Attendees:                                                                             

DEPARTMENT	STAFF
Board of Supervisors	Supervisor Katy Tang, Dyanna Quizon, Carol Mo
City Attorney’s Office	Margaret “Molly” Ward, Regina Durr
District Attorney’s Office	Greg Barge, Tara Anderson
Human Services Agency	Sophia Isom, John Tsutakawa
Labor Standards Enforcement	Donna Mandel
Mayor’s Office	Paul Henderson, Diana Oliva-Aroche
Police	Lt. Trenia Wearing,  Sgt. Inspector Antonio Flores
Public Health	Edward Walsh
Status of Women	Dr. Emily Murase, Minouche Kandel, Stephanie Nguyen, Ali Skewes-Cox
US Attorney’s Office	Annemarie Conroy

 

I.                    Welcome & Introductions & Agenda Review

Attendees briefly introduced themselves and reviewed the meeting agenda.

 

Dr. Murase recognized Supervisor Katy Tang and Diana Oliva-Aroche of the Mayor’s Office for their support and hard work combatting human trafficking at the local and state levels.  Dr. Murase also recognized the work of Annemarie Conroy at the US Attorney’s Office.

 

Dr. Murase introduced Minouche Kandel as the new Director of Women’s Policy at the DOSW.  Ms. Kandel has a deep history in the domestic violence movement and comes to the DOSW with more than 15 years of experience advocating for survivors of violence with Bay Area Legal Aid.

II.                  Strategic Planning

A.                 Prioritizing Focus of Task Force Activity

1.                  Massage Parlors

2.                  Child Sex Trafficking

3.                  Labor Trafficking

 

While victims of all three forms of trafficking share some overlapping attributes and traumas, their needs and the services the City must provide to support them may vastly differ.

 

Ms. Oliva-Aroche stated that the City needs mapping happening at different levels to visibly see gaps and then make sure services are there to address these gaps.

Ms. Kandel discussed the overarching themes reached at the Human Trafficking RFP focus group held on July 12, 2013.  At this focus group, 36 community partners convened to discuss how to prioritize new funding to address human trafficking.  The community partners strongly felt that it was essential to recognize both the differences in each unique population as well as the significant overlapping needs for service.  The meeting distilled four major themes—prevention, intervention, data collection and assessment, and macro-level policy work—with proposals varying from supporting training for people who come in contact with vulnerable youth, to funding for transitional housing and employment, to conducting a needs assessment.  The Department on the Status of Women is currently deliberating on what should be included on the RFP to be announced within the coming weeks.

ADA Greg Barge, District Attorney’s Office, stressed the importance of outreaching to survivors of human trafficking.  Although SFPD and the District Attorney’s Office have many resources and tools to help, he identified a great deal of fear among victims as a barrier to seeking support.  For this reason, it is vital that the City educate the community about human trafficking to allow victims to empower themselves with knowledge of both their rights and resources available to them.

 

Paul Henderson, Mayor’s Office, stated that it’s essential that the City discuss and address human trafficking.  He remarked that one challenge that the Mayor’s Office is working to address now is to remove the silos of people who are working on this issue, and to facilitate more open communication among advocates and City officials.

 

Regina Durr, City Attorney’s Office, reported that the City Attorney’s Office is working now to make sure that new legislation around massage parlors really gets to the heart of the problem.

John Tsutakawa, Human Services Agency, Family and Children Services division (HSA/FCS), stated that human trafficking is a major issue that they’ve come across.  Although the HSA/FCS primarily investigates child abuse and neglect, a number of the youth in their care are targeted by traffickers.  Mr. Tsutakawa remarked that trafficking is a significant problem in group homes.  The recruitment rate within group homes by actively trafficked young girls is high.  In general, youth in foster care are an especially vulnerable population.  The HSA/FCS has been trying to address this issue within the agency and continues to hold committee meetings to identify red flags.  These meetings are presently on hold due to recent pushes in state legislation.

 

Inspector Antonio Flores, SF Police Department, Special Victims Unit (SFPD/SVU), remarked on the importance of gender-specific intervention strategies, paying particular attention to the different needs of young male victims of trafficking as well as young female victims.

 

Mr. Henderson suggests having a network tree to activate services among government agencies and community-based organizations to more effectively support victims when they do come forward.

Inspector Flores expressed his appreciation for the victim-centered approach the Task Force is taking in this discussion.  He commented on how difficult it is for victims to come forward and seek support due to the immense fear and isolation they may experience.  He stated that he generally turns to Victim Services and CBOs to assist when he encounters victims in need.  Inspector Flores also stated that there is a great need for an increase in mental health services for victims of human trafficking.

Inspector Flores recommends bolstering mental health services for victims, putting up a bond whenever there is an investigation of a parlor to mandate that every hour spent on investigation is paid by the parlor to the City, and including the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) in the regulation of massage parlors.  OLSE can help with enforcing labor codes, as victims often work long hours with few real breaks.  He noted that we need to do a better job addressing labor trafficking.  The City has not cross trained all its employees to recognize the signs of trafficking.

Edward Walsh, Department of Public Health (DPH), stated that DPH has conducted 26 inspections of high risk massage facilities this year.  With the support of the police department and city attorney’s office, DPH has been able to issue citations and close several facilities down.  The major challenged faced by DPH is that many of these establishments are able to go to the Board of Appeals to get the decision of closure overturned. 

 

Dyanna Quizon, legislative aide at the Office of Supervisor Katy Tang, remarked that the current penalties are not severe enough to address trafficking in massage parlors.  She echoed Mr. Walsh’s concerns and remarked that the fines are very minor and suspensions generally do not hold.

 

Mr. Walsh also commented that there seems to be a network among workers and establishments, noting that when one establishment gets inspected, the workers there notify workers at other establishments that an inspection is coming, so fewer violations are found at establishments inspected later the same day.

 

Annemarie Conroy, U.S. Attorney’s Office, stated that the U.S. Attorney’s Office can seize property without notice if the owner is aware that trafficking is happening on his/her property.  If the illegal offense continues for 30 days after notice is given, the federal government then owns the property.

 

Ms. Conroy asked if the City has cross-trained city agencies to recognize signs of trafficking.  Mr. Walsh replied that specific inspectors of the DPH Task Force have been trained, though not all DPH employees.

 

Ms. Conroy remarked that labor trafficking is known but much more difficult to find.  There are four US attorneys in California that have started to focus on labor trafficking.  She stressed the need for a victim-oriented approach to addressing human trafficking and for collaboration between government and community service providers.

 

Supervisor Tang asked what the City communication was with the various entities involved in regulating massage parlors at the state level.

 

Inspector Flores stated that he communicates with the California Massage Therapy Council.  He suggested looking into the licensing of massage license certifiers.

 

Sign-up sheets for subcommittees to address each of the three focus areas were circulated.

 

B.                   Review of Task Force Roadmap & Projected Goals

 

Dr. Murase directed attendees to review the Roadmap prepared by Ms. Oliva-Aroche.

 

Ms. Oliva-Aroche stated that the objective of this meeting is to take the Roadmap prepared, amend it as needed, and solidify it to be used as an overarching framework for the City’s response to human trafficking.  The Roadmap was created using extractions from previous grants from SFPD.  Ms. Oliva-Aroche directed attendees to review the goals and objectives.  She noted that the Roadmap’s current form is very heavy on law enforcement and that more work needs to be done to incorporate a victim-oriented perspective.

 

Dr. Murase requested that attendees provide written edits to Ms. Kandel by August 7, 2013.

 

Inspector Flores highlighted the Attorney General’s report on human trafficking.  He stated that the report is a very comprehensive booklet with different ideas on how to address trafficking in California.  Inspector Flores encouraged attendees to review the report and stated that he’ll send the link out after the meeting.

 

 

Dr. Murase gave an update on the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking (SF CAHT).  Originally convened by the Human Rights Commission, the Department on the Status of Women, and the Jewish Coalition against Human Trafficking, SF CAHT has been meeting now for 3 years with a variety of service providers present to exchange information and focus on specific trafficking issues.

 

Dr. Murase announced that SF CAHT is holding a conference on August 2, 2013 focusing on addressing child sex trafficking in San Francisco.  She stated that materials for the conference will be distributed via a USB flash drive and requested attendees to send any materials they would like to be included on the flash drive to the DOSW as soon as possible.

 

III.                San Francisco Task Force Governance Model

 

Ms. Kandel stated that input and collaboration with community service providers is essential.

 

Ms. Conroy remarked that the federal model inextricably links government agencies with community service providers.  She stated that the City and County will be more likely to receive federal funding to address human trafficking if we are more aligned to the federal model and incorporate community service providers.

 

Dr. Murase asked attendees to review community service providers and other city agencies who would contribute to the Task Force in the future.

 

Mr. Tsutakawa suggested inviting F.D. Homes and SAGE, two agencies that have worked directly with the Human Services Agency in supporting trafficked youth.

 

Inspector Flores suggested inviting faith-based groups and remarked on the success of inviting faith-based groups to join other task forces.

 

Ms. Durr proposed inviting the Building Inspector and Board of Appeals.

 

Other suggested agencies for the task force were: Juvenile Probation Department, Planning Department, and Assessor’s office

 

IV.               Data Systems

A.                 What data is being collected?

B.                  What data should be collected?

 

The Task Force recognized the difficulties associated with collecting data that accurately reflects both the need and the services provided to survivors of human trafficking.  There seems to be data out there, but the data that is available is neither centrally located nor easily accessible.

 

Inspector Flores stated that data collection is heavily impacted by initial coding done by officers in the field.  He noted that data for human trafficking is especially difficult to collect because some officers may not be aware of indicators of trafficking while others may include prostitution as an offense within another police code (e.g. a domestic violence report may include prostitution as a violation, but using the current system this type of report would only gather data for domestic violence offenses).  Inspector Flores has been trying to improve tracking of human trafficking data within SFPD. 

 

Mr. Henderson stated that the number of convictions and meetings with specific outcomes, e.g. trafficking rings broken up, does not adequately reflect the work done and support provided to each individual trafficking survivor.  He suggested thinking of different ways to conceptualize outcomes and stressed the importance of diminishing the pipeline for human trafficking.  He pointed out that, while it is important to gather conviction data, the City and its community-based advocates provide much victim-oriented support for survivors that should be accounted for.

 

Dr. Murase stated that data collection and codifying are areas where the Task Force can really have an impact.

 

V.                 Legislative Updates

A.                 State Legislation

 

Ms. Kandel provided a brief overview of State Senator Yee’s legislation (SB 738).  Senator Yee’s bill would call for the creation of an interagency workgroup to develop a comprehensive state plan to serve and protect sexually exploited and trafficked minors, would place a child who is a victim of sexual exploitation and trafficking under the court’s dependency system, and would provide a training course related to human trafficking victims for administrators of group home facilities, licensed foster parents, and kinship providers.

 

Mr. Tsutakawa recognized the need for this legislation and remarked that, while the HSA before has primarily focused on child abuse and neglect, there are many trafficked minors who need more support.

 

Supervisor Tang stated that in her district alone there are at least 30 massage parlors, many of which appear to be hubs for prostitution and trafficking.  She recognized both the great need for intervention at the municipal level and the challenges faced by city officials in regulating these establishments.  In 2008 a state law was passed to create the California Massage Therapy Council, an entity tasked with enforcing new standards on regulation of massage therapists and establishments.  While passed with good intentions, the creation of this council resulted in a major legal loophole that removed local control over massage establishments.  Supervisor Tang’s office has been working to pass legislation at the state level to address this loophole (AB1147).  AB1147 (Gomez) did not pass in this legislative session, but Supervisor Tang hopes that it will pass in future sessions.

 

B.                  Local

Supervisor Tang has drafted a proposed Massage Parlor Regulations Ordinance that would codify recommended penalties for violations of health codes concerning massage parlors and would introduce additional regulations on massage parlor operations at the local level.  Her office is working to create legislation that would penalize property and business owners and repeat violators and not further jeopardize the safety of victims and survivors.  She hopes to introduce this ordinance next week.

 

 

VI.               Department Updates & Announcements

 

Ms. Oliva-Aroche stressed the importance of reducing street violence.  She highlighted the wonderful work that the Street Violence Reduction Team continues to do for the City.

 

Mr. Henderson confirmed sending out invitations for the SF CAHT Child Sex Trafficking Conference to the Bar Association.

 

VII.             Next Steps

 

A.                 Next meeting date, time, location

The next meeting of the Mayor’s Task Force on Human Trafficking will be held on Wednesday, August 28, 2013, 1:30-3:30pm.  The location is to be decided.

B.                  Agenda for next meeting

Dr. Murase asked if those present would feel comfortable having community-based organizations join the next meeting.  Inspector Flores stated that he’d like for the Task Force to have clear goals and objectives prior to inviting other entities.  Other attendees agreed.

 

Dr. Murase proposed focusing on the Task Force roadmap at the next meeting.

 

C.                  Follow Up Items

1. Investigate entities that are certifying masseuses to see if fraud is occurring and they are certifying trafficked persons;
2. Map all agencies that should be involved in trafficking response;
3. Investigate assets forfeiture for businesses involved in trafficking – perhaps involve pro bono law firms in this work;
4. Set subcommittee meetings for subcommittees focusing on (1) Massage Parlors; (2) Labor Trafficking; and (3) Child Sex Trafficking
5. Cross- training of city employees to identify and respond to human trafficking
6. Improve data collection
7. Review Supervisor Tang’s legislation
8. Provide comments to Roadmap

 

Minutes taken by Stephanie Nguyen, Department on the Status of Women