Recast Advisory Board

RECAST ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES Wednesday, June 28, 2023 Third Floor GwMA Conference Room 6:00 PM 70 S. Clayton St, GA 30046 Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:02 and a quorum was not recognized. Approval of Agenda No vote was taken due to lack of quorum. Citizen Comments To participate in the Public Comments part of this agenda, you must register with the Advisory Board Secretary prior to the beginning of the meeting. Presentations will be limited to two (2) minutes per person and the Board will not respond to comment. Members heard brief comments from ● Aliza Gevirtz – Director of Engagement, Northeast Region (United Way) ● Mason Geer – Community Engagement Officer (Lawrenceville PD) Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes Approve Prior Meeting Minutes No vote was taken due to lack of quorum. General Discussion Board Member Check-In Members shared personal updates. Georgia Center for Opportunity Presentation & Update Jace Brooks of GCO shared that Better Work Gwinnett – GCO’s program serving ReCAST Lawrenceville – saw 16 referrals in April. That number increased to 36 referrals in May. The growth is primarily due to an increase in referrals through Imapct46 (another sub-recipient partner) of ReCAST Lawrenceville. GCO would like to explore connecting an additional program, Raising Highly Capable Kids, to the work of ReCAST Lawrenceville. Jace mentioned a program that supports daycare for employers, geears.org. Lastly, he shared that GCO is actively looking to improve its process for data collection – especially in the area of participant follow-up – within the next 120 days. This improvement is anticipated to provide greater data about who gets a job and, perhaps, how long they keep one. SAMHS Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Meeting Update ReCAST Lawrenceville Program Manager, Marcus Thorne, invited member Coni Brown to share her experience as part of a recent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) virtual call. The call was hosted by SAMHSA on 6/15 with key stakeholders in multiple grantee cities providing feedback in order to improve its NOFO process. (Note: a “NOFO” serves as a grant description, providing its general methods and purpose(s); a NOFO also provides clarity about qualified applicants and application guidance. SAMSHA desires to broaden its applicant pool.) Ms. Coni shared that the process was very informative and that she learned more about SAMHSA, in particular, the role of community “gatekeepers.” “Gatekeeper” was intended as a positive word for community members who help organize neighborhoods and communities. Community gatekeepers often serve as unofficial representatives of a place and/or its people. Member Hector Sanchez also joined the virtual call but was unable to attend the advisory board meeting. In his absence, Marcus shared some of Hector’s reflections which he received via phone call. Specifically, other ReCAST cities have more of an emphasis on violence prevention (and interruption). At least one of those cities focuses on a “train-the-trainer model” of youth engagement. Hector would like to see us incorporate something similar in our program to provide greater long-term sustainability. Project Manager Update Marcus welcomed the board to share ideas and/or communities that might be interested in hosting Chief Mullin (Lawrenceville Police Department) as the department seeks to increase its community engagement. Marcus has offered to help LPD bridge that engagement through ReCAST. Marcus shared an updated version of the National Night Out “one sheeter” with the board. The board shared significant and helpful feedback regarding the event. Eventually, Board Chair, Chanda Floyd-Bryant questioned the board’s scope of work and whether our advisory board should be so deeply involved in the process of event planning. Marcus agreed with her assessment and committed to involving the board via subcommittee. She affirmed this suggestion and encouraged us to move to other items. Other Business No additional business was discussed. Final Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:40 PM.