CITY OF PASADENA AD HOC COMMITTEE ON YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION

October 4,2007 City Hall Council Conference Room 100 North Garfield Avenue, Pasadena

MINUTES INITIAL MEETING

Chair Bogaard called the initial meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Youth Development and Violence Prevention to order at 7: 10 p.m.

CALL TO ORDERJINTRODUCTIONS

Members Present: Bill Bogaard, Mayor of City of Pasadena Victor Gordo, Councilmember of City of Pasadena Steve Madison, Councilmember of City of Pasadena Jacque Robinson, Councilmember of City of Pasadena Pastor Jean Burch Consuelo Rey Castro, President of PCC Board of Directors Sue Miele (for Jeanette Mann), Member of PCC Board of Directors Tim Kelly, Altadena Town Council Esteban Lizardo, President of PUSD Board of Education Renatta Cooper, Member of PUSD Board of Education Ed Honowitz, Member of PUSD Board of Education

Ex Officio Members: Jacquelynne Corby, Office of Senator Jack Scott Jarvis Emerson, Office of Assemblymember Anthony Portantino Kathryn Barger-Leibrich, Office of Supervisor Michael Antonovich

Members Absent: None

Staff Janet Pope-Givens, Adjutant to the Chief of Police Brian Williams, Pasadena Assistant City Manager Bernard Melekian, Pasadena Police Chief Jane Rodriquez, Pasadena City Clerk Patsy Lane, Pasadena Human Services and Recreation Director Dr. Takashi Wada, Pasadena Public Health Director Connie Orozco, Pasadena Chief Prosecutor Theresa Fuentes, Pasadena Assistant City Attorney Lieutenant Lisa Perrine, Pasadena Police Department Horace Wormely, Pasadena Human Services and Recreation Beverly Bogar, Pasadena Recording Secretary

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The Chair recognized Member Steve Lizardo, President of PUSD Board of Education, who requested that Ed Honowitz, PUSD Board Member, be added to the Ad Hoc Committee and Tom Selinske, PUSD Board Member, to be added as an alternate Committee member.

The Chair opened discussion on the issue and expressed confidence that should the Committee officially recognize a third PUSD representative position, the City Council would ratify the suggestion. The Committee agreed by consensus to add a third PUSD representative and alternate, and to maintain the current standing of the ex officio members representing Senator Jack Scott and Assemblymember Anthony Portantino.

BROWN ACT ORIENTATION BY CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE

Deputy City Attorney Theresa Fuentes distributed and reviewed a hand out entitled the Ralph M. Brown Act, and responded to questions. The Committee was also briefed on Brown Act regulations pertaining to non- agenda items, special meetings, and closed sessions.

ESTABLISHMENT OF RULES OF ORDER AND QUORUM

Deputy City Attorney Theresa Fuentes summarized the rules regarding the establishment of a quorum and following discussion, the Committee agreed by consensus that a quorum would consist of six voting members of the Committee. The Committee also agreed by consensus that an alternate member would count towards quorum only if the principal member is not present.

There was consensus that Robert's Rules of Order would be used as a Committee guideline in conducting Committee meetings.

ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR

It was moved by Member Madison, seconded by Member Gordo, to nominate Member Lizardo and Member Jacque Robinson as Vice-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Committee. (Motion unanimously carried) (Absent: None)

MEETING SCHEDULE AND LOCATION

The Chair introduced the item and suggested rotating the meeting locations between each of the member agencies.

Mr. Brian Williams, Assistant City Manager, proposed meetings be held throughout the community, providing geographic diversity, and also suggested that the Committee meet twice a month for a period of six months. Member Renatta Cooper suggested that consideration be given to holding meetings at locations that are accessible to the population of the public most impacted by the issues of violence.

Member Sue Miele suggested meeting at the Community Education Center (CEC), noting community accessibility.

City Clerk Jane Rodriguez reviewed the City's public meeting calendar for the next several months.

Vice-Chair Robinson suggested a Saturday morning meeting to attain input fi-om a population of the community who may be unable to attend on a weekday and to provide an opportunity to engage youth.

Following discussion, the Committee agreed by consensus to meet on the first and third Thursday each month at 7:00 p.m. for the next two months at various locations to be determined and to continue discussion of hture meeting locations and dates at an upcoming meeting.

REVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE CHARGE

Lieutenant Lisa Perrine was introduced as the Police Department's representative and Chief Melekian provided an update on the Police Department's efforts in combating youth violence in the community and recent activities regarding youth violence in the area. He summarized the historical nature of local crime, the shift towards youth gang violence, and outlined the details of the program "Operation Safe City" and the Police Department's shift to a fugitive apprehension unit.

He reported on a reduction in the level of violence in totality, but an increase in the number of homicides, and identified the categories used in its assessment:

1. Murder rate 2. Part one violent crime rate 3. The number of community groups requiring briefings

(measuring public confidence in terms of general safety) 4. The number of Neighborhood Watch meetings requesting

updates 5. The number of calls for service related to this issue

The Chief asked that the Committee look at identifying community resources, modes of accessible transportation for at-risk youth, and to reach out to young people who are striving to do the right thing. IIe referenced the Fuller Youth Initiative Report on Thriving that focuses on at-risk youth that have succeeded in avoiding youth violence and the factors that lead to their success.

The Chief noted that the City is not in the middle of a crime wave, but that the issue of youth violence is something that needs to be addressed. He stated some of the root causes can be pinpointed towards individuals released from prison attempting to re-establish authority in certain neighborhoods, as well as issues of race, economic issues, and public education.

Following discussion, Member Gordo requested information on the profiles of known perpetrators in terms of how many are members of local gangs and how many are parolees. He also requestcd the same information for the background of the victims involved in youth violence.

Member Madison requested a presentation regarding the Citizens Police Academy, scheduling a police ride-along for the Committee, and a briefing on juvenile court and correctional agency programs.

Member Tim Kelly asked that the Fuller Report be shared with the Committee.

Discussion ensued regarding the working relationship between the Pasadena Police Department and the Altadena She r i f f s Department, and the strategic similarities of the crimes in Pasadena and Altadena.

Member Miele addressed the public health model of youth development emphasizing prevention and intervention and indicated it would be good to look at the thriving indicators identified by Mr. Peter Benson of the Search Institute, who focused on development assets and researched the 40 things that make kids successful.

REVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE CHARGE

The Mayor reviewed the September 17, 2007 City Council minutes in which the Council's formal motion was adopted and identified the Committee's purpose.

Member Kelly suggested the Committee's goals be established and that the goals have a measurable value to track progress. Member Honowitz suggested that the Committee look at programs from other communities that have been successful in combating this issue.

Following discussion, Member Kelly was asked to work in conjunction with Ms. Linda Wagner of Fuller Seminary regarding the possibility of Ms. Wagner making a presentation at the next Committee meeting on the Fuller Report.

Member Madison suggested the Committee consider forming subcommittees to address the various areas of need.

ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER COMMITTEE SUPPORT

Ms. Janet Pope-Givens, Adjutant to the Chief of Police, reviewed the administrative objectives of the City Council in terms of identifying and coordinating an inventory of programs amongst the different agencies, recommending ways to improve coordinated efforts and services, scheduling meetings, and staffing subcommittees. She also asked that each of the partnering agencies share in the costs of the Committee by rotating the hosting of each of the Committee meetings.

INVENTORY OF LOCAL SERVICES ADDRESSING YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION

Ms. Patsy Lane, Director of Human Services and Recreation, distributed a handout entitled, Children and Youth Services Program - Fiscal Year 2008, and it was suggested by Member Kelly that rather than review each program, that the Committee might consider having an executive council look at the big picture.

Member Gordo noted the work being done by Day One and The Partnership, and suggested the Committee review somc of the work of previous efforts and to invite those agencies to provide presentations on what the needs are for at-risk youth today in order to identify what programs might make a difference.

Member Rey Castro stated it would be helphl if the inventory provided by Ms. Lane included information on how many people arc being served by each program, as well as what areas of the City are being served by each program. She requested an overview from PUSD regarding the resources being made available by the School District in terms of such things as vocational programs, as well as an overview from PCC regarding the programs and resources offered in technical careers.

Member Miele distributed and reviewed some material regarding PCC's technical career programs designed for high school students, and suggested that this type of material and information be provided to the Committee prior to the next meeting for their review. She asked that the inventory identify the method used to get a particular segment of the community engaged in the programs.

Member Gordo suggested PUSD and PCC provide information on high school graduates that continue on to four-year college programs, and those that continue on to community college programs such as PCC. He also requested information on those graduates that do not continue their

education, and information regarding why they are not continuing, and where they are ending up.

Member Jean Burch referenced Pastor McCall's comments to the City Council regarding youth violence being a mental health issue and suggested it be looked at from that perspective. She noted her participation in a Congressional Black Caucus session entitled Stolen Childhood - How Youth Violence Destroys Lives and Fractures Communities, and suggested a presentation from Pastor McCall to the Committee might be appropriate.

Following discussion, Member Cooper stated she would prefer to receive this type of information prior to Committee meetings, and would rather spend meeting time on creative problem solving, agendizing future issues, and looking at current programs. She asked to see the demographics of those individuals that are being served by the inventory of programs. She commented that there appears to be a vast un-served and underserved constituency in our community and the Committee should be focusing on the unmet needs of these individuals.

Member Madison briefed members on a presentation received at the Economic Development and Technology Committee meeting regarding the City's First Source Hiring Program, the Workforce Investment Board, and the Enterprise Zone. He gave examples of reported difficulties by local businesses to find local skilled people who are able to participate in these agency's programs, and stressed the need to do a better job of informing and training the community in these types of jobs, suggesting that if at-risk youth felt they had a future in the community, they would not resort to violence.

Member Gordo concurred, noting the increase of labor unions who have been unable to hire enough apprentices to keep up with demand, and suggested that at-risk youth who are not going to college should be provided the information and training for these types of programs.

Ms. Pope-Givens stated the intent of the inventory was to provide an overview of what is being provided to meet the needs of the community in an attempt to identify where there are gaps of service and then target these areas to fill unmet needs.

The Chair noted that it would be helphl for one of the other primary agencies to offer to play a leading role in the formulation of the agenda for the next meeting.

Ms. Lane responded to the suggestion that the Committee be provided an overview of where the strengths and weaknesses exist within the inventory of programs, noting strength in prevention, the need to build on activities at the middle and high school level, the need to embark on prevention

activities discussed by the Committee, the need to do more with first-time offenders, and the need to address the job issue of youth and young adults with a slightly checkered work history, no work experience, or without any direction on how to proceed in life.

Member Rey Castro stated since career technical jobs require an educated workforce, there are very few entry level basic skill jobs, which creates a need to get high school students to PCC, and she emphasized the need get young people prepared and moved into programs that include at least two years of community college.

Ms. Lane responded to questions regarding how the inventory areas were selected and received Member Kelly's request that a brief description of the inventory list include non-profits, a classification of programs by category of need, as well information identifying which children are being impacted by each program and the effectiveness of the programs.

Member Honowitz summarized how some agencies have been operating, referenced the "Verdugo School to Career Collaborative" organization, and encouraged the Committee to look at the best practices and program structures the City might emulate in order to best address these issues. He suggested the data on the California Healthy Kids Report, which surveys youth about their perceptions on a variety of issues, would be informative. He also encouraged the Committee to attend a meeting on Sunday, November 4, 2007, at the Pasadena Senior Center, that will focus on how cities and schools can collaborate in order to address the issue of youth violence.

The Mayor noted the need to address Items 9 and 10 on the agenda, the possibility of additional comments from around the dais, and opened the floor to public comment.

There was public comment from the following individuals:

1. Ms. Emily Stork, Rose Bowl Riders, who spoke on the difficulty in finding students to award scholarships they offer, and suggested that accessible transportation bc an item of discussion.

2. Ms. Najeeba Syeed-Miller, Western Justice Center, reported on the community engagement piece of their study which is scheduled to be completed in the next three to four months. She noted that the findings of many assessments and inventories are outdated, while the Western Justice Center measures its performance in terms of best practices related specifically to gang violence prevention. She suggested an increased collaboration between City, community and school resources, to look at existing studies that have been done in Pasadena, and to build on those processes.

(Chair Bogaard was excused at 9:08 p.m., and Vice-Chair Lizardo assumed the Chair)

Mr. Tony Massengale, of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, spoke regarding the "Foothill Cluster", stated that Pasadena is a community trying to heal itself, but having difficulty moving from identifying the problem/issue to creating a solution. He distributed a handout entitled, "Pasadena Altadena Vision 2020 Strategic Action Framework" and suggested the Committee utilize the fi-amework of the handout that identifies eight points that should be included in the Committee's plan. He also suggested that the Committee utilize the Advancement Proiect in Los Angeles Report, which was released in January 2007 by Civil Rights Attorney Connie Rice, noting it is a comprehensive study on the future of youth and gang violence. He also referenced a national study that was issued 2007 by the Justice Policy Institute in Washington, DC, that lays out evidence on what has worked, has not worked and why, and responded to questions regarding the report. He noted that there is a problem that speaks more to the public health, mental health, and community health issues and we must engage and involve not just youth, but children and young adults.

Chief Melekian commented that many of the Police Department's gang intervention plans are based on David Hume7s book No Matter How Loud I Shout, a three-year study of the LA juvenile justice system. He reported two significant statistics that came out of the study: that of all the youth arrested for the first time, only 16% went on to account for 67% of all the subsequent arrests in that group, and that 52% in the same survey youth were never arrested again. He concluded that the problem is being unable to determine whether we are dealing with the 16% or the 52%.

Vice-Chair Robinson noted emails received regarding organizations and individuals that have already conducted assessments such as the Flintridge Foundation and based on their research, they had a list of where they felt the unmet needs of the at-risk youth existed, and she asked that the list be incorporated into the staff report and provided to the Committee members before the next meeting.

Public comment continued:

4. Ms. Lorna Miller, Office for Creative Connections, offered to share data with the Committee on a 10-year study conducted by Creative Connections that addressed how things have changed during the study years.

5. Mr. Ken Hardy, Chair of the Pasadena Human Relations Commission, expressed an interest in assisting the Committee in formulating goals and/or implementing objectives.

6. Ms. Versie Mae Richardson, Alkebu-lan Cultural Center, commented on the need for developmental intervention of children at an early age, reported on the success rate at Alkebu-lan, and offered Alkebu-lan's assistance.

Vice-Chair Lizardo stated that a member of the public, Mr. Robert Barber of the Northwest Commission, was not able to stay, but had submitted a public comment card and had also faxed a comment. Vice-Chair Lizardo noted for the record Mr. Barber's concern that Northwest residents should have a seat at the table of the discussions that effect their lives. He noted the email consisted of one and a half pages and due to time restraints it would be read in its entirety, but wanted to make sure that it was noted on the record and to try to address the issue going forward.

Vice-Chair Lizardo suggested the Committee go back to Agenda Item 6, Review of the Committee Charge, and establish a location for the next meeting.

REVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE CHARGE (Continued)

Member Rey Castro proposed that a group of three Committee members work on proposed charge language and come back to the Committee. Vice-Chair Robinson and Member Rey Castro volunteered to work on the proposed language for the Committee charge.

Member Kelly suggested hiring a third party consultant similar to the Rand Corporation, giving them 30 days to review and disseminate the inventory list, review best practices, and incorporate their analysis in order to best provide instructions to the Committee on how to proceed and how best to address the gaps for at-risk youth programs.

Member Rey Castro expressed support and suggested that a consultant may better provide an understanding of the City's problem areas and target population.

Vice-Chair Lizardo suggested that Vice-Chair Robinson and Member Rey Castro review this idea of utilizing a consultant or third party resource and provide suggestions at the next meeting, along with the potential expansion of the Committee's charge, and a discussion of a potential budget for the Committee.

Ms. Kelly Russell, Pasadena resident, spoke in opposition of hiring a third- party consultant and suggested the Committee inform themselves utilizing existing resources and do the work themselves.

Ex Officio Member Jackie Corby indicated that representatives from the probation and correctional system should be utilized to provide an additional resource for the Committee. She noted that these agencies may have data that

could be of value when reviewing the inventory profile and analyzing the unmet needs of the community.

Vice-Chair Lizardo requested information from probation services, and to obtain the reports for the Committee that Mr. Massengale referenced.

Member Kelly reiterated his earlier suggestion to see if Fuller Seminary would be available to provide a presentation on its study.

Following discussion, it was noted that the Advancement Studies Report and the Justice Policy Report are both accessible on the internet, and members were encouraged to read these reports.

Ex Officio Member Jarvis Emerson volunteered to assist Vice-Chair Robinson and Member Rey Castro to formulate the Committee charge, and questioned whether any of the inventory programs are seasonal.

Member Corby indicated it would be helpful for the next agenda package to include information on the First Source Hiring Program as it relates to what has been done to address the needs of at-risk youths.

Member Rey Castro recommended that a list of reports that can be accessed fiom the internet be included in the next agenda report, or emailed to the Committee for their review.

In response to the title of the Justice Policy Institute Report, Vice-Chair Robinson indicated she would forward the information to Ms. Pope-Givens, who would then forward the information to the Committee members.

The City Clerk advised the Committee that a webpage has been set up and as information is received it will be updated and made accessible to the Committee and the public. Vice-Chair Lizardo asked that the webpage include a feature for the public to communicate with the Committee.

Vice-Chair Robinson offered final comments and asked that the Committee not only address the youth, but parents, the business community, and to engage the entire City of Pasadena and Altadena in the process.

Following discussion, Member Rey Castro volunteered to host the October 18, 2007 Committee meeting at Pasadena City College, Community Education Center (if available), at 7:00 p.m. and indicated she would contact Ms. Pope- Givens regarding utilizing their video production staff.

Vice-Chair Lizardo thanked the staff, the Ad Hoc Committee, and the public for their support and comments.

ADJOURNMENT

On the order of Vice-Chair Lizardo, the meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee adjourned at 9:50 p.m.

Mayor Bill Bogaard, Chair Ad Hoc Committee on Youth Development and Violence Prevention

Beverly Bogar, Recording Secretary