February 18, 2010

 

 

 

 

Family Violence Council:

 

 

 

 

Addressing Violence throughout the Lifespan

 

MINUTES

Thursday, February 18, 2010

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm

 

Members Present (denoted with x):

 

I.          CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES              

Beverly Upton called the meeting to order at 3:10 pm.

 

II.        INTRODUCTIONS

Members and participants introduced themselves and their agency affiliation.

 

III.       APPROVAL OF MINUTES            

Action: Members approved the minutes of the October 15, 2009 meeting (Slabach/Bee/All).

 

IV.       BUSINESS

 

A.        Current Landscape of Family Violence Intervention Services

 

This agenda item was included to provide an opportunity for agencies and departments to comment on the staffing and structural changes that have occurred during the current year that may impact family violence services.

 

Adult Protective Services

Mary Twomey reported that Adult Protective Services has a new director, Julie Peck, as well as the fact that San Francisco is now home to 1 of only 4 Elder Forensic Centers in the country.

 

Adult Probation Department

Chief of Adult Probation, Pat Boyd, informed the Council that the courts are expected to name the new chief shortly. Chief Boyd plans to review the work of the Family Violence Council with the new chief, including the need to address specialized probation needs of probationers convicted of elder abuse and child abuse. Chief Boyd announced that, though Adult Probation faced moderate mid-year and prior year cuts, these have been mitigated to some extent by federal Stimulus funds received by that department. There has been the reduction of 1 staff person from the Domestic Violence Unit this year, but caseloads are also decreasing so the supervision remains intensive. Though next year’s cuts, if enacted, will be devastating to the department, Chief Boyd committed to not having any uncovered caseloads.

 

Police Department

The Domestic Violence Response Unit at the Police Department has lost a total of 7 Inspectors in the last 2 months, down from 17 to 10. There have been 43 rebookings in the last 3 days, a significant amount to be covered by so few staff members. This represents the lowest staffing levels in 19 years. The low levels are primarily due to re-assignments of sergeants into the field and new opportunities taken by Inspectors. Lt. Molly Pengel, who reported these changes, indicated that the staffing should increase again soon, as a new sergeant’s list will be forthcoming. Though much of the Police Department has been decentralized since November, the DVRU remains central at the Hall of Justice. Lt. Pengel reported that the Unit will likely be moving to new, larger offices in the next month. Despite low staffing levels and high caseloads, Lt. Pengel affirms that no cases are falling through the cracks.

 

The Juvenile Division has had some loss in staffing, but with 10 Inspectors and an assignment officer, the Division has not been too severely affected. Physical elder abuse cases are handled by the DVRU. Though historically and currently, 1 officer has handled this caseload, with the low staffing levels of that unit, it is likely that elder abuse cases will rotate among all DVRU Inspectors.

 

Courts

Commissioner Marjorie Slabach reported that there are 2 new judges, 1 in Family Court and the other in the Trial Department. Both have received extensive training about family law matters, emergency protective orders, and domestic and family violence. Judge Hitchins has stepped down from Supervising Judge in order to cover Dependency Court.

 

Department of Public Health

Dr. Leigh Kimberg reported briefly on the Trauma Recovery Center, which continues to exist through a reprieve granted by the Board of Supervisors, but will only maintain funding through April. DPH continues to see more patients with fewer and less compensated staff members.

 

B.        Review of Recommendations from First Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco, 2009

 

This agenda item was added to allow the Council to reflect on what has been done and what remains a priority from the first Family Violence Council report.

 

Recommendation: The Family Violence Council urges the completion of JUSTIS, the City and County’s complex Information Technology system.

 

Status: Dr. Emily Murase of the Department on the Status of Women reported on the most recent JUSTIS Governance Council meeting. The Police Department does not have a Technology Officer any longer, seriously delaying the full implementation of the system. The Mayor’s Office attended the recent meeting and delivered a strong message about the importance of the project, and plans to work with the Police Department and Department of Technology to troubleshoot the filling of the open position. The Sheriff’s Department has gone live already, which is a big step forward, and Adult Probation has put out an scope of work to hire a vendor to create an interface between that department’s case management system and the JUSTIS hub. Already, JUSTIS has led to improved criminal justice responses. For example, the Sheriff’s Department is able to avert mistaken releases from jail due to the new ability to incorporate a photo into the digital prisoner record. President of the Board of Supervisors David Chiu has indicated his support of this program to the Domestic Violence Consortium.

 

Recommendation: The Family Violence Council urges the San Francisco Violence Prevention Advisory Committee identified in the 2008 Violence Prevention Plan to make family violence a priority issue and recognize the role of family violence as a predictor of future community violence and other crimes and victimization.

 

Status: It is unclear to members of the Council whether the Advisory Committee is conducting meetings or whether there is any work being done on the Violence Prevention Plan at all. A suggestion was made to invite staff working on the Advisory Committee to the Family Violence Council.

 

Recommendation: Because training is a critical component of prevention, during FY09-10, City-wide training efforts should be expanded and coordinated.

 

Status: Training remains a critical and ongoing need for all agencies. The Council will continue to follow up on this recommendation to ensure that first responders and others addressing family violence receive appropriate and necessary training.

 

Recommendation: To improve the outcome of cases, the City’s response must be coordinated with community providers.

 

Status: The San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center has taken a lead role in creating a business plan for the 1-stop Child Advocacy Center. That agency is currently seeking affordable and child-friendly space to house the services that will be offered. With the support of numerous City officials, San Francisco secured a $350,000 federal earmark, to be received in June 2010.

 

The Elder Forensic Center is currently dependent on private grants, with some funding through the District Attorney’s Office. Partners meet weekly to coordinate cases, and include Adult Protective Services, medical services, law enforcement, and other social service providers.

 

The Council agreed that it is important to set goals for itself and to regularly assess progress toward those goals. As such, the annual report will be a “living document” showcasing the achievements and the plans of the Council.

 

C.        Family Violence Dashboards

 

The Council reviewed the Family Violence Dashboards for FY08-09 and for FY09-10 YTD (attached).

 

Comments, feedback, and proposed edits include the following:

• The Dashboards should capture the “domestic violence stalking” calls as newly tracked by 911.
• The Dashboards should capture family violence service referrals made by 311 call-takers.
• All 911 calls relating to family violence receive a “DV” indicator, meaning there is currently no way to differentiate how many 911 calls are for domestic violence compared to child abuse or elder abuse. The Council should explore how to capture this information with the Department of Emergency Management.
• Probation statistics and some other statistics from other agencies reflect average caseloads, which may be less useful and can be misleading upon a first look (e.g., half-year averages cannot be doubled to reflect full-year projections). One suggestion is to alter the Dashboard to include only point-in-time totals, rather than averages.
• The lack of clear data about elder abuse crisis calls (such as not having a dedicated crisis hotline for elder abuse) is problematic. For example, WOMAN, Inc. does receive calls from women over 65, but they often do not disclose their age, and this population is not captured by or reflected in their statistics. Friendship Line is an elderly suicide hotline, and they also get calls related to elder abuse. However, that is not their primary purpose.
• Participants raised the question about whether data should be gathered about sexual assaults, such as from the DPH Trauma Recovery Center/Rape Treatment Center, as some are a result of family violence.

 

The Dashboard will be posted on the Department on the Status of Women website and linked to the City’s Open Data website. Some information has not been submitted, such as Police Department statistics, due to new protocols for verifying data accuracy. The Dashboards will be updated when that data is made available.

 

D.        Discussion of the Impact of Budget Cuts on Family Violence Services

 

The Council steering committee introduced this agenda item to discuss whether it is feasible to do a landscape review of the impact of FY10-11 budget cuts on family violence intervention and response, particularly state budget cuts, though not excluding City cuts. Some City agency representatives indicated that they are still attempting to determine the impacts of the December 2009 mid-year cuts, and this destabilization has made planning for next year challenging.

 

Some partners only work on family violence issues, while others do family violence intervention and response as part of a larger mission. Despite this, the Council should consider whether members can support each other and speak with a unified voice. This will help keep the issue of family violence present and highlighted in the public eye as more cuts are proposed. Creating a landscape review of the system and the impacts of cuts is helpful for the Mayor and Board of supervisors and others who are less knowledgeable about ground-level details of family violence. Members discussed inviting the Mayor to attend a future Council meeting to discuss these budget issues with members.

 

Participants are encouraged to send notices about hearings or public meetings to the Laura Marshall at the Department on the Status of Women to be publicized among Council members. This will help members operating for a common cause advocate for the whole response network.

 

E.         Intervention Committee Update

Tabled due to time limitations.

 

F.         Current Trends in Family Violence/Announcements

Tabled due to time limitations.

 

G.        Public Comment

None.

 

V.         ADJOURNMENT                                                     

The Family Violence Council adjourned at 4:35 pm.

 

 

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; telephone 415-252-3100; fax 415-252-3112; website: sfgov.org/ethics.

I. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES

Beverly Upton called the meeting to order at 3:10 pm.

II. INTRODUCTIONS

Members and participants introduced themselves and their agency affiliation.

III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Action: Members approved the minutes of the October 15, 2009 meeting (Slabach/Bee/All).

IV. BUSINESS

A. Current Landscape of Family Violence Intervention Services

This agenda item was included to provide an opportunity for agencies and departments to comment on the staffing and structural changes that have occurred during the current year that may impact family violence services.

Adult Protective Services

Mary Twomey reported that Adult Protective Services has a new director, Julie Peck, as well as the fact that San Francisco is now home to 1 of only 4 Elder Forensic Centers in the country.

Adult Probation Department

Chief of Adult Probation, Pat Boyd, informed the Council that the courts are expected to name the new chief shortly. Chief Boyd plans to review the work of the Family Violence Council with the new chief, including the need to address specialized probation needs of probationers convicted of elder abuse and child abuse. Chief Boyd announced that, though Adult Probation faced moderate mid-year and prior year cuts, these have been mitigated to some extent by federal Stimulus funds received by that department. There has been the reduction of 1 staff person from the Domestic Violence Unit this year, but caseloads are also decreasing so the supervision remains intensive. Though next year’s cuts, if enacted, will be devastating to the department, Chief Boyd committed to not having any uncovered caseloads.

Police Department

The Domestic Violence Response Unit at the Police Department has lost a total of 7 Inspectors in the last 2 months, down from 17 to 10. There have been 43 rebookings in the last 3 days, a significant amount to be covered by so few staff members. This represents the lowest staffing levels in 19 years. The low levels are primarily due to re-assignments of sergeants into the field and new opportunities taken by Inspectors. Lt. Molly Pengel, who reported these changes, indicated that the staffing should increase again soon, as a new sergeant’s list will be forthcoming. Though much of the Police Department has been decentralized since November, the DVRU remains central at the Hall of Justice. Lt. Pengel reported that the Unit will likely be moving to new, larger offices in the next month. Despite low staffing levels and high caseloads, Lt. Pengel affirms that no cases are falling through the cracks.

The Juvenile Division has had some loss in staffing, but with 10 Inspectors and an assignment officer, the Division has not been too severely affected. Physical elder abuse cases are handled by the DVRU. Though historically and currently, 1 officer has handled this caseload, with the low staffing levels of that unit, it is likely that elder abuse cases will rotate among all DVRU Inspectors.

Courts

Commissioner Marjorie Slabach reported that there are 2 new judges, 1 in Family Court and the other in the Trial Department. Both have received extensive training about family law matters, emergency protective orders, and domestic and family violence. Judge Hitchins has stepped down from Supervising Judge in order to cover Dependency Court.

Department of Public Health

Dr. Leigh Kimberg reported briefly on the Trauma Recovery Center, which continues to exist through a reprieve granted by the Board of Supervisors, but will only maintain funding through April. DPH continues to see more patients with fewer and less compensated staff members.

B. Review of Recommendations from First Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco, 2009

This agenda item was added to allow the Council to reflect on what has been done and what remains a priority from the first Family Violence Council report.

Recommendation: The Family Violence Council urges the completion of JUSTIS, the City and County’s complex Information Technology system.

Status: Dr. Emily Murase of the Department on the Status of Women reported on the most recent JUSTIS Governance Council meeting. The Police Department does not have a Technology Officer any longer, seriously delaying the full implementation of the system. The Mayor’s Office attended the recent meeting and delivered a strong message about the importance of the project, and plans to work with the Police Department and Department of Technology to troubleshoot the filling of the open position. The Sheriff’s Department has gone live already, which is a big step forward, and Adult Probation has put out an scope of work to hire a vendor to create an interface between that department’s case management system and the JUSTIS hub. Already, JUSTIS has led to improved criminal justice responses. For example, the Sheriff’s Department is able to avert mistaken releases from jail due to the new ability to incorporate a photo into the digital prisoner record. President of the Board of Supervisors David Chiu has indicated his support of this program to the Domestic Violence Consortium.

Recommendation: The Family Violence Council urges the San Francisco Violence Prevention Advisory Committee identified in the 2008 Violence Prevention Plan to make family violence a priority issue and recognize the role of family violence as a predictor of future community violence and other crimes and victimization.

Status: It is unclear to members of the Council whether the Advisory Committee is conducting meetings or whether there is any work being done on the Violence Prevention Plan at all. A suggestion was made to invite staff working on the Advisory Committee to the Family Violence Council.

Recommendation: Because training is a critical component of prevention, during FY09-10, City-wide training efforts should be expanded and coordinated.

Status: Training remains a critical and ongoing need for all agencies. The Council will continue to follow up on this recommendation to ensure that first responders and others addressing family violence receive appropriate and necessary training.

Recommendation: To improve the outcome of cases, the City’s response must be coordinated with community providers.

Status: The San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center has taken a lead role in creating a business plan for the 1-stop Child Advocacy Center. That agency is currently seeking affordable and child-friendly space to house the services that will be offered. With the support of numerous City officials, San Francisco secured a $350,000 federal earmark, to be received in June 2010.

The Elder Forensic Center is currently dependent on private grants, with some funding through the District Attorney’s Office. Partners meet weekly to coordinate cases, and include Adult Protective Services, medical services, law enforcement, and other social service providers.

The Council agreed that it is important to set goals for itself and to regularly assess progress toward those goals. As such, the annual report will be a “living document” showcasing the achievements and the plans of the Council.

C. Family Violence Dashboards

The Council reviewed the Family Violence Dashboards for FY08-09 and for FY09-10 YTD (attached).

Comments, feedback, and proposed edits include the following:

The Dashboards should capture the “domestic violence stalking” calls as newly tracked by 911.
The Dashboards should capture family violence service referrals made by 311 call-takers.
All 911 calls relating to family violence receive a “DV” indicator, meaning there is currently no way to differentiate how many 911 calls are for domestic violence compared to child abuse or elder abuse. The Council should explore how to capture this information with the Department of Emergency Management.
Probation statistics and some other statistics from other agencies reflect average caseloads, which may be less useful and can be misleading upon a first look (e.g., half-year averages cannot be doubled to reflect full-year projections). One suggestion is to alter the Dashboard to include only point-in-time totals, rather than averages.
The lack of clear data about elder abuse crisis calls (such as not having a dedicated crisis hotline for elder abuse) is problematic. For example, WOMAN, Inc. does receive calls from women over 65, but they often do not disclose their age, and this population is not captured by or reflected in their statistics. Friendship Line is an elderly suicide hotline, and they also get calls related to elder abuse. However, that is not their primary purpose.
Participants raised the question about whether data should be gathered about sexual assaults, such as from the DPH Trauma Recovery Center/Rape Treatment Center, as some are a result of family violence.

The Dashboard will be posted on the Department on the Status of Women website and linked to the City’s Open Data website. Some information has not been submitted, such as Police Department statistics, due to new protocols for verifying data accuracy. The Dashboards will be updated when that data is made available.

D. Discussion of the Impact of Budget Cuts on Family Violence Services

The Council steering committee introduced this agenda item to discuss whether it is feasible to do a landscape review of the impact of FY10-11 budget cuts on family violence intervention and response, particularly state budget cuts, though not excluding City cuts. Some City agency representatives indicated that they are still attempting to determine the impacts of the December 2009 mid-year cuts, and this destabilization has made planning for next year challenging.

Some partners only work on family violence issues, while others do family violence intervention and response as part of a larger mission. Despite this, the Council should consider whether members can support each other and speak with a unified voice. This will help keep the issue of family violence present and highlighted in the public eye as more cuts are proposed. Creating a landscape review of the system and the impacts of cuts is helpful for the Mayor and Board of supervisors and others who are less knowledgeable about ground-level details of family violence. Members discussed inviting the Mayor to attend a future Council meeting to discuss these budget issues with members.

Participants are encouraged to send notices about hearings or public meetings to the Laura Marshall at the Department on the Status of Women to be publicized among Council members. This will help members operating for a common cause advocate for the whole response network.

E. Intervention Committee Update

Tabled due to time limitations.

F. Current Trends in Family Violence/Announcements

Tabled due to time limitations.

G. Public Comment

None.

V. ADJOURNMENT

The Family Violence Council adjourned at 4:35 pm.

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; telephone 415-252-3100; fax 415-252-3112; website: sfgov.org/ethics.