Family Violence Council:

Addressing Violence throughout the Lifespan

 

MINUTES

3 - 5 pm, Wednesday, February 20, 2013

San Francisco Superior Court

400 McAllister St., Room 617, San Francisco, CA 94102

Members:

Other attendees: Catherine Gerace (Family Court Services); Minouche Kandel (Bay Area Legal Aid); Jane Bernard-Powers and Robin Brasso (Democratic Women in Action); Antonio Ramirez (POCOVI); Allen Nance (Juvenile Probation Department); Josie Lehrer (Men’s Story Project); Elizabeth Laferriere (DOSW)

 

I.          CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES

The meeting was called to order at 3:10 pm. The Council approved the agenda. [Bee/Jean/ALL]

 

II.         INTRODUCTIONS                           

Council members and attendees introduced themselves.

 

III.        APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The Council approved the minutes from November 28, 2012. [Roye/Shamji/ALL]

 

IV.        BUSINESS                                                                

A.  Updates from Agencies                                                                              

Maria Bee of the District Attorney’s Office announced that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors had voted to add nine permanent positions to the District Attorney’s Office for domestic violence caseloads. This addition would make the Domestic Violence Unit the largest unit in the office. The next Stalking Task Force meeting will be held on Friday, February 22 at 3:30pm.

Cecile Soto of the Department of Emergency Management discussed her department’s 90-day pilot program which had started on February 12. Under this program, 911 will provide all audio recordings in domestic violence cases to the District Attorney’s office immediately after the weekend in order to ensure their timely review.

Dr. Emily Murase thanked those who participated in the One Billion Rising event at City Hall on February 14. Many of the Council’s partner agencies were represented. She added that the Department on the Status of Women (“Department”) also benefited from the domestic violence supplemental mentioned by Ms. Bee; the Department will receive funding for a Domestic Violence Policy Analyst. A second hearing on the supplemental will be held on Tuesday, February 26.

Robin Brasso of Democratic Women in Action (DWIA) applauded the high turnout for the 40^th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade event sponsored by Trust Women.

Laurie Vargas of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) announced that January was Healthy Relationships Month. SFUSD has provided training and resources for counselors (K-12) to hold conversations on healthy relationships in the classroom. 

Dr. Leigh Kimberg of the Department of Public Health added that the Pediatric Department has introduced a new screening process for healthy relationships and human trafficking among teens. She added that Laguna Honda Hospital has been screening for elder abuse and keeping data records on those screenings.

Minouche Kandel of Bay Area Legal Aid brought up the federal sequestration and how it will immediately result in cuts to legal aid agencies and Community Development Grants.

Josie Lehrer, Founder and Director of the Men’s Story Project, spoke about her organization’s engagement with boys and men in supporting healthy masculinities. The group recently made their educational video available in Spanish.  Both English and Spanish versions are available on the Project’s website, www.mensstoryproject.org.

 

B.  Sentencing Commission

The last meeting of the Sentencing Commission was held on December 12, 2012. The Commission is collecting data on arrest statistics to help inform best sentencing practices. Ms. Kandel, the Council’s representative to the San Francisco Sentencing Commission, asked that these records be revised for civil restraining orders. The next quarterly meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 3, 2013.

 

C. Police Department, Special Victims Unit

Lt. Michelle Jean discussed key staffing changes at the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). Captain Denise Flaherty has left and is now the first woman to oversee Traffic. Captain Ann Mannix is now the first female Tactical Director for SFPD, overseeing SWAT and hostage situations. Lt. Jason Fox has been promoted to Captain. Lt. Mike Duderoff has joined the Special Victims Unit (SVU). Inspector Tony Flores will continue to work with SVU and Lt. Art Stellini has moved to the Airport Bureau. Lt. Jean mentioned that SVU continues to be short staffed, and is going through major changes due to a high number of retirements. 

Council Tri-Chair Beverly Upton reported on her visit to the monthly Bayview Police Station meeting.  "

Dr. Murase forwarded Deputy Chief Mike Biel’s personal apologies for his absence due to a conflict with his promotion ceremony. 

D. Review of Family Violence Council Work Plan/Recommendations

1.   Child Abuse Counseling Program (Tina Gilbert)

Tina Gilbert of the Domestic Violence Unit at the Adult Probation Department reported on behalf of Ramona Massey. Ms. Massey is supervising 27 individuals in the Child Abuse Counseling Program: 17 misdemeanors and 9 felonies; 16 male and 11 female; and 41 percent within the 25-39 age range. Sunny Schwartz, a criminal justice advocate, continues to work on a restorative justice segment for the Child Abuse Counseling Program. Currently, 5 Adult Probation Department staff members are participating in this 2-week restorative justice training.

Ms. Kandel urged the Council to consider recommending that the Child Abuse Counseling Program accept referrals from Family Court. Paul Henderson, Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety for the Mayor, agreed to schedule a meeting with the Tri-Chairs and Ms. Kandel on this subject.

To fill a long-time gap in language access, Ms. Gilbert announced that a new Spanish-speaking officer has joined the Domestic Violence Unit.

Ms. Brasso asked about the status of court reporters. Ms. Kandel responded that a court reporter is provided only for criminal not civil cases. Otherwise, individuals have to bring and pay for their own reporter.

2.   Child’s Advocacy Center (Kathy Baxter)

Council Tri-Chair Kathy Baxter reported on the progress of the Child’s Advocacy Center in the Bayview. The Center will serve as a safe one-stop shop for children who have been traumatized by sexual, physical, and mental abuse. She noted that a few activists have attempted to halt the Center’s construction since they do not believe the location is safe for children. The San Francisco Police Department, Department of Public Health, the District Attorney, and City Attorney have all provided letters of support for the project.

Mr. Henderson urged the Council to use its collective voice to support not only the Child’s Advocacy Center, but other critical issues. He noted that this Center will be a resource for underserved communities.

Dr. Kimberg suggested that the Council’s letter mention this building is meant to be a healthy refuge for children.

The Council approved a motion to send a letter of support for the Child’s Advocacy Center to the Planning Commission. [Murase/Brasso/ALL]

3.   Elder Abuse Forensic Center (Talitha Guinn)

Council Tri-Chair Talitha Guinn thanked Lt. Fox and Lt. Duderoff for their engagement with elder abuse. The Center is currently evaluating the role of the City Attorney and District Attorney’s Office going forward.

Tri-Chair Guinn also reported on 368 Plus, the free application (“app”) for elder abuse that she created in collaboration with UC Irvine. The multipurpose app contains the following: links to California resources on elder abuse; videos explaining forensic markers of elder abuse; penal code information; background information on domestic violence in later life; photos of common injuries; and more. The app has received over 1,400 downloads. While 368 Plus was originally targeted to law enforcement professionals, the developers have found it to be most popular with paramedics.

4.   Current Issues in Domestic Violence (Beverly Upton)

Council Tri-Chair Upton reported on the national effort to eliminate the federal Secure Communities program where the FBI automatically sends fingerprints to the Department of Homeland Security to check against its immigration databases. This program has had a chilling effect on the reporting of domestic violence by immigrant women.

Tri-Chair Upton also reported that she is three-fourths of the way through her site visits of the batterer intervention programs. She started the audits in October 2012 with the Adult Probation Department.

Ms. Kandel requested a complete directory of batterers intervention programs, including languages spoken at each program. Allen Nance of the Juvenile Probation Department asked if those agencies with deficiencies were provided a course of remediation. Tri-Chair Upton responded that the auditors have provided recommendations to Adult Probation, which is now looking into them. Adult Probation will write a 14-day notice for programs that do not meet minimum standards, and after 14 days, an auditor will make another visit to verify that progress has been made. A full report will be released in the near future.

 

V.         NEW BUSINESS

A.  Recommendations of the 2011 Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco

The Council turned to the 2011 Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco, and discussed what was being done to address each of the 9 recommendations.

1.  The Family Violence Council (FVC) recommends the enhancement of data by exploring new data collection from the Sheriff’s Department and the San Francisco Unified School District for future reports.

While drafting the 2011 Report, the Council discovered gaps in the data provided by the Sheriff’s Department and the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). This realization has led to an ongoing discussion on the types of data that should be collected, and who should collect it. Tri-Chair Baxter recommended a meeting be scheduled with the Tri-Chairs, SFUSD, the Sheriff’s Department, and the Safe School Line, a hotline for students to report incidents of harassment, violence, and intimidation.

2.  FVC recommends the development of a data collection plan and the collection of data on intimate partner and family violence screenings and diagnosis rates at the San Francisco General Hospital and the San Francisco Department of Public Health community clinics.

Dr. Kimberg reported on a new electronic data collection at the Department of Public Health. At Laguna Honda Hospital and outpatient clinics, the Department of Public Health is trying to implement structured data fields for use in collecting critical information. 

3. FVC recommends the Department of Emergency Management provide monthly statistics on the number of domestic violence calls by district and by DV call codes to the Department on the Status of Women.

Ms. Soto reported on new codes for elder and child abuse developed in collaboration with the Department. Dr. Murase added that once the Department hires its new Domestic Violence Policy Analyst, the new staff will analyze the numbers collected from these efforts.

4. FVC recommends joint trainings for 911 dispatchers by child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse experts and advocates (Department of Emergency Management).

The Department of Emergency Management (DEM) continues to work with outside experts to develop its training curriculum. The training for 911 dispatchers takes place every 2 years. The Council agreed to set a date to discuss these trainings with DEM.

5.  FVC recommends the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) should work with the FVC to develop a one-page fact sheet on how to recognize signs of family violence and how to report family violence to the appropriate authorities.

Ms. Vargas stated that this should be easy enough to accomplish since SFUSD already has a concise Fact Sheet. The broad audience for this Fact Sheet includes Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF) afterschool providers.

Ms. Vargas’s report was followed by a discussion on resources for families that experience violence, but do not want to engage law enforcement.

6. FVC recommends a joint outreach campaign on all forms of family violence including child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse (all).

Tri-Chair Guinn recommended a task force be formed to brainstorm outreach ideas that address the entire spectrum of family violence. The goal of this outreach campaign is to highlight options for every survivor. The Tri-Chairs will take the lead and report back at the next Council meeting.

7. FVC recommends the continued support of a multidisciplinary response to family violence in San Francisco (all).

See Recommendation 6.

8. FVC recommends the creation of a victim/survivor program within the San Francisco Adult Probation Department that will work collaboratively with other city and county department survivor/victims services which includes, but is not limited to, the Sheriff Department’s Survivor Restoration Program and the District Attorney’s Office of Victim Services.

Ms. Bee noted that the Victim Compensation Program will pay $5,000 in therapy to any child who witnesses community violence.

9. FVC recommends the collaboration between the District Attorney Victim Services and SafeStart to provide counseling to youth who witness violence in the home.

Few have taken advantage of the Victim Compensation funds that covers therapy for children who witness community violence. The District Attorney’s Office of Victim Services has partnered with SafeStart and has encouraged family service advocates to reach out and help families with the compensation fund application. Victim Services and SafeStart held a press conference to get the word out, and the SafeStart staff has received trainings and materials with translations in Spanish and, soon, Chinese.

B.  Planning for the 2012 Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco       

Tri-Chair Baxter urged all members to start planning for the 2012 Comprehensive Report. 

 

VI.        ANNOUNCEMENTS            

A.  Key Legislation

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization bill has stalled in Congress for months due to objections about extending resources and protections to LGBT, native American, and immigrant communities. The Senate passed its version of the bill in early February and sent it to the House, where it is now being considered.

Legislation on local immigration reform is in the works, but has no author yet.

The Domestic Violence Consortium is working on the TRUST Act with State Assemblymember Tom Ammiano’s office.

B.  Events

On March 5, at 1:30pm, the California Supreme Court will be hearing arguments regarding the lower court's decision to overturn the guilty verdict in the death of Claire Joyce Tempongko.

The Annual Women’s History Month Awards Ceremony at the Board of Supervisors will be held on March 19. This year’s focus is “Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.” The awards ceremony will take place at the Board of Supervisors Legislative Chamber, Room 250, at 3:30 pm. The reception with Mayor Edwin Lee will be held at 5:30 pm at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Building.

April marks National Child Abuse Prevention Month and the launch of the “Enough Abuse” campaign. The San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center’s 16^th Annual Blue Ribbon Luncheon will be held on April 26, and will feature Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Leonard.

The Child Sex Trafficking Conference will be held in the summer.

The National Summit on Adverse Childhood Experiences will be held on May 13 and 14 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The conference is being organized by the Institute for Safe Families and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Council agreed to invite Dr. Nadine Burke to meet with the Council to discuss the effects of adverse childhood experiences on child development.

 

VII.       PUBLIC COMMENT                                    

Ms. Brasso asked members to consider whether the Council should take a stand on assault weapon bans and gun control.

Jane Bernard-Powers of the Democratic Women in Action asked if students and teachers at schools and places of education were trained to identify and report family violence.  Dr. Murase proposed scheduling a meeting and holding a training.

 

VIII.      ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 4:58 pm.