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Meeting Information



family_violence_council

2009 2008 2007 

Family Violence Council:

Addressing Violence throughout the Lifespan

 

MINUTES

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

9:00 am – 10:30 am

 

City Hall Room 201

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

San Francisco, CA 94102

 

Members Present (denoted with x):

 

Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, or designee

X

Director of Department of Aging and Adult Services, or designee: Ms. Anne Hinton

X

Mayor, or designee: Ms. Starr Terrell

 

Director of Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families, or designee

 

President of the Board of Supervisors, or designee

X

Director of Child Support Services, or designee: Ms. Karen Roye

X

District Attorney, or designee: Mr. James Rowland

X

Director of Domestic Violence Consortium, or designee: Ms. Beverly Upton

X

Chief of Police, or designee: Captain Marsha Ashe

X

Director of Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention, or designee: Ms. Mary Twomey

X

Sheriff, or designee: Ms. Delia Ginorio

X

Director of San Francisco Child Abuse Council, or designee: Ms. Kathy Baxter

X

Chief of Adult Probation, or designee: Chief Jeanne Woodford

X

Chair of Batterer’s Intervention Programs Subcommittee: Mr. Antonio Ramirez

X

President of Commission on the Status of Women, or designee: Commissioner Andrea Evans

 

Voting Member (to be appointed)

Voting Member (to be appointed)

X

Chief of Department of Emergency Management, or designee: Director Laura Phillips

 

Voting Member (to be appointed)

X

Director of the Department of Public Health, or designee: Dr. Leigh Kimburg

 

 

X

Director of Human Services Agency, or designee: Ms. Debby Jeter

 

 

Family Violence Council Staff Present:

Administrative Analyst Laura Marshall, Department on the Status of Women

Senior Policy Analyst Jill Tregor, Department on the Status of Women

 

I.          CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES              

Administrative Analyst Laura Marshall called the meeting to order at 9:12 a.m. 

Action: Approved the meeting agenda. (m/s/c: Twomey/Upton/Unanimous)

No public comment.

 

II.        INTRODUCTIONS              

The 14 members present, 2 DOSW staff, and approximately 20 members of the public introduced themselves. 

                                                                                                

 III.      WELCOME   

Commissioner Andrea Evans made welcoming remarks to the Council.

 

IV.       BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE          

Mary Twomey, Beverly Upton, and Kathy Baxter spoke of the history and the work that went into creating this new iteration of the Family Violence Council.  Ms. Twomey invited members of the public to join in the discussion, and their comments have been included in these minutes.  Members spoke about the good work that has happened separately for so many years, and the strength of this new collaborative model.  The Family Foundations program in New York was noted as a good example of this type of integrated work.

 

A member of the public asked what role the findings of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) Violence Prevention Plan would play in the work of the Council.  Members discussed this plan briefly, as several Council members, including the Department on the Status of Women, are involved with that work.  The Violence Prevention Plan will be released soon, and it stresses the importance of collaboration.    

 

Council members discussed the need for additional voices at the table, including that of the Juvenile Probation Department, the San Francisco Unified School District, and the Transitional-Aged Youth Task Force.  The 3 at-large positions on the Council were offered as a way to fill the gaps in membership, as were any committees or work-groups that might be created at this or future meetings.  Council members discussed the need to be strategic about the growth of the Council, to consider issues like quorum, and to be sure that all 3 areas of family violence are represented in each committee or work group, and the Council as a whole.  The Council will add a discussion about filling membership gaps with the at-large positions to the January 17, 2008 meeting agenda.  If members or the public would like to nominate a candidate or themselves for one of these positions, they should submit names to Laura Marshall at the Department on the Status of Women.  Candidates will be asked to submit a statement of interest, and these will be reviewed at the January 17, 2008 meeting.     

 

IV.       NEW BUSINESS                                                                               

 

A.        Election of Council Co-Chairs                      

Per SEC. 5.190-2 of the authorizing legislation, the Steering Committee is composed of the 3 co-chairs selected from among the Council membership: 1 from a domestic violence agency, 1 from a child abuse agency, and 1 from an elder abuse agency.  Captain Ashe nominated Mary Twomey, Beverly Upton, and Kathy Baxter to fill these positions.  Members discussed the need for term limits and staggered terms of office.    

Action: Mary Twomey, Beverly Upton and Kathy Baxter elected as co-chairs of the Family Violence Council to serve on the Steering Committee. (m/s/c: Ashe/Evans/Unanimous)

No public comment.

 

B.        Change of Standing Meeting Date and Time            

Members discussed changing the standing meeting time from Tuesdays, which is inconvenient for the District Attorney’s Office representatives, to a Thursday afternoon time that would work for all.  Future meetings of the full Family Violence Council will be held on the 3rd Thursday of each quarter beginning in January, from 3 pm-5 pm.  The next meeting will be Thursday, January 17, 2008, 3 pm-5 pm.   

Action:  Meeting date and time changed to the 3rd Thursday of each quarter beginning in January, from 3 pm – 5 pm.  (m/s/c: Roye/Twomey/Unanimous)

Public Comment:  Ken Theisen asked where future meetings will be held.  No standing location has been confirmed, and the Department will inform members and the public when space has been reserved. 

 

C.        Short-Term and Long-Term Goals   

To begin the discussion of goals for the Council, Ms. Twomey raised the idea of creating a resource card that addresses all 3 areas of family violence for responders to use in the field.  Dr. Leigh Kimburg or the Department of Public Health mentioned that the Department of Public Health has an example of such a card.  She will assist Ms. Twomey, Ms. Upton, and Ms. Baxter in creating a resource card encompassing all three areas.  A draft of this card will be ready for review by the Council at the January 17, 2008 meeting.  Any product from the Council, such as this card, will be translated into Spanish and Chinese, at minimum, as a language access gap affects all areas of family violence, and leaves a large portion of citizens without easy access to services. 

 

Director Laura Phillips of the Department of Emergency Management urged the group to consider what success means for the Family Violence Council.  A good process for deciding upon goals begins with thinking about what a successful outcome is, then deciding what activities are needed to achieve that outcome, and then what resources are needed to perform those activities.  As a large goal like “ending family violence” is not reasonable for a 1-year plan, the group must figure out what a reasonable measure of success would be, and work from there. 

 

A suggestion was made to examine the protocols of all departments involved in the response to family violence with the aim of determining if the message, values, language, etc. are consistent for the City.  Members agreed with the value of such an undertaking but warned of the time and expense involved. 

 

One suggested “success” indicator was for a victim to be able to walk into a hospital and be given enough preventive information to walk away safe and informed.  The activities related to creating such a situation should be able to be replicated for all service providers in San Francisco, and beyond.

 

Mayor Newsom joined the discussion at 10:00 am.  Council members and the public provided the Mayor with statistics and information related to various topics, such as the rates and types of elder abuse in San Francisco, ways in which the 3 areas of family violence overlap, the types of services currently available and those still needed, and how San Francisco compares to surrounding areas in terms of prevalence and services for survivors of family violence. 

 

As the Council did not create or decide upon goals, members have been asked to brainstorm suggestions within their agencies or departments, and send their ideas to Laura Marshall prior to the January 17, 2008 meeting.  These ideas should take into account what the long-term success of the Council looks like, and encompass activities that would help the Council achieve that vision.  Ms. Marshall will distribute the list of ideas beforehand, and a discussion about these goals and action on them will be taken in January. 

 

V.         PUBLIC COMMENT                                                           

Minouche Kandel of Bay Area Legal Aid asked the Council how its work will dovetail with the Justice and Courage Oversight Panel of the Commission on the Status of Women.  Members explained that, though the Oversight Panel’s work is very similar, its focus is primarily on domestic violence and the criminal justice response.  Many members of the Oversight Panel sit on the Family Violence Council, and this overlap will ensure that the 2 groups are not duplicating efforts and are supporting the work of the other. 

 

Ken Theisen of Bay Area Legal Aid expressed concern about the large number of City departments represented on the Family Violence Council, and wanted to ensure that community agencies would be involved as well.        

                                               

VI.       ADJOURNMENT                                                     

Action:  Family Violence Council adjourned at 10:37 am.  (m/s/c: Twomey/Kathy/Unanimous)

 

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