5/6/08 -- On Tuesday, May 6, 2008, NCJFCJ published a full-page ad in the Reno Gazette-Journal in response to the article published in the RGJ on April 30, 2008 on our recent settlement with the Department of Justice. For ease in reading, we are presenting the text of the ad in this format.

NCJFCJ is very grateful for its wealth of supportive friends and colleagues around the country – Click here to read a sampling of their messages of support.

Dear Members of the Community,

This letter is written to clarify the record and to put into context the misleading news reports of the past several days about the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. As I am sure you can appreciate, these recent developments have caused a great deal of distress and concern among the membership, stakeholders and funders, as well as the staff and leadership of our organization, which remains dedicated to improving our nation’s juvenile and family court system.

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (the Council) is a voluntary membership, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that each and every judge who handles juvenile and family court cases has the necessary tools to provide excellent service to those most in need in our court systems. Our programs include extensive education and training for over 20,000 judges, family law attorneys, social workers, case workers and justice system representatives and organizations each year. This training enables these professionals to help the thousands of community members who find themselves navigating their way through juvenile and family courts, ranging from families dealing with adoption, divorce, visitation, child support and juvenile delinquency, to juveniles with substance abuse problems, victims of child abuse and neglect, and domestic violence.

One of the divisions of the Council, for example, is the Permanency Planning for Children Department (PPCD). With over 517,000 neglected and abused children in foster care in the United States, judges and court personnel are continually challenged to find the best solutions for children and families. PPCD plays a crucial role in working with judges, jurisdictions and communities nationwide to improve outcomes for children who have suffered enough already. Likewise, our Family Violence Department is known throughout the country for its leadership in training and producing cutting-edge materials. The Juvenile and Family Law Department focuses on training programs for judges, probation officers, attorneys and others related to delinquency and family law issues, and the National Center for Juvenile Justice, our research arm in Pittsburgh, spearheads critically needed research in this arena. The Council is passionate about ensuring the very best outcomes for those we are asked to help and continues to research and produce publications and training programs to that end.

We are celebrating 70 years of excellence in leadership and judicial education, and we take pride in the fact that the services we provide to the community have been recognized across the country. The training and resources for judges provided by the Council are critical components in the development of  improvements to the juvenile and family court systems. Our ongoing mission is to ultimately provide the very best outcomes for children and families in communities across the country.

With regard to the recent news stories about our organization, we wanted to set the record straight about the facts concerning the recent civil settlement agreement between the Council and the Department of Justice. In 2005, an employee of the Council was terminated. The employee filed a civil suit against the Council. The suit contained allegations concerning our administrative procedures regarding the recording of time spent on different federal grants some time ago. The Council was contacted by the Department of Justice and cooperated fully and completely in responding to their inquiry. Following a lengthy review and in the course of examining our procedures, we determined that it was in our mutual best interests to resolve the case through settlement rather than engage in litigation. It has always been our goal to comply with all governmentally required record-keeping procedures, and we have taken steps to ensure that our record-keeping is as transparent as possible. We have adopted new software and administrative mechanisms to ensure that the Justice Department will never have such concerns again.

The Justice Department also looked into the question of whether there were any conflicts of interest that should have been disclosed. Specifically, there was a concern about the Council engaging the services of the husband of our now-Executive Director, Mary Mentaberry. Ms. Mentaberry’s husband, Michael, was engaged over the course of four years (1997-2001) to locate space for the Council’s offices in downtown Reno. Contrary to the reports that have appeared in the press, Mr. Mentaberry was never hired by our current Executive Director. Rather, he was hired by previous executive directors at a time when Ms. Mentaberry was an employee of the Council. She neither hired him nor negotiated any of his contracts. Additionally, he was not paid by the Council for his services. As is standard in the real estate industry, his fees were paid by the building owners. These contract negotiations and relationships were transparent and never questioned by our auditors or the Department of Justice.

As a recipient of federal funding, the Council is required to submit financial and program reports regularly to the U.S. Department of Justice. Internal accounting procedures monitor the expenditure of funds. Additionally, for over 30 years, the Council has undergone an annual audit performed by Kafoury, Armstrong and Company. The purpose of these audits is to ensure that our books are accurate and meet the highest standards of accounting practice. In fact, our current Executive Director has worked diligently to improve administrative standards within the Council since her appointment in 2004. At no time was there ever any suggestion, much less allegation, of any criminal wrongdoing. This was a civil inquiry. The Court made no findings of fraud or conflicts of interest, and neither the Council nor the Executive Director admitted to any wrongdoing. The parties made a business decision to settle these issues. We determined that it was in the best interests of the Council and its long relationship with the DOJ to settle these issues and resolve their concerns. The DOJ indicated at the end of the process that they had no interest in pursuing this case further. Certainly our commitment to improving practice to better outcomes for children and families in the justice system has not wavered. The bottom line is that the Department of Justice conducted an investigation, and we cooperated fully. We have resolved all their concerns and the matter is closed.

The community should be aware that the former employee continues to pursue her individual wrongful termination case as is her right. The Council stands behind its decision to separate the employee and we will deal with this as any employer would deal with a human resources situation.

The Council has embraced Reno as its home for nearly forty years. We bring a great deal to the State of Nevada. Our 110 employees – attorneys, researchers, domestic violence experts and practitioners, child welfare and juvenile justice professionals, social psychologists and others – have brought significant recognition to the community during the Council’s tenure here. A recent economic impact study conducted by the University of Nevada, Reno indicated that the Council’s positive impact on the State economy is $19.5 million annually. We have contributed to the community by conducting Town Hall Meetings and community events, participating in events of other child and family service organizations, serving as a partner to the University of Nevada, Reno and the National Judicial College, and also partnered with other community organizations as our opportunity to give back to our home city and state.

Our organization has maintained the highest standards in programming and provision of services. Our integrity and reputation are recognized within the State of Nevada and nationally. The Executive Director of the Council has devoted over 35 years to this work and this organization, and, all total, the 110 current employees have nearly 700 years of commitment to the NCJFCJ and its many successful initiatives. Mary Mentaberry is a leader of the highest caliber; she has the full support and confidence of our organization’s leadership, and has been nationally recognized for her service to the field.

We are proud to be members of the Reno community and look forward to continuing to serve children and families all over the country through the volunteer efforts of our leadership and membership. We welcome any questions or concerns, and thank you all for your historic and future support of this immensely important work.

Hon. Susan B. Carbon, President, NCJFCJ
Concord, New Hampshire