OPENING AND CLOSING STATEMENTS

OPENING STATEMENT
TOMMY WELLS, CHAIR
COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

PUBLIC OVERSIGHT ROUNDTABLE ON

“THE DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH REHABILITATION SERVICES LEAD
ENTITIES/SERVICE COALITION GRANTS
AND
FACILITIES ISSUES AT THE NEW BEGINNINGS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CENTER”

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009, 10 A.M.

ROOM 412

Good morning, my name is Tommy Wells and I am the Chairman of the Council’s
Committee on Human Services. I would like to call this Public Oversight Roundtable to order.
Today is Wednesday, September 23, 2009, and we are in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson
Building. The time is now 10 ___ a.m.

The Committee is meeting today to conduct a Public Oversight Roundtable of ongoing

reforms at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. Specifically, the purpose of this
Roundtable is to provide representatives of DYRS and of the DC Children and Youth Investment
Trust, Corp., an opportunity to describe the purpose, the process, the costs and the expected
outcomes of two recently awarded grants to “Lead Entities” to manage DYRS committed youth
placed in the community through “Service Coalitions” comprised of community-based service
providers.

DYRS will also be asked to respond to concerns regarding the security and operational
integrity of facilities at the recently opened New Beginnings Youth Development Center in
Laurel, MD.

By way of background, on November 28, 2008, DYRS and CYITC announced their
intention to award two multi-year grants ranging from $2.875 million to $3.875 million during an
initial 18-month grant period. At the Committee’s June 10 Public Oversight Hearing of DYRS,
Director Vincent Schiraldi announced the preliminary selection of Progressive Life and the East
of the River Clergy, Police, Community Partnership (ERCPCP) to serve as Lead Entities. Grant
agreements between the Children and Youth Investment Trust, Corp., acting on behalf of DYRS,
and Progressive Life and ERCPCP were finalized during the month of August. Under the terms
of the Grants, the Grantees are to serve as the “coordinator, funder, and capacity builder for the
Service Coalition provider network to ensure that the services, supports and opportunities that
are indentified in the youth’s case plan . . . . are readily available and delivered through
community-based providers approved by DYRS.”

I am pleased that we are joined today by the Honorable Eugene Hamilton, former Chief
Judge of the DC Superior Court, and Chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Youth Safety and
Juvenile Justice Reform, which recommended many of the reforms that are underway at DYRS.
I look forward to hearing his views on the progress that has been made to date at DYRS,
particularly as they relate to the Lead Entities/Service Coalition approach.

I am also pleased that we have been joined by the leadership of the Lead Entities that
have been selected, as well as officials from CYITC and DYRS. I look forward to hearing how
these parties plan on working together to ensure successful outcomes for the youth who are
committed to DYRS – to ensure their safety and that of the public, first and foremost.

How will success under the Lead Entities approach be measured? What is the procedure
that will be followed in the event of disagreements between the Lead Entities and the DYRS case
managers regarding the appropriate placements for youth? What are the criteria by which
placement decisions will be made? These are the types of questions we will ask today.

That said, I look forward to receiving the testimony we are about to receive, and would
like to invite the first witness to the witness table.
 CLOSING STATEMENT

That concludes this Public Oversight Hearing of the Committee on Human Services. I
would like to thank all the witnesses who participated today. The next meeting of the Committee
on Human Services will be Monday, October 5, when we will hold a hearing on the use of
federal stimulus funds by the Department of Human Services. If there is no further business
before the Committee at this time, this hearing is adjourned. The time is _____.

(Format modified by S Cambria, 9/23/09)