May 20, 2010

Family Violence Council:

Addressing Violence throughout the Lifespan

 

MINUTES

Thursday, May 20, 2010

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm

 

Members Present (denoted with x):

 

I.          Call to Order/Agenda Changes

Action: Agenda approved [Ramirez/Kimberg/All]

 

II.        Introductions                        

The Council welcomed several new members:

• Aiko Pandorf is the Executive Director of the Asian Women’s Shelter and represents David Chiu, President of the Board of Supervisors.
• Chief Wendy Still is the new Chief of Adult Probation. She has a background of 30 years in Corrections.
• Commissioner Julie Soo represents the Commission on the Status of Women.

 

III.       Approval of Minutes            

Action: Minutes of February 18, 2010 approved [Hale/Baxter/All except Pandorf and Still who were not present]

 

IV.       BUSINESS               

 

A.        Current Landscape of Family Violence Intervention                                                            15 min.

Ms. Upton introduced this topic as time for the Council to advocate on behalf of departments and community facing cuts.

 

DA’s Office

­The DA’s Office is facing several retirements, including Alan Kennedy in the Elder Abuse Unit, Susan Eto in the Sexual Assault Unit, and others. The Stalking Task Force has had some delays in start-up, but Van Li, the Stalking DA expects to re-start these meetings in July. Victim Services is hoping to get approval for new hires to back fill vacant positions rather than replacing them with current staff. The Council discussed sending a letter to express concern about staffing levels and to encourage new hires.

 

Community Agencies

Ms. Upton discussed the community-based domestic violence programs. They are hoping the Mayor will rescind the cuts proposed in February. The group discussed the need to prioritize cuts overall to be able to advocate more effectively – some cuts will be needed in this challenging budget year, but what services are the most critical?

 

General

Succession planning within departments is critical at these times, as well as mentorships to help employees learn new job roles. The DA’s Office did this several years ago to prepare for shifts and it was successful. Technology and data is even more critical due to the turnover of staff.

 

Department of Public Health

Dr. Kimberg reported that the Trauma Recovery Center is again on the list for complete cuts. Advocacy in the mid-year cut process was helpful in saving it, but it is needed again. Ms. Melara commented that prioritization among agencies serving traumatized victims is necessary. Dr. Murase commented that the Department and the domestic violence community adopted a helpful strategy of showing where revenue can be generated while advocating for restoring funding.

 

B.         First Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco, 2009                

 

1.         JUSTIS Implementation and Data Tracking

Ms. Upton provided a brief overview of the JUSTIS project. Chief Still reported that Probation is set to go online in 1 year. She conducted a review of that department’s data systems. Currently, they are problematic and do not talk to one another, but she plans that Probation will have a single business solution in the same time frame to not delay the JUSTIS go-live date. The Sheriff’s Department is connected to the hub and running as a test department right now. The Police Department is still trying to contract with an IT person to run the program for them. The JUSTIS Governance Council meets bi-monthly, with Nicolas King of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice appointed as the executive sponsor of the Council. There have been some challenges, such as the City deciding to move the data center with little notice or planning, a step that will delay JUSTIS implementation and was opposed by the Governance Council. These are public meetings at City Hall.

 

a.         Next Steps for Family Violence Dashboards

At the August Council meeting, the Family Violence Council will be able to see a draft of the next annual report. This report will contain 3 years worth of data. Having this information will help with advocacy efforts.

 

Some participants brought up the challenge that these figures are not unduplicated. Also, the group discussed that there is significant underreporting in family violence: 1 in 5 for elder abuse and 1 in 25 for financial elder abuse, and only 12% of domestic violence cases are reported to the criminal justice system.

 

Ms. Hale reported that Family Resource Center assessments may create new source for data for these reports. They are training staff on issues of safety and assessing for family violence, including elder abuse.

 

Ms. Pandorf noted that it is important to support the development of these dashboards in order to discover trends and respond quickly, especially around issues of language access and cultural competency.

 

Mr. Ramirez commented on the small size of many batterer’s intervention programs. They have seen a reduction from 100 men per week to 30. Some may be due to immigration policies which impact families (e.g., survivors are less likely to call the police for fear that she or the batterer will be deported).

 

2.         Violence Prevention Plan Implementation

Tabled.

 

3.         Training Coordination

Tabled.

           

4.         Service Coordination

           

a.         Update on the Status of the Elder Forensic Center

See below.

 

b.         Update on the Status of the Child Advocacy Center

The San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center has developed a business plan for the new Child Advocacy Center. The agency worked with Tipping Point on a fundraiser that raised $6 million at one event ($4 million will go to the CAC). It will be located in the southeast sector of the city and will include a youth wellness center for youth exposed to trauma. SFCAPC will serve as the anchor agency and fiscal agent.

 

5.         Other Policy Bodies Addressing These Issues/Recommendations

 

a.         Overview of “Courage to Change” Report

Tabled.

 

C.        Elder Abuse Awareness      

 

1.         Video by National Council on Aging and WITNESS: “An Age for Justice; Elder Abuse in America”

Participants watched the video.

 

2.         Discussion of Elder Abuse Legislation and Awareness Activities

Elder Justice Act, similar to VAWA, has passed Congress. California has the largest number of seniors in country. Dementia increases susceptibility to abuse: 47% of elders with dementia are abused in some way, and 45% of people over age 80 have dementia. This is rising. San Francisco has a higher than normal elder population (15%), and we have a higher number of seniors living alone than in California.

 

Elder abuse is family violence, with 90% of abuse perpetrated by family or a trusted individual. The Elder Forensic Center had its funding reduced for a third year in a row. The Center consulted on 300 complex abuse cases last year, including making home visits, psychological evaluations, and providing nutrition support. This is a particularly bad time to make these cuts because there is new interest in the issue nationally due to the Elder Justice Act. There is a potential to grow the program, rather than cutting it.

 

The Center is conducting an outreach campaign using bus shelter ads and community trainings. The 2 staff have a “train the trainer” model, training seniors to train others, reaching 1,000 people last year, and conducting 3 trainings each week during the month of May. Outreach also includes a Facebook page, a newsletter, and a website.

 

Participants raised the following issues or questions that the Council did not have time to address:

• Is it possible to require Department on Adult and Aging Services grantees to have staff trained on elder abuse?
• Does DCYF require grantees to receive training on child abuse?
• Can we require cross-training of City grantees about all of family violence?
• There is a need for outreach to caregivers who need help with violent parents.

 

D.        Intervention Committee                                                                                           

Tabled.

 

E.        Current Trends in Family Violence/Announcements

None.

 

V.        Public Comment                   

None.

           

VI.       Adjournment                                    

The meeting adjourned at 4:40 pm.