City and County of San FranciscoDepartment on the Status of Women

COSW Meeting Information - December 10, 2014 - Meeting Minutes

COSW Meeting Information - December 10, 2014

Members Present

President Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez

Vice President Andrea Shorter

Commissioner Amy Ackerman

Commissioner Alicia Gamez

Commissioner Julie D. Soo

Commissioner Mary Jung

 

Staff Present

Executive Director Emily Murase, PhD

Associate Director Carol Sacco

Director of Women’s Policy Minouche Kandel

Fiscal & Policy Analyst Stephanie Nguyen

Executive Management Assistant Iris Wong

Policy Fellow Allison Ipsen

Policy Fellow Elizabeth Newman

Policy Fellow Julie Lim

PAAWBAC Fellow Sarah-Maya De Guzman

 

  1. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES

President Kirshner-Rodriguez called the meeting to order at 4:12 pm.

 

Commissioner Ackerman inquired whether the Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention Grant will be continued to the Commission’s January meeting. She stated that the public should be informed of the item’s continuance in order to respect their time. Commissioners expressed a preference to discuss the matter tonight, leaving open the possibility that the item would be continued, but only after discussion.

 

Commissioner Soo arrived at 4:17pm

 

Action: To approve the meeting agenda.                                                            m/s/c (Shorter/Soo/Unanimous)

 

  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES         

Action: To approve draft minutes from November 21, 2014.                              m/s/c (Soo/Gamez/Unanimous)

                    

  1. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Dr. Emily Murase directed Commissioners to her written report. Below are the highlights.

 

  1. SFCAHT Labor Trafficking conference

Dr. Murase thanked the Commissioners for their support on the Labor Trafficking Conference, especially Commissioner Soo, who serves as Co-Chair of SFCAHT. Dr. Murase highlighted the important progress on anti-human trafficking efforts over the past 5 years. There were many notable speakers, including State Senator Mark Leno, Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu, Board of Supervisors President Katy Tang, and Public Defender Jeff Adachi. Special thanks to Fiscal & Policy Analyst Stephanie Nguyen and PAAWBAC Fellow Sarah-Maya De Guzman for their tremendous work supporting the conference.

 

  1. Annual Combined Charities Campaign

This year’s Campaign raised over $1 million. Department staff had 100% participation, and Commissioners had 50% participation.

 

  1. Budget

For the first time in many years, Mayor Edwin M. Lee announced that there will be no budget cuts to Year 1 of the 2-year budget, FY 15-18, but he directed departments to come up with a 1% cut to General Funds in Year 2.

 

  1. Department Fellows

Dr. Murase introduced the newest Department fellows to the Commissioners:

  1. Allison Ipsen, a graduate of Claremont McKenna College, is currently working with Ms. Kandel on violence against women policies.
  2. Elizabeth Newman, a recent MPP graduate from University of Southern California, is working with Ms. Wong on the Cities for CEDAW Campaign.
  3. Julie Kim, a fellow from South Korea, is excited to work on anti-human trafficking policies with Minouche after working on gender equality for 7 years.

 

Commissioner Jung arrived at 4:26pm.

 

  1. 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.

Action:  To approve the Consent Agenda.                                                            m/s/c (Gamez/Soo/Unanimous)

 

  1. NEW BUSINESS

 

  1. Violence Against Women Prevention & Intervention Grants Program Funding for FY 2015 - 2018

Associate Director Carol Sacco presented on the FY 2015 – 2018 Violence Against Women (VAW) Prevention & Intervention Grants Program Funding Request for Proposals (RFP). Below are the highlights.

 

  • The RFP was released on September 18, 2014, asking applicants to consider and address the six priority service areas of the VAW Grants Program:
    1. Crisis Lines
    2. Emergency Shelter
    3. Legal Services
    4. Transitional Housing
    5. Intervention & Advocacy
    6. Prevention and Education Services
  • Applications were due no later than 12 Noon on October 24, 2014. The Department received 41 proposals, of which 22 were from existing Partner Agencies, seven were from new agencies, and two currently funded agencies did not apply. The total funding requests totaled to just over $6,444,408.
  • Two staff members reviewed all applications to make sure they met the minimum requirements. In mid-November, Ms. Sacco moderated 7 in-person review panel meetings. The Review Panel was made up of 21 individuals with a variety of backgrounds and expertise relevant to the evaluation process. Each proposal was read by 3 Review Panel members.
  • The Funding Committee, made up of a Commissioner and staff members, met on November 24, 2014, and reviewed all of the recommendations from the Review Panel.
  • Following approval of the recommended funding allocations, there will be a period of contract negotiation and grant plan development, with official service starting on July 1, 2015.

 

Dr. Murase noted to Commissioners that there was an issue with agencies who provide Emergency Shelter services. One of the agencies, La Casa de las Madres, applied for less money than it currently receives, believing that the application was limited to General Funds. While this was true for the RFP issued four years ago, this funding cycle drew from both the General Fund and Marriage License Fund, a state funding source.

Dr. Murase clarified that at the Bidder’s Conference that is open to all applicants, Ms. Sacco made clear that the funding source came from both the General Fund and Marriage License Fund. This answer was included in a Question and Answer document that was posted on the Department website and made available to everyone.

 

Dr. Murase recognized that La Casa de las Madres provides important services, and the Department recommends that Commission continue the item to its January meeting in order to resolve the issue.

 

Vice President Shorter stated that she participated in the Funding Committee. She explained that the Committee did not find it unusual that the La Casa asked for less money because there was a trend of organizations requesting less money than they were currently funded for.

 

Dr. Murase stated that Department staff members worked very diligently to ensure a transparent and fair process. Commissioners acknowledged that the process was very thorough.

 

Public Comment:

  1. Katherine Berg, Associate Director of La Casa de las Madres, recognized the work of Department staff and stated that the agency does not want to take away funds from other agencies and, instead, wants to look for other solutions. However, the agency’s position is that Marriage License Fee monies should not be considered together with General Funds.
  2. Beverly Upton, Executive Director of Domestic Violence Consortium (DVC), applauded the Department and the Commission for their work. Over the last few days, many technical issues regarding the RFP have surfaced, and the DVC expressed appreciation for the grace and leadership with which the Department is handling a complex situation.
  3. Jill Zawisza, Executive Director of WOMAN, Inc., thanked the Commission and Department for the transparency throughout the RFP process. She stated that WOMAN Inc. worked very hard on its proposal and was one of the agencies that requested less money. She expressed her thanks to the Department and the Funding Committee for recommending continued funding of existing grantees, including WOMAN, Inc.
  1. Denny David, Deputy Director of LYRIC, thanked the Commission for the level of stability and organization throughout the RFP process. He recognized that many clients rely on the stability of funding, and thanked everyone in the room for the work that has been done. He especially thanked Ms. Sacco for her work throughout the RFP process.
  2. Sarah Wan, Executive Director of Community Youth Center, thanked the Commission and the Department for the VAW Grants Program, and respected the possible decision of continuance in order to provide funding for the community as a whole.
  3. Vida Kuang, Youth Coordinator of YAWAV (Young Asian Women Against Violence) at CYC, introduced Peer Leader Hao Lin, a high school student, who thanked the Commission for its continued support. She stated that she has learned a lot about domestic violence, sexual harassment, and human trafficking, all of which helps her to benefit her community.
  4. Elizabeth Kirton, Executive Director of Asian Women’s Shelter, recognized Ms. Upton as a strong coordinator of efforts for the anti-domestic violence community. She stated that all the agencies are committed to providing sufficient services to the community, and it will be interesting to see how the newly funded agencies can benefit the community. She also thanked the Commission and the Department for facilitating these exciting coalitions.
  5. Pablo Espinoza, Operations Director of CUAV (Community United Against Violence), thanked Department staff members for their support in the process, as well as the Commission for taking the time to consider all possible solutions.
  6. Kathy Black, Executive Director of La Casa de las Madres, stated that it has been an honor and pleasure to work with Ms. Sacco throughout the RFP process. She stated that with Ms. Kandel’s help, La Casa has been selected for the Safe Housing Project at San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA). The agency has since identified two great individuals to be stationed at the SFHA. She thanked the Commission for taking more time to consider possible solutions. The agency is already beginning to advocate for separate funding, and it does not want to take away funding from other organizations.

 

Dr. Murase noted that after the rigorous review process, all currently funded agencies that applied for the RFP were evaluated as strong programs that greatly benefit the San Francisco community. She also reminded Commissioners that, although the Department wants to assure predictable funding levels, the process per the City Attorney’s advice included disclaimers that there is no guarantee of funds, and that there may be changes to funding levels.

 

Dr. Murase explained that a final vote by the Commission will trigger a notice of intent to fund, which would start a 5-day protest period. If the Commission continues the vote on allocations to January, then this process could not occur until then.

 

Action: To postpone action on approving the funding recommendations of the Violence Against Women Prevention & Intervention Grants Program for FY 2015 – 2018 to January 2015.                                        

                                                                                                                     m/s/c (Shorter/Jung/Unanimous)

 

Action: To move the Commission meeting to Closed Session                              m/s/c (Soo/Gamez/Unanimous)

  1. CLOSED SESSION
  1. Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(b) and San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(b):

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: Executive Director Emily M. Murase, PhD.

Public Comments on all matters pertaining to the Closed Session.

None.

 

Action: To elect to not publicly disclose any or all of the information discussed in the closed session under San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.12(a).                                               m/s/c (Soo/Shorter/Unanimous)

  1. ADJOURNMENT  

Action: To adjourn the meeting.                                                                   m/s/c (Shorter/Gamez/Unanimous)