December, 2002 Greetings! Welcome to the first ever edition of The Ohio Partners In Justice Newsletter. This publication is funded by a grant from The Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council and is coordinated by The University of Cincinnati Center on Disabilities at Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Division of Developmental Disabilities. The Ohio Partners In Justice Project began when an action team was assembled through the research and fact finding team (rafft) of the Community Living Committee of The Ohio DD Council. This effort was led by DD Council Policy Analyst, Fatica Diana Ayers and Council Members Mary Lou Tucker and Gerald Plassenthal, who is now Chair of Ohio’s DD Council. As a dedicated parent, committed to this initiative, Mary Lou has been referred to as The "Godmother of Criminal Justice" in Ohio. The mission of The Ohio Partners In Justice Action Team is "to expand and improve community resources for individuals with developmental disabilities when they become involved in the criminal justice system." Please see the entire list of the Ohio Action Team, and for information on how to contact any of the team members, please see the last page of this newsletter. The goal of the action team is to fulfill its mission by providing cross training of law enforcement, criminal justice, and MR/DD personnel. The DD Council grant supports this coordinated training to happen on a statewide and local level as well. For a complete history of the Ohio Partners In Justice initiative, please see page 2 of this newsletter. On page 3, you will find the team leaders’ names and phone numbers where training is going to take place throughout Ohio during the next year. Please feel free to contact the team leader in your county or region of the state. You may also contact me via phone/fax or e-mail at the information listed directly below. If you have any suggestions for future activities, comments or questions, please be in touch. I know that by working together in a cooperative fashion, we can meet the needs of our fellow Ohio citizens with disabilities who become involved in the criminal justice system. Your Partner In Justice, John Romer The Ohio Partners In Justice ProjectIn the spring of 2000, Ohio was invited to send a multi-disciplinary team to the first national Partners In Justice conference in Washington, D.C. The event was sponsored by Temple University’s Institute on Disability and the Ohio team was assembled by The Developmental Disabilities Council Executive Director, David Zwyer. The Ohio DD Council provided the necessary financial resources for individuals to attend, as well. For several years counties across the state, including Cuyahoga, Hamilton and Summit have met regularly to address the needs of offenders with disabilities in the criminal justice system. The Partners In Justice Project was Ohio’s first attempt at developing a coordinated state-wide effort. One of the outcomes of the eight person team that attended the national conference was the commitment to conduct cross-training between MR/DD and criminal justice personnel. The Cincinnati Children’s Division of Developmental Disabilities (CCDDD), formerly the University Affiliated Cincinnati Center for Developmental Disorders, was selected by the Ohio DD Council as the grantee to provide the training, under the direction of the State Action Team, led by Chair Deb Bucilla, Superintendent of the Columbus Developmental Center. The CCDDD effort was led by Yvonne Fryberger, with John Romer as Project Coordinator, and Ami Alderman Brown as Conference Coordinator. The State Action Team conducted a state-wide Ohio Partners In Justice Conference, which was held in November of 2001. The Orient Correctional Institution’s Training Academy was chosen as the conference site, which was donated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The Orient facility had previously been operated by the Department of MR/DD, which added some history to the cross-training effort. Twenty-seven different county/regional teams were selected to attend the two day conference at no cost to the local teams. Each participating team had to be comprised of criminal justice, law enforcement and MR/DD personnel. Self-advocates and parents were encouraged to attend and participate on the local teams, as well. In exchange for complimentary participation in this conference, local teams committed to continue to work as a team and provide similar trainings to address the needs of their communities. At the "sold-out" statewide conference, Ken Ritchey, Director of MR/DD, Reginald Wilkinson, Director of Rehabilitation and Correction, and Gino Natalucci-Persichetti, Director of Youth Services, expressed their support of this initiative. Other presenters included Leigh Ann Davis from The Arc US and Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, who has been instrumental in promoting Mental Health Courts throughout the state. The second day of training, led by Drew Diamond from the Chiefs of Police Association, focused on effective team building. The Ohio Partners In Justice Action Team has been active over the past year presenting at local, state and national conferences about the objectives of the project. Presentations have been conducted at the Ohio Providers Resource Association (OPRA), Ohio Professional Association on Retardation (PAR), Ohio Correctional and Court Services Association (OCCSA) and most recently at The Arc National Convention (see page 4). The second year of the Ohio Partners In Justice Project provides for up to $2,000.00 for each county/regional team to conduct training in their local community. Ten different local teams representing 18 counties across Ohio applied for these funds from the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council. The counties must have attended the state-wide conference to be eligible for these mini-grants. A complete listing of the county team grantees is on page 3 of this newsletter. Please contact the team leader in your region for details about upcoming trainings. Hamilton County was the first grantee to conduct a training. Please see pages 3 and 4 for further details about this outstanding day of cross-training. Montgomery County has scheduled their event for January 20th at the University of Dayton (see page 4 of this newsletter for information.) In September 2002, the Ohio Team was invited to participate in the Partners In Justice III National Conference in Philadelphia. [Side Note: In 2001, Ohio DD Council Policy Analyst, Fatica Diana Ayers attended Partners In Justice II, which focused mainly on victims of crime who have disabilities.] The Ohio team attendees included: Fatica Ayers, Lee Balser, Barbara Brown, Michael Kontura, Glenn McCleese, Candace Peters, John Romer and Mary Lou Tucker. Other states invited to participate included New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Texas and Pennsylvania. The Ohio team was proud to report about the many positive happenings in our state. The report given at the National Conference included information about the state-wide conference, local county trainings, presentations, brochures and literature, and the development of a Partners In Justice newsletter (which you are NOW reading!) Governor Bob Taft’s Task Force on Victims of Crime, which focuses on abuse and neglect of people in the MR/DD system is a similar initiative. This effort is led by Lorain County Prosecutor, Greg White, who will be the keynote speaker for the training in Lorain County in the spring of 2003. This Task Force has been meeting for nearly a year and is sending recommendations to the Governor. The Ohio Partners In Justice Action Team hopes to tighten our relationship with the Governor’s Task Force, as well as implement some of the Task Force’s recommendations. The Ohio Partners In Justice Project will complete the second year in July of 2003, after eight more county trainings. The project coordinator is in the process of updating the list of resources to address the needs of our fellow Ohio citizens. We welcome your input, suggestions and comments for this initiative. Please contact the project coordinator via phone, fax or e-mail and attend training in your local community. The Ohio Partners In Justice Team is committed to move this important effort forward, and will continue to support local teams in their endeavors. Best wishes for much continued success with this initiative. HAMILTON COUNTY WELCOMES JUSTICE STRATTONOhio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton was the luncheon keynote speaker at the first Hamilton County Criminal Justice Symposium held on September 27th in downtown Cincinnati. An overflow crowd of 135 participants represented law enforcement officials, public defenders, prosecuting attorneys, self-advocates, parents and MR/DD staff. Ohio Director of MR/DD Ken Ritchey and Hamilton County Board of MR/DD Superintendent Cheryl Phipps welcomed the crowd to the five hour seminar at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Other speakers represented the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office, Columbus Police Department, Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, Blue Ash and Springdale Police Departments and Hamilton County Board of MR/DD staff. The event was organized by Mike Mudersbach and Malti Patel of The Hamilton County Board’s Training Division and supported by other members of The Hamilton County Partners In Justice Team, led by Jim Krumer, Supervisor with the Board of MR/DD. County Training 2002-2003 Team Leaders1. Hamilton County 2. Lorain County 3. Crawford County 4.Lucas County 5. Montgomery County (Also Champaign, Clark,Darke, Greene, Miami,Preble, Shelby) 6. Scioto County 7. Clermont County 8. Wood County 9. Logan County(also Union) PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLEThe Hamilton County Partners In Justice Team, under the leadership of Jim Krumer from The Hamilton County Board of MR/DD, has developed printed materials designed to support Advocates, Law Enforcement Officers and Attorneys.LAW ENFORCEMENT GUIDE ATTORNEY GUIDE ADVOCATE HANDBOOK To order these booklets, at no charge contact Mike Mudersbach at the Hamilton County Board of MR/DD (513) 587-7379 PARTNERS IN JUSTICE AT NATIONAL CONFERENCEThe Arc US National Conference was held in Columbus, Ohio on November 7, 8 and 9 at The Hyatt Regency Hotel. The Partners In Justice Team, was led by Lee Balser and Dr. Barbara Brown who presented on the "Ohio Plan". Self Advocates, parents and professionals from all across the country were able to hear first hand about the efforts being made in criminal justice training because of the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council Grant.Dr. Barbara Brown just recently retired after a long and distinguished career with the State of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Upon retiring, her last position was Director of Mental Retardation Services and Barbara was always an invaluable resource to county boards across the state. Congratulations and best wishes to Dr Brown in her retirement. As a long time advocate in the MR/DD System, Barb is going to stay active on The Partners In Justice Committee as a parent advocate. She is the proud mother of two grown daughters, one of whom has a developmental disability. The Partners In Justice Team welcomes Dr. Brown’s replacement with The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Shelli Branch as the newest member of our committee. We look forward to working with Shelli and congratulations to her on her new position! Save the Date:Monday, January 20, 2003, at the University of Dayton; The Montgomery County Team Presents "Training for Criminal Justice Personnel Interacting With People Who Have MR/DD." To Register call: (937) 229-4242OHIO PARTNERS IN JUSTICE TEAMDepartment of MR/DD Vicki Jenkins Glenn McCleese County Board Representative Department of Mental Health DD Council Member Provider Representative Department of Rehabilitation & Correction Department of Youth Services DD Council Staff Parent Advocate Office of Criminal Justice Services University Center on Disability Partners in JusticeCoorcinating MR/DD Services and the Criminal Justice System Sponsored by the Ohio Developmental Disabilities CouncilCincinnati Children's, Division of Developmental Disabilities, MLC 4002, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3039 | Home | About Us | Calendar of Events | Grants and NOFAs | Links | Publications and Products | Site Map | What's New | |