2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997
KATHERINE MUNTER
President
CAROLENE MARKS
Vice President
NIKKI CALMA
Commissioner
KAY GULBENGAY
Commissioner
DORKA KEEHN
Commissioner
JING XU LEE
Commissioner
ANDREA SHORTER
Commissioner
EMILY MURASE, PhD
Executive Director
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COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Members Present Staff Present
Commissioner Kay Gulbengay Executive Director Emily Murase, PhD Commissioner Dorka Keehn Administrative Analyst Laura Marshall Vice President Carolene Marks Policy Analyst Anu Menon
President Katherine Munter Grants Administrator Carol Sacco
Commissioner Andrea Shorter Policy Analyst Jill Tregor
Commission Secretary Cynthia Vasquez
Intern Hannah Belsky
Intern Holly Nishimura
Intern Christine Ulich
Excused: Commissioner Nikki Calma, Commissioner Jing Xu Lee
I. CALL TO ORDER/AGENDA CHANGES
Vice President Katherine Munter called the meeting to order at 5:10 pm and announced that there is an amendment to the agenda adding the resolution recognizing the St. Anthony's Foundation Marian Residence.
Action: Approved amended agenda.
m/s/c/ (Keehn/Marks/Unanimous)
No public comment.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Action: Approved draft minutes from May 12 and May 28, 2008.
m/s/c/ (Keehn/Munter/Unanimous)
No public comment.
III. EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS REPORT
A. Executive Directors Report
Dr. Emily Murase referred Commissioners to her written report and thanked Policy Analyst Jill Tregor for representing the Department at various meetings. Dr. Murase reported that Commissioner Jing Lee, Commissioner Carolene Marks and Ms. Tregor gave oral and written testimony at the California Commission on the Status of Women's public hearing on June 19 and spoke about the need to increase funding for services to victims of domestic violence, the urgent need to address human trafficking, and the importance of passing a state law reflecting the principles of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Dr. Murase was pleased to report that the Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Committee approved the adjusted budget proposed by the Mayor's Office that includes $500,000 that was restored to the Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention Grants Program. Dr. Murase introduced the 3rd summer intern, Holly Nishimura, who is a 2008 graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Biology and who has an interest in public health.
Commission Secretary Cynthia Vasquez announced that the Commission will now be using 3-ring binders for commission packets to reduce paper use and increase cost effectiveness.
Christine Ulich, a summer law intern with the Department, reported that the Marian Residence is an emergency shelter and a transitional place of housing for many homeless women of San Francisco. The residence offers meals, case mangers, mental health referrals, job training and money management help to its clients. The residence is funded by St. Anthony’s, and is women specific. More than 400 women pass through the residence’s doors every year. Beds are allocated by lottery every night at 7pm, and the average stay is 11 months. It started as a shelter in 1983, and will be closing its doors permanently at the end of August due to a decision by the St. Anthony's foundation: The Marian Residence receives no City funding. However, the Mayor's Director of Homelessness assured us that 58-60 beds will be brought into other shelters to offset the loss of the 58 beds in the Marian Residence. These beds will be dedicated in other shelters for women only. Secondly, the women who are currently at the Marian Residence are being placed in other programs based on their individual needs. And, the Mayor’s office has added $500,000 to the budget for women’s permanent supportive housing.
Commissioners requested that the Department continue to work with the Mayor's Office to ensure emergency services for women.
IV. CONSENT AGENDA
All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Agenda and are considered to be routine by the Commission on the Status of Women. They will be acted upon by a single roll call vote of the Commission. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Commission so requests, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as a separate item. Members of the public may speak on each item listed on the Consent Agenda.
A. Resolution Recognizing the Retirement of Broadcast Journalist Barbara Rogers
B. Resolution Recognizing the St. Anthony's Foundation Marian Residence
Action: To approve the Consent Agenda.
m/s/c (Gulbengay/Marks/Unanimous)
V. REPORTS
A. Health
Commissioner Marks attended an African American Cancer Conference of approximately 15,000 attendees. African American women under 40 years old are dying from cancer at alarming rates. Commissioner Marks is working with this group to develop legislation that will provide money to determine why women are dying of cancer at a younger age. She also is working with transgender women, as many die from health related issues that go unfound because insurance will not cover the cost of exams. Commissioner Marks is also working with a group addressing services for women with disabilities as well as a group discussing how to decrease obesity and diabetes in adults. Commissioner Marks is also interested in discussing pay equity.
Dr. Murase reported that the Department is trying to set up a follow-up meeting with Deputy Health Director to discuss the women's health position, but due to the budget season it has been difficult. Dr. Murase will update the Commission once a meeting has been set up.
B. Justice & Courage
Commissioner Keehn reported that Senior Policy Analyst Jill Tregor continues to attend the Batterer's Intervention Advisory Group of the Adult Probation Department (APD) which is composed of the various batterers intervention program of San Francisco. The group works to improve the process of batterer referrals to intervention programs, as well as improve the APD oversight of the programs. Commissioner Keehn is pleased to announce that the Project Manager position for the JUS.T.I.S. was not eliminated in the Mayor's budget. At the last JUS.T.I.S. Council meeting, Chair Kevin Ryan , Director of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, concern over the general fund money being used to fund this system.
The Justice and Courage Governance Council met on June 24 to discuss recruiting new panel members. The Council welcomed recommendations. The Justice and Courage Oversight Panel will hold its annual retreat on Wednesday, July 16.
C. Violence Against Women (VAW) Prevention and Intervention Grants Program
The contract agreements for the VAW Prevention and Intervention Grants Program have been completed and are signed and are now with the City Attorney's office for review and signature.
The Funding Committee will meet in the 2nd week of July to allocate the $500,000 restored by the Mayor's Office. The Commission will vote on the recommendations at the July Commission Retreat. Commissioner Gulbengay suggested waiting until the Board of Supervisors has approved the final budget before allocating the restored funds and any possible add-backs. The Board of Supervisors is due to approve the budget in late July.
D. Family Violence Council
The next Family Violence Council meeting will be held on July 17 with the location to be determined. Former Commissioner Andrea Evans will continue to serve on the Council, as the Commission's designee. The agenda will include a report of the 3 death review teams: Child Abuse, Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse.
E. Girls Committee
Commissioner Andrea Shorter reported that the Girls Committee is on hiatus for the summer as some current members will are terming out and/or on vacation until September. The Girls Committee has had many accomplishments in the first year and a half, including the Girls Social Service Directory which is currently being published by Assemblymember Fiona Ma's Office.
The Department has discussed different ideas of how to revise the Committee's format. One possibility is to hold quarterly meetings of girl service providers and their girl clients to discuss possible collaborations, exchange information, and to discuss and explore girl issues.
F. Language Access
Ms. Tregor reported the Department worked with the Office of Language Services on a grant application which would fund a pilot program to improve the language fluency and domestic violence knowledge of bilingual officers and direct service staff at criminal justice agencies.
G. CEDAW
Dr. Murase and Policy Analyst Anu Menon met with Pauline Tark of New York to provide technical assistance on how New York City can pass CEDAW Ordinance, modeled on the on in San Francisco. The current New York Mayor does not support the broad coalition of community-based organizations who are trying to pass the Human Rights Ordinance.
The Department continues to work with the Mayor's staff to incorporate gender into the budget guidelines. Mayor Gavin Newsom has stated his support for introducing gender budgeting in the next fiscal year.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
A. Economic Empowerment of Disadvantaged Women
Lateefah Simon, founder of the Center for Young Women's Development and a MacArthur Fellow who currently works the District Attorney's Office, discussed how young women who have chosen to be mothers survive in today's world. Ms. Simon explained that she is in the process of producing a brochure educating people on young women and pregnancy. Many teen mothers decide to stay home and raise their children, relying on Aid to Families for Dependent Children for income.
Ms. Simon explained that women with children have a 60-month time period to receive general assistance. General Assistance is a safety net that is now being taken away. Once a client is on assistant under Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), the client must then seek training or a job. The Federal policy states that if clients receiving TANF must work a 32 hour week. Many clients are forced to take low paying jobs that do not support their families adequately. Also, under TANF clients are not eligible for services if you've been arrested for a drug offence.
Commissioner Marks thanked Ms. Simon for her valued input and invited her to return to report to the Commission why women elect to stay on welfare rather than work. Commissioner Marks commended the services the City provides that enables families to stay in San Francisco, yet questioned after the 60 months where these women and families will turn. Commissioner Shorter also recognized Ms. Simon for her work which has a national impact.
B. Proposition D Implementation
Only June 3, San Francisco Voters adopted Proposition D, which encourages City boards and Commissions to promote women, minorities, and disabled candidates to fill the seats on those bodies. This proposition came out of the 2007 Women's Policy Summit that many Commissioners attended. This Charter amendment also stipulates that the Department will conduct a gender analysis every 2 years to proved accountability. When the Department conducted a gender analysis of City policy bodies last year, it found that the 48% of commissioner appointments are women but that there were far fewer women on Boards and Taskforces.
The Department will be partnering with other women's leadership groups to raise awareness about appointment opportunities among qualified women.
C. July 25 Commission Retreat Agenda
The Department has engaged Organizational Consultant Mike Wong, who has worked with other City Departments, to facilitate the July Commission retreat. We are in the process of developing the agenda for the retreat and welcome input from Commissioners. The retreat will focus on Commission policy priorities, reviewing and approving the strategic plan, and discussing the vision for the upcoming year. Catherine Dodd, the Mayor's Deputy Chief of Staff for Health and Human Services, Heidi Sieck and Alix Rosenthal, Co-chairs of the Women's Policy Summit have confirmed their attendance.
Commissioners agreed that it was very important that the Commission be more visible. Commissioners were also eager for data on the status of women to better identify the current issues women and girls face in San Francisco. Commissioners agreed that outreach should be made to women's groups and to continue to build stronger relationships with service providers.
Commissioner Gulbengay suggested reaching out to members of the Board of Supervisors so that they know directly the great work that is being done. Commissioner Gulbengay suggested having public hearings on issues that affect women and to get Supervisors involved. This will ensure that they are aware of the work the Commissions work so that, at next year's budget hearing they will know first-hand of the work that we do and the needs that we hear about.
VII. PUBLIC COMMENT
Emberly Cross with the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic, thanked the Commission for its support and partnership in advocating to the Board of Supervisors to restore funding for the VAW Grants Program.
Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Consortium, thanked the Commission for its support during the add-back process and stated that the agencies will continue to advocate for restoring $277,000 to bring currently funded agencies back to current funding levels.
Becky Masaki, Executive Director of Asian Women's Shelter, thanked the Commission for its support. She especially appreciated the outreach to the existing Partner Agencies for input on the Commission agenda and retreat.
She suggested a "World Café Model" to facilitate a small group discussion at the retreat.
VII. ADJOURN
Action: Motion to adjourn meeting.
m/s/c (Marks/Shorter/Unanimous).
Meeting adjourned at 6:38 pm.
The ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers, and similar sound producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. Please be advised that the Chair may order the removal from the meeting room of any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone, pager or other similar sound-producing electronic devices.
Explanatory documents: For copies of explanatory documents listed in this agenda, and other related materials received by COSW, please contact the Department on the Status of Women at 25 Van Ness Ave, Suite 130, San Francisco, CA 94102; phone: 415-252-2570, fax: 415-252-2575. Also, to the extent possible, documents will be available on the COSW website at http://www.sfgov.org/cosw.
Know Your Rights under the Sunshine Ordinance(Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code)
Government’s duty is to serve the public, reaching its decision in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people’s business. This ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people’s review. For more information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance, or to report a violation of the Ordinance, contact the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force at 415-554-7724. To obtain a free copy of the Sunshine Ordinance contact the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, City Hall, Room 244, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102-4689, phone: 415-554-7724, fax: 415-554-7854. Copies of the Sunshine Ordinance can also be obtained from the San Francisco Public Library and on the City’s website at www.sfgov.org.
Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Requirements
Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance [SF Campaign & Governmental Conduct Code § 2.100] to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the San Francisco Ethics Commission at 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 220, San Francisco, CA 94102; phone: 415-252-3100, fax: 415-252-3112; web site: sfgov.org/ethics.
