CJCC Minutes 05-06-2026

1 Minutes of the Manitowoc County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Manitowoc County Communications and Technology Building May 6, 2026, 4:45 p.m. Attendance: Present: Probation & Parole Supervisor Jennifer Zick, Vice Chairperson –DA Jacalyn LaBre, Clerk of Court Angela Linderud, Chairperson – Judge Mark Rohrer, Chief Ben Meinnert, Stacey Ledvina, Amanda Keagle, Tom Denk, Kevin Haese (representative for Sheriff Dan Hartwig), Lori Fure, Jerome Mutchie Absent/Excused: Attorney John Bilka, Attorney Ann Larson, Chief Paul Granger, Tyler Martell, Supervisor James Falkowski, Supervisor Nicholas Muench Chair Judge Mark Rohrer called meeting to order at 4:47 p.m. Quorum present and Attendance sheet circulated. Consideration and correction, if any, of the March 4, 2026, council meeting minutes, no questions or corrections. Motion made by DA Jacalyn LaBre to accept minutes, second by Probation & Parole Supervisor Jennifer Zick. Motion approved. Introduction of Jerome Mutchie, ICS at Manitowoc County Human Services No public comment and opportunity closed at 4:55 p.m. Updates: Manitowoc Youth Intervention: Stacey Ledvina – Youth Justice is very busy with referrals. The program is still accepting deflection and diversion referrals from Law Enforcement only. No other referrals are being accepted at this time. The program may need to put a pause on referrals soon as a result of numbers and staffing. The council was provided information on a youth justice virtual convening occurring on June 18th, 2026. This will be a virtual training centered on current research and effective practices in youth justice proceedings. The convening will feature structured dialogue with local partners in a shared location, along with peer learning focused on common challenges and practical solutions. Attendees will form multi-disciplinary teams to participate in the one-day virtual event. Stacey asked for those interested to notify her. She plans to register the team the week of May 11th, 2026. Space to meet will be reserved at the human services Hamilton Street building, with a focused goal for those interested in the 2027 state-wide summit. Drug Court: Amanda Keagle- Program currently has 10 participants; 3 female and 7 males. 1 possible participant on deck, who is male. 1 termination pending. 2 participants working on obtaining GED and 1 that obtained their HSED within the last week. 1 participant is working full time and 2 others working part time. 0 participants in residential treatment programs. Program held a graduation ceremony on May 6th, 2026. Length of time in the program for the graduate was 16 months. Team held an All-Client meeting on March 18th, 2026 and provided all participants with a copy of the newly updated Participant Handbook. This update was significant to the program as the phase structures were redesigned and a total of 2 months was added to the length of the program. A minimum of 60 days was added to phase 2 and 60 days to phase 3. This change is due to newly released treatment court standards. The Alumni group is meeting monthly and is planning the drug court picnic scheduled for August 15th, 2026 at the Lincoln Park Fieldhouse. The group has applied to the city of Manitowoc for a waiver of the fee to rent the fieldhouse. The Wisconsin Association of Treatment Court Professionals state conference in the WI Dells occurred the week of April 20th. Almost the entirety of the team was in attendance this year for the conference, with the exception of those who had other conferences or engagement responsibilities. The team was also joined by the program’s 2 peer support specialists and a past graduate / alumnus 2 who came to represent the program and speak on a graduate panel. The team plans to discuss the takeaways from the conference at the next team meeting scheduled later this month. The program is preparing to apply for the next 5-year grant cycle. This next grant cycle is competitive and is opening earlier than what is typical as a result. The program has been asked to provide a presentation on the program at the HSD board meeting that is scheduled for May 28th, 2026. Discussion: Chief Ben Meinnert discussed the importance of encouraging more law enforcement officers/representatives to attend drug court regularly. He states that he hears members of the community speak about the lack of SUD recovery resources in the community and it would be nice to get the word out on the recovery resources that are available like drug court and the Lighthouse recovery community center. Amanda Keagle mentioned the letter to law enforcement that participants must write as a condition of graduation from the program. She stated that the letter is supposed to be written to a law enforcement officer that made an impact on the participant. She states that for quite some time, participants have been defaulting to writing letters to drug court team members only and encouraging more law enforcement presence at drug court could help to bridge the gap between the recovery community and law enforcement in a meaningful way. OFR Presentation: Jerome Mutchie-provided the council members in attendance with a presentation on the Overdose Fatality Review Board that is being established in Manitowoc County. Jerome presented on the mission, purpose, and process the OFR board will follow once it is fully functioning. Discussion: DA Jacalyn LaBre asked if the overdose cases would need to be cases which had been successfully prosecuted and closed. She stated that there are some cases where despite law enforcements best efforts, there is no evidence worthy of prosecution. This question was unable to be answered during the meeting. Jerome states that he will reach out to the OFR contacts/resources and follow up with the council. Kevin Haese asked if the cases set for review by the OFR board needed to be overdoses that resulted in death. Jerome answered by stating that they did need to be death cases and that this is based on the access that will be provided by the state of WI to databases that will provide much of the information being reviewed by the board. Chairperson Mark Rohrer suggested a committee be established of those interested to discuss the OFR board and provide oversight to the board prior to the council’s next scheduled meeting in September. Motion made by Chairperson Mark Rohrer, second by DA Jacalyn LaBre. Motion passed. Jerome to be made chairperson of this committee. Further development will be made at the next executive meeting. Jerome will supply the names of initial OFR board members at that time. Next Meeting: September 2, 2026 at 4:45pm, at the Communication and Technology Building; Executive Committee Meeting June 11, 2026 at 12:15pm in Branch 1 Jury Room. Motion to adjourn by Chairperson Mark Rohrer; Second by DA Jacalyn LaBre Meeting Adjourned – 5:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Amanda Keagle Drug Court Coordinator