Meeting Minutes for Mayor’s Task Force on Anti-Human Trafficking

Wednesday, August 24, 2016, 1:30pm – 3:30pm

City Hall, Room 305

1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102

 

Attendees:

 

Tara Anderson, District Attorney’s Office, Mana Barari, Employment Law Center; Allison Brody, Robin Brasso, NCJW; Karen Catalona, District Attorney’s Office; Minh Dang, RTI; Carly Devlin, Huckleberry Youth Programs; Christy Dieterich, DPH; Janet Ector, RTI; Tony Flores, SFPD; Patrick Fosdahl, DPH Massage Program; Sister Marie Gaillac, Northern CA Catholic Sisters AHT;  Kelly Gilliam, NALLS Foundation; Nikki Gonzales, Robocop;  Pratima Gupta, St. James Infirmary; Emily Hinsley, Love Never Fails; Alma Jackson, Sojourner Truth Foster Family Agency; Carletta Jackson-Lane, Sojourner Truth Foster Family Agency;  Minouche Kandel, Department on the Status of Women; Antonia Lavine, SFCAHT; Alix Lutnick, RTI; Menaka Mahajan; Beverly May, CAMTC; Elisabet Medina, SFCAPC; Caitlin Meyer, Senator Feinstein’s Office; Emily Murase, Department on the Status of Women; Jackie Ortiz, District Attorney Victim Witness;  Tom Paulino, Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein; Lisa Peckler, Dignity Health; JaMel Perkins; Leah Chen Price, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Mia Satya, TAY-SF, Emily Sims, RTI; Yenia Simms, Love Never Fails; Dongmei Tan, SFDPH; Aradhana Tiwari, Employment Law Center; Christine Ticas, District Attorney Victim Witness; Genèvieve Tiangco, SHADE Project; Jill Turner, Robocop Hediana Utarti, Asian Women’s Shelter;

 

 

I.Agenda Approved [Perkins/Jackson-Lane]

 

II.Approval of Minutes from June 22, 2016 [Gupta/Perkins]

 

III.Approval of 2016 Human Trafficking Report

 

Ms. Kandel asked for feedback on the report. Minor edits were suggested. She asked participants to use the latest copy of the report only and requested that previous copies be deleted.

The Report was approved.  [Satya/ Murase]

 

IV. Review of Data Collection Tool for 2017 Report

 

The group reviewed the current data collection forms.  The following suggestions were made:

• Use a professional statistician to connect data from providers and to examine community vs. law enforcement data, possibly one that could be hired by Department on the Status of Women. The Police Department may have a full-time data analyst dedicated to data collection;
• Access data from federally funded Task Forces;
• Capture information on mental health disorders and substance abuse. (In an informal poll, 6 agencies identified themselves as having clinical staff that can diagnose a mental health disorder and could collect this information.);
• Capture information on other barriers to services (language immigration status, loss of contact, lack of availability of services);
• Broaden description of “social service community based organization” to “non-profit organization” on the form used to gather information from non-governmental organizations;
• Gather information on the path that led to the person’s trafficking/method of recruitment;
• Greater break down of Asian/Pacific Islander category, as there are 48 different ethnicities that fall under this category;
• Gather information on how victims learned about the service provider;
• Explore the use of “Survey Monkey” to collect data

 

There was discussion of challenges to categorizing cases.  SFPD Sgt. Inspector Tony Flores suggested the development of a tool that could be used at the point of contact to help first responders better identify trafficking victims.  There was a suggestion that staff responsible for data collection be clearly identified and trained. 

 

There was discussion the audience and purpose of the report.

 

V.Evaluation of Task Force

 

Emily Sims and Janet Ector interviewed 31 participants from 25 different agencies during the first phase of this evaluation. Agencies span government social service providers, law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations.  They identified 10 emerging themes:

 

1)           Minouche’s excellent leadership and meeting facilitation.

 

2)           The need for unduplicated data and also a data analyst.

 

3)            Success of the 24-hour response. The timeframe from the proposal stage to funding and staffing happened relatively quickly.

 

4)           There is a huge need for active involvement of people who have experienced trafficking, including POC and male/gender queer individuals.

 

5)           Children of color are being coerced into exploitative situations that are viewed as criminal behavior. For example, drug sales and gang activity.

 

6)           People have identified the need to examine exploitation in other labor sectors besides the sex industry (including massage parlors) and nail salons.

 

7)           There is a need for employment options that will allow survivors to support themselves in the Bay Area. There is also a need for housing options that both survivors and local service providers can afford.

 

8)           The Prioritizing Safety for Sex Workers Policy and the review of the POST Human Trafficking video. Involvement of sex workers is unique to San Francisco.

 

9)            Lack consensus and awareness about the goals of the Task Force.

 

10)         Need for Strategic Planning.

 

The meetings don't feel comfortable to many participants.

 

Minh Dang explained her role in the evaluation.  She is a survivor/researcher, putting together a Community Advisory Board and coordinating reports to the survivor community.

 

VI. Possibility of Strategic Planning Retreat

RTI has a small amount of funds available from the evaluation to help support a strategic planning retreat for the Task Force, if there is consensus this would be useful.  There was strong support for the idea. Participants discussed whether an all-day event would be possible. Most people felt that half a day would be better attended, something like 8:30 am - 12:30 pm, in November or December.  It was urged that participation be broad and inclusive. A suggestion for meeting space was to approach Chris Bussel at Google.

 

VI.Presentation on Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center Services - Mana Barari

Ms. Barari review her agency's resources on civil claims in trafficking cases.  LAS-ELC focuses on civil litigation for trafficking claims. According to training information from CAST, criminal charges are filed in only 10% of trafficking cases and only  23% of cases where there are criminal charges end in an award of compensation, and then very few awards are paid out for a variety of reasons. Civil remedies offer an avenue of meaningful recourse and empowerment for victims. There are both state and federal laws that provide civil remedies. Sometimes the statutes have short statutes of limitations. Ms. Barari urged service providers to include civil claims and civil remedies as part of the response to victims. Employment Law Cente has in-house interpreters in Spanish and Chinese, with resources in Tagalog and Indonesian. These are all free services.

 

LAS-ELC is interested in cases against large employers, multiple plaintiffs/class action. The agency has focused on labor trafficking issues in construction, hospitality, agriculture.

Aradna is a 3-month Fellow focused on labor trafficking outreach, identifying service providers, preparing a referral list, and "know your rights" information for victims.

 

 

VII.Planning for Next Meeting and Next Steps

 

Planning for Next Meeting: October 26, 2016, 1:30 - 3:30 pm, City Hall, rm 305