2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997
KATHERINE MUNTER
President
CAROLENE MARKS
Vice President
NICKY CALMA
Commissioner
KAY GULBENGAY
Commissioner
DORKA KEEHN
Commissioner
JING XU LEE
Commissioner
ANDREA SHORTER
Commissioner
EMILY MURASE, PhD
Executive Director
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SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Members Present Staff Present
President Katherine Munter Executive Director Emily Murase, PhD
Vice President Carolene Marks Policy Analyst Ann Lehman
Commissioner Nicky Calma Administrative Analyst Laura Marshall
Commissioner Kay Gulbengay Policy Analyst Anu Menon
Commissioner Jing Xu Lee Policy Analyst Jill Tregor
Commissioner Andrea Shorter Grants Administrator Carol Sacco
Commission Secretary Cynthia Vasquez
Excused: Commissioner Dorka Keehn
I. CALL TO ORDER/AGENDA CHANGES
Vice President Marks called the meeting to order at 4:10 pm and welcomed all present.
Action: Approved agenda. m/s/c/ (Shorter/Calma/Unanimous)
No public comment.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Munter announced that the April 23 minutes will be approved at the May Commission meeting.
III. OLD BUSINESS
A. Violence Against Women Prevention & Intervention (VAW) Grants Program
1. Funding Committee Recommendations
President Munter thanked and acknowledged all of the agencies for their candid feedback and the testimony given at the April 23 Commission meeting. She reported that the Department sent out a call for additional public comment from all of the agencies that had applied for funding. The Department received 8 additional letters of public comment, including one representing the views of 12 agencies.
The Funding Committee met again, considered public comment carefully, and reviewed the initial recommendations. After considerable thought and discussion, the Funding Committee decided that the best proposed allocations were the same as the April 23 recommendations. President Munter acknowledged that the total funds available was insufficient to meet the needs of the community and stated that the Commission is committed to working with the community agencies to restore funding.
Vice President Marks expressed her appreciation for the time and effort put forth by the agencies to convey their needs. She expressed her concern with funding new agencies in a lean year and expressed how unfortunate it is that Community United Against Violence (CUAV) is not being recommended for funding.
Commissioner Shorter explained that the new agencies being recommended for funding serve populations that have great needs. She emphasized that funding recommendations are a difficult task and the Commission is faced with making difficult decisions. Commissioner Shorter highlighted that 90% of the recommended funding is for agencies that currently receive Department support.
Executive Director Murase acknowledged the difficult budget situation and impacts of the cuts on services. Regarding process, she explained that a lack of a decision on the funding allocations tonight will cause contracts to be delayed and will jeopardize the ability to continue services without interruption into the upcoming fiscal year.
2. Public Comment
Janelle White of San Francisco Woman Against Rape urged the Commission not to vote on the funding recommendations. She stated that it was important that agencies and the Department expand the funding resources and work together to restore funding to the agencies.
Adell Trotta at Asian Women's Shelter expressed her concerns of the funding recommendations and requested that the Commission not vote on the recommended funding allocations. Ms. Trota explained that reducing funding or eliminating funding for agencies will destabilize a network of services provides that has taken time to form.
Jill Zawisza of WOMAN, Inc., expressed how disappointed the community is that the feedback provided to Department/Commission by the Domestic Violence Consortium was not reflected in the recommendations. Ms. Sousa urged the Commission to not vote on the recommended funding allocations.
Jitaun Jones with the Arab Cultural Center (ACC) urged the Commission not vote on the proposed allocations. Ms. Jones explained that ACC is being recommended for reduced funding and that this will have a serious impact on their programs and clients.
Inas Elmashni of the ACC, requested that the Commission not vote on the funding allocations and work with the Partner Agencies in developing a different plan that will have less of an impact on agencies currently providing services.
Dean Ito Taylor of the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (APILO) explained that APILO serves an identified underserved population and exceeds its service goals on a quarterly basis. Ms. Taylor requested that the Commission continue to support currently funded agencies to build on what is currently working.
Amy Yu with APA Family Support Services urged the Commission to not vote on the proposed funding allocations as her agency is being recommended for reduced funding.
Debbi Smith with the ACC explained that with the proposed funding recommendation, the sexual assault program would be eliminated. Ms. Smith urged the Commission not to vote on the recommended funding allocations.
Julie Youn of the Community Youth Centers Young Asian Women Against Violence Program (YAWAV) explained how she has been able to learn about domestic violence, self esteem issues, body image, and relationship violence and is now able to provide peer counseling services to other youth because of her involvement with YAWAV. Ms. Youn requested the Commission not vote on the proposed funding allocations.
Mairi McKeever with Volunteer Legal Services thanked the Commission for its past and continued support. Ms. McKeever requested the Commission not include the marriage license fees in the budget reductions, clarify the funding caps, and continue to fund agencies who have reached their goals in the past.
Vanissar Tarakali with CUAV explained that the LGBT community has been identified as an underserved population. Ms. Tarakali urged the Commission not to vote on the recommended funding allocations as CUAV is not being recommended for funding due to an administrative error on their part.
Luisa Balatba, a case manager with APA Family Support Services, requested the Commission not vote on the recommended funding recommendations. Ms. Balatba urged the Commission to work with the community agencies to ensure stability for currently funded programs.
Juana Flores with Mujeres Unidas y Activas thanked the Commission for recommending funding for their program. Ms. Flores requested the Commission reconsider funding CUAV, as the agency provides culturally competent trainings on serving LGBT clients.
Emberly Cross with the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic, thanked the Commission for their consideration of the funding recommendations. Ms. Cross was disappointed that the recommendations remained the same as previously proposed and urged the Commission to not vote on the funding recommendations.
Roberta Toomer, Executive Director of WOMAN Inc., urged the Commission to not vote on the proposed funding recommendations. Ms. Toomer requested the Commission work with the Partner Agencies in developing a different plan that will have less of an impact on agencies currently providing services.
Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Consortium, requested the Commission not vote on the proposed funding recommendations as many agencies that are currently funded by the Department are being recommended for less funding. Ms. Upton expressed concern that though Partner Agencies submitted their recommendations, these were not reflected in the final proposal.
Zwazzi Sowo with the Glide Foundation thanked the Commission for recommending Glide for funding and looks forward to working with the Department. Ms. Sowo highlighted that with the funding received by the Department would help serve African American women and homeless women, groups identified in the Commission's 2007 report as underserved.
Gloria Romero with Mission Neighborhood Services requested the Commission not vote on the recommended allocations as her agency was being recommended for reduced funding. Ms. Romero emphasized how services will be drastically affected by the reduced funding.
Written testimony was submitted by:
· The San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium
· Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic
· The Bar Association of San Francisco Volunteer Legal Services Program
· Community Youth Center (CYC)
· Kathy Ng, CYC Participant
· Jenny Vuong, CYC Participant
· Leslie Yip, CYC Participant
· Kelly Liu, CYC Participant
· Julie Yonn, CYC Participant
· APA Family Support Services
· Arab Cultural and Community Center
· Asian Women's Shelter
· Bay Area Legal Aid
· Community United Against Violence (CUAV)
· Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic
· Donaldina Cameron House
· San Francisco Women Against Rape
· WOMAN, Inc.
Dr. Murase explained that available funds was clearly insufficient to meet the needs of the community, and that more money is needed to continue vital services. While it was true that allocations to agencies have been reduced compared to past years, the overall proportion of funding by service categories has remained largely the same, with small increases for housing programs and outreach to underserved communities as identified in the Commission's 2007 report. Dr. Murase explained that the proposed funding caps were one-time limits.
Commissioner Gulbengay expressed her willingness to work with the Partner Agencies and meet with members of the Board of Supervisors to help restore funding to the Department.
Dr. Murase explained that in past years the Domestic Violence Consortium and Partner Agencies have worked successfully in advocating for addbacks. She estimated that an additional $750,000 would be necessary in order to restore the grants program to current year funding levels and include the new services.
Commissioners thanked the public for feedback and testimony, and explained that the Commission thoroughly values the work the agencies all do and hopes to work together in restoring funds to the Department.
Commissioner Lee explained that in this fiscal climate it is difficult for the agencies and the Department to make funding decisions with the limited amount of funds available. She emphasized that it was very important to look forward and work collaboratively in restoring funds.
Action: Motion to approve the funding allocation of the VAW Grants Program for the 3-year funding cycle beginning FY 08-09.
Action: Amended motion to the funding allocation of the VAW Grants Program for the 3-year funding cycle beginning FY 08-09, with the understanding that the Commission will work with the Partner Agencies to meet with members of the Board of Supervisors to request restoring funds to the Department.
m/s/c/ (Munter/Gulbengay/Marks voted no/Passed)
No public comment.
VIII. ADJOURN
Motion to adjourn meeting. m/s/c (Shorter/Marks/Unanimous).
Meeting adjourned at 6:45 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)
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