Family Violence Council

RESOURCES PRODUCED BY THE FAMILY VIOLENCE COUNCIL

Child Abuse Intervention Program - Recommendations for Implementation: The Family Violence Council approved this proposal at the November 17, 2010 meeting. The CA Penal Code requires that counties have an intervention program for individuals convicted of criminal child abuse. This proposal provides a pathway toward program creation and implementation.  

At the July 17, 2008 meeting of the Family Violence Council, members used the Death Review Team Summary (Word) to clarify the discussion about the 3 San Francisco death review teams. For more information about San Francisco death reviews, view the minutes from this meeting.

 

Click here for Family Violence Resources in San Francisco - Updated twice yearly by LEAP (Look to End Abuse Permanently) San Francisco, it provides valuable resources for providers looking for appropriate referrals for child, adult, and elder survivors of abuse. Resources include crisis intervention, shelter, counseling, and more.

 

Mandated Reporting of Family Violence in San Francisco (pdf): This document can help service providers and law enforcement personnel understand who must report child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse, and how that reporting is done in San Francisco.

 

BACKGROUND OF THE FAMILY VIOLENCE COUNCIL

 

In 1995, the Attorney General mandated the establishment of a Family Violence Council for each county. According to Section 5.190, the purpose of the Council is to:

  • Increase the awareness and understanding of domestic and family violence and its consequences; and
  • Recommend programs, policies and coordination of City services that may reduce the incidence of domestic and family violence onSan Francisco.

Vacancies on the San Francisco Council led to the dissolution of that body. In September 2005, a planning group composed of advocates in the domestic violence intervention and prevention community convened and asked the Department on the Status of Women to engage in revitalizing the Council. The July 10, 2007 introduction of the Family Violence Council legislation to the Board of Supervisors was sponsored by Mayor Newsom and Supervisors Maxwell and Alioto-Pier. The Rules Committee approved the legislation at the August 2, 2007 meeting, and the full Board approved it on its first reading on August 14, 2007 and its second reading on September 11, 2007.

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FAMILY VIOLENCE COUNCIL

 

Family violence can be defined as:

  • A pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to isolate, neglect, or gain/maintain power and control over an intimate partner, child, elder, and/or dependent adult.
  • Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of action that influence another person.

Most Family Violence Councils across the state only consider domestic violence in their work. The planning group revitalizing San Francisco's Council restructured the body to become an umbrella for the intervention and prevention communities in 1) domestic violence, 2) child abuse, and 3) elder/dependent adult abuse. Quarterly meetings will afford these communities an opportunity to exchange information and lay the groundwork for new collaborative efforts on cross-cutting issues such as language access, enhancing prosecutions, and follow-up to the Attorney General's Report on Domestic Violence. By creating a Council that includes consideration of all aspects of family violence, including child abuse and elder/dependent adult abuse, San Francisco's Family Violence Council will set a precedent for innovation and responsiveness among California counties.

 

GOALS OF THE FAMILY VIOLENCE COUNCIL

 

The Family Violence Council has 3 primary goals: to coordinate services and improve communication between the three communities; to analyze trends and data related to family violence in San Francisco, statewide, and nationally; and to advise the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor, and the Courts about these trends and other family violence-related issues.

 

MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY VIOLENCE COUNCIL

  • Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of San Francisco
  • Mayor
  • President of the Board of Supervisors
  • District Attorney
  • Chief of Police
  • Sheriff
  • President of the Commission on the Status of Women
  • Chief of Adult Probation
  • Chief of the Department of Emergency Management
  • Director of the Department of Public Health
  • Director of the Human Services Agency
  • Director of the Department of Adult and Aging Services
  • Director of the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families
  • Director of Child Support Services
  • Director of the Domestic Violence Consortium
  • Director of the Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention
  • Director of the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Council
  • Chair of the Batterer's Intervention Programs Subcommittee
  • Public Defender
  • Director of the Department of Animal Care and Control
  • Superintendent of San Francisco Unified School District

Meeting Information Page: Agenda, minutes, and schedule.

Press Release: June 12, 2007 adoption of the legislation

Family Violence Council Ordinance - passed September 2007