Protocols

JUSTICE AND COURAGE PROJECT
PROTOCOL COMMITTEE 
Minutes
Date:                August 11, 2004
Time:               1:40 p.m. – 2:47 p.m.
Location:         Bay Area Legal Aid, 50 Fell Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

Members Present/Community
Barbara Brooten Job, Oversight Panel
Tricia Erwin, Community Member
Ken Theisen, Bay Area Legal Aid
Rosario Navarrette, Department on the Status of Women
Barbara Kempster, Emergency Communications Department
Sergio Calizo, Adult Probation Department
Mary Twomey, Institute on Aging
Barbara Brooten Job, Oversight Panel
Liz Tarchi, District Attorney’s Office
Donna Medley, Office of Citizen Complaints

Daisy Anarchy, Community Member
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 1:40 p.m. by Barbara Brooten Job.
Introductions/Roll Call

Introductions and roll call were conducted.
Meeting Agenda of August 11, 2004              M/S/A

Items 5 (Adult Probation Department Protocol Recommendations), 6 (DA’s Office-Victim

Services Protocol Presentation), and part of 7 (Update on Recommendation PC10 – Sheriff Department’s Tarasoff [Warning/Duty to Warn) Policy] were put over until the next meeting. The meeting agenda was adopted as amended.

Approval of Minutes – July 14, 2004            M/S/A
Discussion and recommendations for changes to the minutes:

p. 2, para. 3: Eligibility criterion for VIP is: victim makes high frequent contact with PO;

p. 2, para. 9: Since Nixon is also the only Tagalog speaking officer in the APD DV Unit, he is also responsible for those cases. San Francisco and Santa Clara are the only counties in Northern California with this number of high caseloads a VIP program.

p. 3, para. 1: Additionally, Probation Officers are mandated reporters so would have to report the occurrence. Discussion: If no police report, APD will document the incident in their internal files. The PO may send a confidential memo to the judge. (See also discussion under New Business.)

p. 3, para. 3: If victim is uncooperative and but keeps giving information, [the PO] will provide more monitoring of the probationer and keep giving the victim referrals.

p. 3, para. 3: If it sounds very serious, will have an APD officer will do a welfare check of the victim.

The minutes were approved as amended.
Recorder for the Next Meeting
Sally Piňa was nominated to take minutes for the next Protocol Committee meeting on September 8, 2004.
Other Issues/Comments
Stay Away Order Ad-Hoc Committee Update

The DA’s protocol is to request stay away orders in all cases at the first hearing. Although they believer there was a need for a specific address for the victim on the stay away order, victims may move often. One way to overcome this is to use the phrase “and any address of the named party” on the stay away order. The expiration date has also posed a problem. The effective date is either a specified date or the date three years from the date of the hearing. Box “G” on the stay away order will be discussed further at a subsequent meeting to discuss modifications to stay away orders.

Clarification of committee protocol: Public comment is generally limited to three minutes per speaker. However, the length of time for comment is ultimately the decision of the Chair.                       
New Business
The next Family Violence Council meeting will be held Tuesday, August 24, Room 278, at City Hall.

The APD has conducted training for new facilitators. The next training on shelter-based community will take place August 14 and 15. On September 25 and 26, the APD training will focus on child witnessing domestic violence.

September 15 is the annual Elder Abuse Awareness Day rally.

Sergio Calizo, Adult Probation Department, will seek clarification of the mandate to report domestic violence. Specifically, he will seek clarification from the Department on whether this is a legal mandate, protocol, or practice.

Sergio Calizo will prepare a draft of a revised letter to victims to include the information that the victim’s statements to the probation officer are not confidential and that if they are abused or threatened, they are encouraged to call the police. Calizo will also tell probation officers to so inform victims. The draft letter will be presented to the Protocol Committee for review.
Next Meeting Issues
Adult Probation Department Protocol Recommendations

DA’s Office-Victim Services Protocol Presentation

Update on Recommendation PC10 – Sheriff Department’s Tarasoff (Warning/Duty to Warn)

Policy
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held Wednesday, September 8, 2004, 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Bay Area Legal Aid.                        
Adjourned
The meeting was adjourned at 2:47 p.m.