Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC)

November 2024 JCPC Meeting

The next Wake County Juvenile Crime Council meeting will be held virtually on Thursday, Nov. 21, noon–2 p.m. Members of the public can access the meeting through this link.

The N.C. Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice partners with Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils (JCPC) in each county to galvanize community leaders, locally and statewide, to reduce and prevent juvenile crime. JCPC board members are appointed by the county Board of Commissioners and meet monthly in each county. The meetings are open to the public, and all business is considered public information. N.C. Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice allocates approximately $23 million to these councils annually. Funding is used to subsidize local programs and services.

JCPC

Each JCPC has the responsibility to:

  • Review the needs of juveniles in the county who are at risk of delinquency or who have been adjudicated undisciplined or delinquent
  • Review the resources available to address those needs
  • Prioritize community risk factors
  • Determine the services needed to address those problems areas
  • Develop a request for proposal for services in need
  • Submit a written funding plan to the county commissioners for approval
  • Evaluate program performance
  • Increase public awareness of the causes of delinquency and strategies to reduce the problem
  • Develop strategies to intervene, respond to and treat the needs of juveniles at risk of delinquency
  • Provide funds for treatment, counseling, or rehabilitation services.
     

Powers and Duties

Juvenile Crime Prevention Council have the following powers & duties:

  • To ensure that appropriate intermediate dispositional options are available
  • To provide funds for treatment of juveniles
  • To increase public awareness of the causes of delinquency and strategies to reduce the problem
  • To assess needs of juveniles in the local community
  • To develop strategies for delinquency prevention through risk assessment
  • To assess resources to meet the identified needs
  • To develop or propose ways to meet those needs
  • To plan for a permanent funding stream for delinquency prevention programs
  • To evaluate program performance.
     

Juvenile Crime Prevention Council members work to fund these types of services and programs in their local communities:

  • Clinical Treatment Programs
  • Clinical Evaluation and Assessment Services Structured Day Programs
  • Residential Services
  • Restorative Justice Programs
  • Structured Activity Programs
    • Counseling
    • Sex Offender Treatment
    • Home-based family Counseling services
    • Emergency Shelter Care
    • Specialized and Therapeutic Foster Care
    • Group homes
    • Restitution/ Community Service
    • Teen Court
    • Mediation/Conflict Resolution
    • Mentoring
    • Skill Building
       

More information on the specific policies

General Statutes

General Statute 143B-851b

General Statute 143B-851b sets out that it is the intent of the General Assembly to develop community-based alternatives to youth development centers and to provide community-based delinquency and substance abuse prevention strategies and programs.

The statute also says that the General Assembly intends to provide non-institutional disposition alternatives that will protect the community and juveniles. These programs and services are to be planned at the local level by local Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils (JCPCs) in partnership with the state.

To receive funding for juvenile court services and delinquency prevention programs, the county Board of Commissioners must appoint a Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. The council includes the local school superintendent(s), a chief of police, the local sheriff, the district attorney, the chief court counselor, the director of the area mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse authority, the director of the county department of social services, the county manager, a substance abuse professional, a member of the faith community, a county commissioner, two persons under the age of 18, a juvenile defense attorney, the chief district court judge, a member of the business community, the local health director, a representative from the United Way or other nonprofit agency, a representative of a local parks and recreation program and up to seven members of the public to be appointed by the county board of commissioners. The statute allows for some of the listed public agency heads to designate a representative from their agency for the council.

Each year, the JCPCs conduct a planning process which includes a review of the needs of juveniles in the county who are at risk of delinquency or who have been adjudicated undisciplined or delinquent and review the resources available to address those needs. The Councils then prioritize community risk factors for youth, for families and for the community and determine the services needed to address those problem areas. The councils develop and advertise a request for proposal process and submit a written plan of action for the expenditure of juvenile sanction and prevention funds to the board of county commissioners for its approval. In addition, the JCPCs evaluate the performance of programs for juveniles and the services they provide, work to increase public awareness of the causes of delinquency and of strategies to reduce the problem, develop strategies to intervene and appropriately respond to and treat the needs of juveniles at risk of delinquency and provide funds for services for treatment, counseling, or rehabilitation for juveniles and their families.

N.C. Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice Regional Consultants from the Prevention/Intervention Division provide technical assistance and support to each JCPC, to county government for juvenile justice planning and fiscal management and to local programs for program development and compliance with operating and performance standards.

The Intervention and Prevention Division state office provides overall program planning and management to assure uniform service standards, coordinates and provides training and consultation for local staff, collects data, responds to legislators’ and other requests for information or recommendations, and develops policies and procedures for the Division. The N.C. Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice through the Intervention Division, manages aid to county funds allocated from the North Carolina General Assembly for county government development and continuation of local juvenile justice programs as planned and recommended by the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Councils.

JCPC Committees

The Wake County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) work is organized across the following committee structure to meet the council’s legislative mandates.

Executive Committee

This Committee consists of the JCPC Chair and Vice Chair, the County Manager’s Designee, chairs of each standing committee and the Chief Court Counselor. The Executive Committee sets the calendar and agenda for JCPC meetings and in accordance with JCPC by-laws has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the full JCPC when time is a factor.

Community Relations Committee

The purpose of this committee is to increase public awareness of the causes of juvenile delinquency, youth gang activity, risk and protective factors related to both, as well as strategies to reduce the problem. Activities include contributing to the JCPC’s Comprehensive Annual Plan, sharing resource information and developing strategies for communicating with the community, such as brochures, information on the JCPC website, and forums or other events as needed. 

Chairs: Ann Godwin

Funding Committee

This committee is responsible for developing strategies to intervene and appropriately respond to the needs of Wake County youth at risk of or involved with juvenile delinquency and youth gang activity and their families. Strategies are identified based on the JCPC Annual planning process. The work of this committee results in a continuum of care that includes programs and services based on the findings of the JCPC Annual Planning process.

This committee will lead program scoring, RFP interviews, funding deliberations and reporting back to the board the funding recommendations made in deliberations for a final full-board vote.  

Chairs: Darryl Blevins, VACANT

Program Support and Accountability Committee

The purpose of this committee is to review and monitor JCPC-funded programs to ensure quality programming, performance, and accountability. Activities include quarterly monitoring and six-month site visits of funded programs, providing information and referrals to agencies for strengthening their programs and contributing to the JCPC’s Comprehensive Annual Plan. This committee works closely with the funding committee in developing the Request for Proposals (RFP), establishing criteria for rating the proposals, and facilitating the funding allocation process. 

Chairs: Ruth Sutherland, Vacant

Racial Equity Committee

The purpose of this committee is to increase awareness about racial disparities in juvenile justice, identify strategies to reduce the problem, and assure that racial equity is considered during all phases of the funding process. This committee works closely with the Data and Bi-annual Plan, Program Support and Accountability, and Community Relations Committees. Activities include gathering data from various sources to identify areas where racial disparity impacts juvenile delinquency; identifying and organizing racial equity training for the JCPC members and JCPC-funded programs; providing information to the public about racial equity issues in the juvenile justice system. 

Chair: Sharif Deveaux

Wake JCPC Commitment to Racial Equity in Juvenile Justice means:

  1. Acknowledging the existence of systemic/institutional racism that creates privileges and benefits for white people (white privilege), while creating burdens and disproportionate involvement in the juvenile justice system (discrimination) for people of color.
  2. Investing resources to ensure that the policies, procedures, practices and environments of organizations who impact the lives of young people demonstrate a commitment to mitigating the effects of racism and white privilege on people of color.
  3. A commitment to racial equity includes, but is not limited to: the stated purpose of a program; the inclusion of people of color in the decision making process of the organization; consistent racial equity training by the organization with evidence of implementation of best practices based on that training; collaboration with other organizations dedicated to racial equity; and
  4. Funding and Supporting programs that are committed to racial equity. Funding and supporting programs in a way that is impartial and consistent and allocates resources in a racially equitable way. 

JCPC Members

Members

Local School Superintendent/designee Dr. Paul Walker
Chief of Police/designee

Julie Little

Local Sheriff/designee Amber Israel-Berryman
District Attorney/designee Vacant
Chief Court Counselor Eric Andrews
Juvenile Defense Attorney

Sharif Deveaux – Chair of the JCPC

Mental Health/designee Eric Johnson
Director of Social Services/designee Kimberly Newsome
County Manager/designee Duane Holder
Substance Abuse Professional Ruth Sutherland
Member of Faith Community Vacant
Member under 21 Vacant
Member under 21/Family Member of At Risk Youth Vacant
Chief District Court Judge Rep

Judge Ashleigh P. Dunston

Member of Business Community Jasmin Volkel
Health Director/designee Vacant
United Way or Nonprofit Vacant
Parks & Recreation Representative Vacant
County Commissioner Commissioner Donald Mial
Member at Large Dr. LaShawn Hewitt - Vice Chair of JCPC
Member at Large Ann Godwin
Member at Large Max Shafir
Member at Large Darryl Blevins
Member at Large Jonathan Glenn
Member at Large Wayne S. Wallace