State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced Thursday the creation of a community effort to develop programming for juveniles intended to reduce recidivism rates and crime.
The Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee will review current juvenile diversion programs to determine how existing opportunities can be altered and enhanced. It also will look at how other jurisdictions across the country are addressing juvenile justice issues, with the prospect of bringing best practices to the 4th Judicial Circuit.
The effort will be led by Buddy Schulz, a partner at the Holland & Knight law firm who has long been involved with juvenile justice issues.
The first meeting is scheduled 9-11 a.m. Sept. 29 at Holland & Knight, 50 N. Laura St. Meetings will be open to the public and will be conducted according to Florida’s open government “Sunshine” Law.
A dedicated page on the State Attorney’s website is located at http://bit.ly/2xyFqiu.
The members of the committee are:
• Buddy Schulz (chair), partner, Holland & Knight
• Circuit Judge Suzanne Bass
• Vicki Burke, Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative coordinator, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
• Jim Clark, CEO, Daniel Memorial Inc.
• U.S. District Judge Brian Davis
• Pamela Davis, executive director of dropout prevention, Duval County Public Schools
• Rory Diamond, CEO, K9s For Warriors
• Kevin Gay, CEO and founder, Operation New Hope
• Nat Glover, president, Edward Waters College and former Jacksonville Sheriff
• Dr. Jeff Goldhagen, professor and chief of community pediatrics, UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville
• Shelley Grant, professor of sociology, Jacksonville University
• Marcus Haile, chief development officer, Cathedral Arts Project
• Gretchen Hamm, Comprehensive Service Center operations manager, Mental Health Resource Center
• Elder Lee Harris, Pastor, Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church
• Bill Hodges, government affairs and strategic initiatives director, Jacksonville Children’s Commission
• Alan Louder, director of juvenile diversion, State Attorney’s Office
• Michael Meyers, retired partner, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
• Lara Nezami, partner, Finnell, McGuinness, Nezami & Andux
• Deloris Patterson, assistant chief and Zone 5 commander, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office
• Circuit Judge Jack Schemer
• Anthony Stinson, community activist and small business owner
• Nina Waters, president, The Community Foundation of Northeast Florida
• Vicki Waytowich, project director, System of Care, Jacksonville Children’s Commission