Guilford County Juvenile Crime Prevention Bylaws

Section 1: Name

The name of this organization is the Guilford County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council.

Section 2: Mission

The Guilford County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council envisions a community where its youth are well-educated, healthy, law-abiding, and contributing members of society who respect the rights of others and themselves. 

Section 3: Purpose

3.1 To advise the Guilford County Commissioners as to the development of community-based alternatives to court-imposed incarceration and provision of community-based delinquency, substance abuse, and gang prevention strategies and programs. 

3.2 Specific duties of the Council include:

1. Assess the needs of juveniles in the community, evaluate the adequacy of resources available to meet those needs, and develop or propose ways to address unmet needs.
2. Evaluate the performance of juvenile services and programs in the community, including the evaluation of each funded program. The Council shall evaluate each funded program as a condition of continued funding.
3. Increase public awareness of the causes of delinquency and of strategies to reduce the problem.
4. Develop strategies to intervene and appropriately respond to and treat the needs of juveniles at risk of delinquency through appropriate risk assessment instruments.
5. Recommend to the Board of County Commissioners the funding to support services for treatment, counseling or rehabilitation for juveniles and their families, including court-order parenting responsibility classes.
6. Recommend to the Board of County Commissioners a plan for the establishment of a permanent funding stream for delinquency prevention services.
7. Develop strategies to intervene and appropriately respond to the needs of juveniles who have been associated with gang activity or who are at risk of becoming associated with gang activity.

3.3 Funding Policy

The JCPC shall adopt a funding policy to define the Council’s process under Section 3.2e, above, for reviewing and prioritizing applications in order to:

1. Ensure the planning process is the foundation for funding decisions;
2. Address the risk and needs assessment and prioritize needed services as identified in the planning process;
3. Establish a procedure for notifying applicants of award status during the approval process.
   The policy shall, at a minimum, include:
4. The process by which the RFP is developed and publicized each year;
5. General parameters for the establishment and publication of the timeline for submission of applications;
6. Guidelines for screening applications and establishing minimum criteria for determining which programs may present their proposals to the full JCPC; and
7. A general description of any scoring process that shall be followed by the Finance Committee including procedures for record retention of tools utilized to arrive at recommendations.
    

Funding Plan

The Risk and Needs Committee, a subcommittee of the Finance Committee, shall review the data from the NC Division of Public Safety for Guilford County to determine desired programs for funding of the Guilford County JCPC and areas of proposed program targets. The Risk and Needs Committee shall develop the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the fiscal year based on the data reviewed and committee input. This shall be presented to the Finance Committee to make a recommendation for the RFP at the appropriate JCPC meeting.

The RFP shall be presented at a full JCPC meeting for approval. If there are desired changes a quorum of the full Council shall vote and agree on a final RFP.

The RFP shall be published on the County website and published according to current applicable law. The RFP shall include, but not limited to, desired programs for the local JCPC, application submission procedures/requirements, deadlines for the submission of applications, and at least one (1) application orientation session.

After all applications have been submitted, the Council members shall review all applications independently and each member shall score each application as part of an evaluation process. The scoring plan must be approved by the current board members.

After the scoring of the applications by the membership of the Board, the Finance Committee shall meet to review the scores generated by the membership and to further vet each application. The Finance Committee will develop a proposed funding plan to present to the JCPC membership which shall include proposed funding for the State and Local County funds.

The JCPC Board will review the proposed funding plan and either adopt the funding or amend, change, or create a new funding plan which must be approved by a majority of the membership. 

The final Funding Plan will be sent to the County Board of Commissioners for their approval. If the Funding Plan is not approved by the Commissioners, and the Board of Commissioners ask for another plan, the JCPC Board shall develop a new funding plan for resubmission.

Section 1: Members

1.1 The Council shall be appointed by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and shall consist of no more than 26 members. Council members should include the following to the extent practicable:

1. Guilford County School Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee
2. Chief of Police or Chief’s designee
3. Guilford County Sheriff or Sheriff’s designee
4. Guilford County District Attorney or District Attorney’s designee
5. Guilford County Chief Court Counselor or Chief Court Counselor’s designee
6. The Director of the Area Local Management Entity or their designee
7. Director of Guilford County Department of Social Services, or consolidated human services agency,
   or that person’s designee
8. Director of Guilford County Health Department or Director’s designee
9. Guilford County Manager or Manager’s designee
10. A substance abuse professional
11.  A member of the faith community
12. A County Commissioner
13. Two (2) persons under age 21, or one person under age 21 and one member of the public representing
    the interests of families of at-risk juveniles
14. A juvenile defense attorney
15. Chief District Court Judge or a District Court Judge designated by the Chief District Court Judge
16. A member of the business community
17.  A representative from a United Way or other nonprofit agency
18. A representative of a local parks and recreation program
19. Up to seven members of the public to be appointed by the Guilford County Commissioners
     

1.2 The Board of County Commissioners shall modify the Council’s membership as necessary to ensure that the members reflect the racial and socioeconomic diversity of the community and to minimize potential conflict of interest by its members.

1.3 Members of the Council shall receive no compensation.

1.4 The Director of Court Alternatives and other persons appointed by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners shall be ex-officio members.

Section 2: Terms

2.1 Each member of the Council shall serve for a term of two years. Terms of appointment shall be for the fiscal year July 1- June 30. Members may be reappointed.

Section 3: Vacancies

3.1 Appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the remainder of the former member’s term.

Section 4: Attendance and Removal

4.1 Members are expected to attend.

4.2 Members are to attend meetings in person.

4.3 At any time that a Juvenile Crime Prevention Council member has received three unexcused absences within one year, the member will be considered a non-active member and will not be recommended for reappointment. The definition of “unexcused” is an absence for which a member does not contact the Chair or staff in advance. After three unexcused absences, the member shall be recommended to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners for removal.

4.4 A member shall be removed for malfeasance or nonfeasance as determined by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners. Malfeasance may include excessive absences from meetings as set out in § 4.3 herein.

Section 5: Resignation

5.1 A member of the Council may resign by giving written notice to the Chair of the Council. A resignation shall take effect at the time received by the Chair unless another time is specified therein, and acceptance of a resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective. 

Section 1: Regular Meetings

1.1 Regular meetings of the Council shall be held monthly on dates designated at the first meeting of the year. The routine location of regular meetings will be established at that time. Council members will be notified by the Secretary of any change in meeting location at least one week prior to the meeting.
 

Section 2: Special Meetings

2.1 The Council may meet from time to time in special meetings as necessary to conduct business matters of the Council at the request of the Chair.

Section 3: Voting and Conflict of Interests

3.1 Each member shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote. Voting on all matters shall be by voice or show of hands unless more than half of the members present at a meeting where there is a quorum shall demand, prior to the voting on any matter, a ballot vote on that particular matter.

3.2 Each member of the Council is entitled to vote on all issues coming before the Council, except where a conflict of interest may exist.

3.3 No member of the Council shall cast a vote on the provision of services or allocation of grant funds that would provide direct or indirect benefit to that member. This includes Council members who are on the Boards of Directors, are paid or volunteer staff, or are the family of staff or board members of service providers or potential recipients of grants. The member shall not participate in the Council’s discussion of the matter except to disclose facts and to respond to questions.

3.4 Any member for the Council shall disclose to the JCPC any conditions, commitments, or relationships with any organizations seeking or receiving funding allocations or other factors that might be, or perceived to be, a conflict of interest. Without limiting the forgoing, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s recommended Conflict of Interest Policy Template for JCPCs, a current copy of which is attached hereto as Attached A is adopted and incorporated as part of these By-laws (as it may be amended from time to time by NCDPS). All members must sign the conflict of interest disclosure form upon appointment to the JCPC and on a yearly basis at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Section 4: Quorum

4.1 A majority of the appointed members shall constitute a quorum.

4.2 A majority vote of the members present shall be required for passing a motion. 

Section 1: Nominations

1.1 Officer nominations shall be made from the floor at the regular May meeting.

Section 2: Personnel

2.1 The Council shall elect its own Chair and Vice-Chair annually at the first meeting of the fiscal year.

Section 3: Election Terms

3.1 Officers shall be elected annually by the Council membership for a term of one year and may succeed themselves.

Section 4: Duties

4.1 Chair: The Chair shall preside over all meetings and shall appoint special committees unless otherwise specified by the by-laws. The Chair shall act as an advisor to subcommittees he/she appoints, but not serve in a voting capacity on the subcommittee. The Chair will serve as the liaison with the Guilford County Board of County Commissioners, The North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and other groups or representatives that may be necessary and report on these activities to the JCPC. The Chair or his/her designee shall be responsible for notifying members of all JCPC meetings and special meetings. The Chair or his/her designee shall insure the recording of monthly minutes of meetings and shall insure the distribution of the minutes to each JCPC member with a copy forwarded to the Board
of County Commissioners. The Chair shall supervise the management of the Council in accordance with these Bylaws, and shall perform all duties incident to the office of Chair and such duties as may be prescribed by the membership from time to time.

4.2 Vice Chair: The Vice Chair shall serve as acting Chair in the absence of the Chair and as such shall have the same powers and duties of the Chair when presiding. In the event that the Chair does not compete his/her term of office, the Vice Chair may serve out the unexpired term of the Chair.
 

Section 1: Amendments

1.1 These bylaws may be amended or repealed, and new Bylaws may be adopted, by an affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Council at any meeting provided that prior written notice of said amendment has been given.

Section 2: Rules and Procedures

2.1 Unless otherwise designated, the Chair will be the public spokesman for the Council. All media contacts will be referred to the Chair.

2.2 Any action taken by specific members on behalf of the Council is appropriate as long as there is prior approval from the Council.

2.3 Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, the latest edition thereof.

Section 3: Appeals of Funding Decisions 

3.1 The JCPC and County Commissioners’ funding recommendations are discretionary decisions.
However, any agency that wishes to dispute a funding decision of the JCPC shall submit a written appeal to the Chair of the JCPC which must be received within five (5) business days of the date of the JCPC decision. This written appeal should be submitted to the Chair through the JCPC County Liaison. Any agency that wishes to dispute a funding decision of the County Commissioners must submit a written appeal to the Chair of Board of County Commissioners which must be received within five (5) business days of the date of the County Commissioners’ decision. This written appeal should be submitted to the Chair through the Clerk to the Board of Commissioners.

3.2 In all cases, a written appeal shall state the grounds upon which it relies. For each ground, it shall state what statutes, regulations, or NC Department of Public Safety, County Board of Commissioners, and/or JCPC policies or procedures are alleged to have been violated, a summary of the facts supporting each ground, and what action is requested. The appeal must also include supporting documentation.

3.3 The full JCPC will hear and rule on an appeal to it at the next regularly scheduled JCPC meeting. The County Commissioners will hear and rule on appeals to it at an upcoming regularly scheduled meeting.

3.4 If the JCPC decides an appeal unfavorably to the disputing agency, the disputing agency may then make further written appeals by delivering them by the following deadlines in the following order (the JCPC Chair will provide the relevant contact information in a written response): 1.) within five (5) business days to the County Manager; 2.) if denied by the County Manager, within five (5) business days to the County Board of Commissioners through the Board Chair; 3.) if denied by the Board of Commissioners, within (5) business days to the NC Department of Public Safety through the Area Consultant for Guilford County. If the County Commissioners decide an appeal unfavorably to the disputing agency, the disputing agency may make a further written appeal to the NC Department of Public Safety through the Area Consultant for Guilford County, which must be received within five (5) business days of the County Commissioners’ decision.