provides us with baseline data to help us in our planning and our efforts to meet the needs of our internal and external customers."

Juvenile probation and parole specialists also expressed a high degree of satisfaction with their jobs. When compared with the other agencies in the "Safe Georgia" category, the specialists' scores were above the average. Eighty-four percent said they had a good work/life balance, and 83 percent said they derived rewards from their work. The Safe Georgia category included DJJ and three other public safety agencies; The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, The Georgia Department of Driver Services and The Georgia Department of Public Safety.

The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice chose to survey their 390 juvenile probation and parole specialists and over 900 families of our youth served in the community by those specialists.

In comparison with all agencies surveyed, DJJ exceeded the mean scores in all categories of customer satisfaction as reported by the families served. These categories included responses in the areas of staff being accessible, courteous, helpful, knowledgeable and responsive.

In the areas of workplace satisfaction, the juvenile probation and parole specialists' responses exceeded or matched all Safe Georgia mean scores in all areas measured. These areas included participation in decisions and processes, equity and fairness of decisions, training opportunities, and recognition for quality work, leadership and work/life balance.
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OFFICE OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT HOSTS VISITOR

DJJ's Office of Continuous Improvement (OCI) hosted a visitor from California in December to assist that state in the development of a quality assurance system.
Joseph Mensah traveled to Georgia to learn as much as he could about Georgia's highly recognized quality assurance unit. He was introduced to the OCI evaluation process, met DJJ staff, interviewed staff and reviewed the DJJ Standards of Excellence and other documents. Mensah also shadowed the OCI South Region Team, led by Program Coordinator Jackie Dixon, during a comprehensive OCI evaluation at the Blakely RYDC.
While at the Blakely RYDC, Mensah was involved in the entire evaluation process from the beginning with the entrance conference, through the end with the exit conference.
Although county programs in California are semi-independent units from the state, the State of California annually audits all programs and services. Santa Clara County decided to create an in-house program evaluation unit to assess their own programs and services to

aid in continuous improvement and in preparation for outside audits. Mensah is responsible for leading and developing that unit. Presently, the Santa Clara County Probation Department uses a peer review process. Mensah was impressed with DJJ's comprehensive review generated by having a team of specialists. He indicated that his experience was educational and fruitful.
DJJ staff will be interested to know that Mensah's immediate supervisor is Sheila Mitchell, former DJJ deputy commissioner for the Office of Quality Assurance. Mitchell serves as the chief probation officer for Santa Clara County and is responsible for all adult and juvenile facilities and programs in that county.
OCI continues to be a model and a recognized leader in providing quality assurance services. If OCI can be of service to you or your facility contact the director Shirley Turner at (404) 508-6566 or a Program Coordinator; Jackie Dixon at (912) 884-5025 or Joe Lee at (770) 982-7813.

DJJ EMPLOYEES RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE

Two DJJ employees have been recognized by the Governor's Office for providing outstanding customer service. Shamela Salter, secretary II at the Bill Ireland Youth Development Campus (YDC) in Milledgeville, and Tim Felder, Interim Assistant Director of the Augusta Youth Development Campus, were both recipients of the "Governor's Commendation for Excellence in Customer Service," which is given quarterly as part of the Governor's Customer Service Recognition Program.

The commendation is given to recognize meritorious actions that

enhance the public image of customer service or improve the way

customer service is provided in Georgia. Nominees are selected

based on consistently high performance levels and a demonstrated

willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty to deliver excellent customer service.
Salter, who serves in the Marine Reserves, showed her dedication to customer service by continuing to provide assistance to customers

Shamela Salter, center, with Bill Ireland YDC Director Ronnie Richardson, right, accepts her Governor's Commendation for Excellence in Customer Service from Katie Christopherson from the Governor's Office of Customer Service.

and her DJJ co-workers back home while she was on military assignment in Japan. Salter, a corporal, was sta-

tioned in Japan in June where she worked processing orders for deployment.

Felder was recognized for creating a staff appreciation program at the Augusta YDC. The program has helped raise morale among staff, which has resulted in better customer service.

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SUMTER YDC YOUTH ENJOY FUN SATURDAY
South Georgia Technical College's Automotive Technology and Culinary Arts Programs sponsored a Fun Saturday at the Sumter Youth Development Campus (YDC) in Americus for the holiday season.
Selected YDC students were afforded the opportunity to play board games, watch Christmas videos, enjoy good food, interact with local businessmen and clergy while also enjoying listening to music and viewing restored cars.
Eddie Jones, owner and operator of Precision Automotive in Americus, Ron Akerman, pastor Warren Alford, attorney William J. Murray, South Georgia Technical College automotive instructor Wayne Gosa and culinary arts instructor David Finley helped brighten the holiday season for the youth at the YDC during the event.
A youth at the Sumter YDC gets a look at a
Jones brought a restored Pontiac with a souped-up sound system and Pontiac Trans Am as part of Fun Saturday. allowed students to enjoy listening to music and seeing the restored automobile. Alford shared his knowledge of strength training with the students and Akerman and Murray challenged the students to board games like Scrabble and chess.
Finley also talked with the youth about their future and encouraged them to take advantage of the opportunities available at South Georgia Technical College.
The youth were also treated to a meal of ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs and all the trimmings during the event, which was held in the Vocational Building on the YDC campus.

CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF CONTINUE HOLIDAY TRADITION

To help get in the holiday spirit, employees at DJJ's central office continued their annual tradition of holding a collection drive for Toys for Tots this holiday season.
Each of the office's four floors had a collection box, and 300 toys were collected. The third floor, which collected 111 toys, won a friendly competition to see which floor could collect the most toys. The Office of Public Affairs organized the drive.

"We had a tremendous response to the Toys for Tots drive, as I knew we would," said Steve Hayes, director of Public Affairs.

"Our employees do what they do because they care about young people, so it came as no surprise that they were willing to step up and make the holiday a little brighter for children."

Employees in DJJ's Central Office collected 300 toys for Toys for Tots. Taking up a collection for Toys for Tots is a DJJ tradition.

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Directions
Sonny Perdue Governor
DJJ BOARD
J. Daniel Shuman Chair
Dr. Edwin A. Risler Vice-Chair
Daniel Augustus Menefee Secretary
Larry Barnes Michael Lee Baugh
Bruce Garraway Van Ross Herrin James P. Kelly III Elizabeth Green Lindsey Perry J. McGuire
Judy Mecum Dexter Rowland Stephen K. Simpson Elaine P. Snow Sandra Heath Taylor
DJJ ADVISORY COUNCIL The Honorable Quintress J. Gilbert
The Honorable Steven C. Teske
Commissioner: Albert Murray
Editor-in-Chief: Steve Hayes
Writing Staff: Steve Hayes Nathan Cain
Editing Team: Nathan Cain
Ra'Chel Fowler
Publisher: Printed Communications, Inc.
Please direct comments or questions to:
Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice Office of Public Affairs
3408 Covington Highway Decatur, Georgia 30032 Telephone: (404) 508-7147 Facsimile: (404) 508-7341 Website: www.djj.state.ga.us

T he mission of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is to protect and serve the citizens of Georgia by holding youthful offenders accountable for their actions through the delivery of treatment services and sanctions in appropriate settings, and by establishing youth in their communities as productive and law abiding citizens.
AROUND DJJ
SCOUT COMPLETES PROJECT AT GRIFFIN RYDC
The Griffin Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC) has received some nice improvements, courtesy of the hard work of a DJJ employee's son.
Erik Pasto, a 15-yearold sophomore at Spalding High School and the son of Policy Coordinator Terri Kight, chose the Griffin RYDC as the site of his Eagle Scout project. Pasto, who has been involved in scouting since he was seven years old, is a member of Troop 1 in Griffin.
Eagle Scout candidate Erik Pasto stands in front of the
P a s t o d e c i d e d t o deck he covered at the Griffin RYDC. build a cover over an uncovered deck that youths use to access classrooms and the facility's medical clinic, which are separate from the RYDC's main building. The project was completed on September, 29, 2007.
All told, Pasto spent 43 hours working on the project, and 23 volunteers donated another 185 hours of work to get the project done.
In addition to the project, Pasto spoke to youths at the facility about Scouting and why he chose to do the project at the Griffin RYDC.
"The project has really meant a lot to the facility," said Griffin RYDC Director Pamela Mitchell.
"The awning has provided shelter for the youth and staff from the rain when they are in transition to class, before the youth were having to wait until the rain subsided. After his project was completed, he shared his experience with the youth at the facility. This allowed the youth to see that they to can do something positive with their time."
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