Veterans' Affairs Commission - October 13, 2020 - Agenda
Agenda Forthcoming
REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 – 6:00 pm
Hosted Remotely via Zoom
VICTOR OLIVIERI, PRESIDENT
MARGO ELLIS, VICE PRESIDENT
COURTNEY MILLER, SECRETARY
WILLIAM BARNICKEL, MATTHEW BRAUER, DOUGLAS BULLARD, HANLEY CHAN,
DEBORAH DACUMOS, GEORGE ISHIKATA, IKRAM MANSORI, JEFF MARSHALL, STEPHEN MARTIN-PINTO, CHRISTOPHER MCDONALD, MYLES TUCKER, RAYMOND WONG
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
COMMUNICATIONS
Officers’ Reports
President Olivieri
New Commissioner appointments and applications
Officer Elections next month
Working with Supervisor Ronen’s office on legislation
Vice President Ellis
Secretary Miller
Committee Reports
Legislative Committee – Commissioner Tucker
Communications Committee – Commissioner Brauer
Events Committee – Commissioner Mansori
Rules Committee – Commissioner Ishikata
Finance Committee – Commissioner Marshall
Liaison Reports
Veterans Related Legislation
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
September Regular Meeting Minutes
AGENDA CHANGES
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Veterans Preference in BMR [Action Item]
NEW BUSINESS
Larry Vasquez, Capt. USN (Ret.), Director, Military and Veterans Affairs, Office of the Mayor, City of Los Angeles [Discussion and Possible Action Item]
Introduction and discussion of possible collaboration between Los Angeles and San Francisco
Judge Michael Begert and Allyson West (Director of Collaborative Justice Programs) San Francisco Superior Court [Discussion and Possible Action Item]
Introduction and discussion about funding issues with Veterans Court (please appendix)
Philippine Human Rights – City College students are asking for our support in becoming an official endorser of this campaign “to suspend United States security assistance to the Philippines until such time as human rights violations by Philippine security forces cease and the responsible state forces are held accountable.”
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScP8IahjFJavCFVv3ZvfwIjKH9E-BGcff0m8RxlQMNKpWtmkA/viewform
Bylaw Amendments
Commissioner Ishikata
Committee Appointments
Communications Committee
PUBLIC COMMENT
An opportunity for members of the public to directly address the Commission on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Commission, including items being considered today which have not been considered by a Commission committee and excluding items which have been considered by a Commission committee. Members of the public may address the Commission for up to two minutes.
Each member of the public will be allotted the same number of minutes to speak, except that public speakers using translation assistance will be allowed to testify for twice the amount of the public testimony time limit. If simultaneous translation services are used, speakers will be governed by the public testimony time limit applied to speakers not requesting translation assistance. The President or the Commission may limit the total testimony to 30 minutes.
Members of the public who want a document placed on the overhead for display should clearly state such and subsequently remove the document when they want the screen to return to live coverage of the meeting.
HONORS REPORT AND MOMENT OF SILENCE
In memory of American service members in all wars and conflicts who made the ultimate sacrifice. We also remember the passing of homeless veterans, veterans who died while awaiting approval of benefits, and suicides within the veteran and armed service communities.
ADJOURNMENT
This document is Official Business of the Veterans Affairs Commission, City and County of San Francisco. It is part of the official Public Record of the City and County of San Francisco.
Public Access:
Public Records are covered under the State of California Brown Act, as well as the Sunshine Ordinance of the City and County of San Francisco. These acts ensure that deliberations of City Business are conducted “before the People,” and that City and County operations are open to the People’s review.
For information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance (Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code), or to report a violation of the ordinance, please contact the Administrator of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force.
Veterans Affairs Commission Meetings:
General meetings of the SFVAC are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month, with the exception for the month of July, when there is no scheduled SF VAC meeting, and are held in Room 416 in City Hall.
Meeting confirmation, and specific announcement of general meetings are made via public posting of the Meeting Agenda as required by law, at least 72 hours prior to scheduled meetings. Agendas for SFVAC meetings (and archived meeting minutes) are available on the SFVAC Pages of the City of San Francisco website, and are also available for public view and inspection at the 5th Floor Government Information Center at the San Francisco Public Library, at 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. The documents librarian telephone number is (415) 554-4472.
Disability Access:
City Hall of San Francisco is wheelchair accessible via all entrances. There is wheelchair accessible public parking nearby, including the underground garage at the north side of City Hall. The nearby BART/MUNI station (Civic Center) is wheelchair accessible as are nearby city bus lines and stops. For more public transit information services, call (415) 923-6142 or dial 311.
If you or a Veteran, you know is in
immediate danger to themselves or others,
please call 911 or visit your local emergency room.
The Veterans Crisis Line is also available by
texting 838255 or by going to their website
and chatting with a mental health professional.
24/7 Confidential
Support
Text MYLIFE to 741741
Crisis Line:
(415) 781-0500
Appendix
San Francisco Superior Court
Veterans Justice Court
Veterans Court Calendar
San Francisco Superior Court established a Veterans Justice Court (VJC) calendar as a pilot program at the Community Justice Center in April 2013 and expanded to a stand-alone court in January, 2015. Veterans returning from the current conflicts and separating from the military are already appearing in San Francisco jails as well as federal and state correctional institutions. VJC adheres to the principles of San Francisco’s other collaborative court programs: a problem-solving focus, a team approach to decision making, integration of social and treatment services, judicial supervision of the treatment process, community outreach, and direct interaction between defendants and the judge. The court process is voluntary and may be refused by the veteran.
Target Population
The target population is people who served in the United States military with criminal cases in San Francisco, regardless of residence location.
Court Capacity
The Veterans Justice Court calendar is operating with a current case load of 55 veterans (the population has been as high as 82) with an estimated program length of 9-18 months, though some veterans will participate for longer. Clients in the early stages of court participation appear weekly. Less frequent court contacts occur when the veteran is embedded in a treatment program with clinical oversight and as the veteran progresses.
How the VJC Works
Working in partnership with a Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist (the VA representative) through the San Francisco VA Medical Center and a case manager through San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project for veterans without full VA benefits, VJC offers treatment and case management services for justice involved veterans.
The VA has a long history of treating combat-related PTSD. Severe and penetrating head injuries are readily identified, but cases of mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury can be more difficult to identify and their incidence harder to determine. Other mental health-related problems, including substance abuse, depression, suicide and family disruption, often co-occur with PTSD and likewise merit attention. These conditions may be overlooked by community-based clinicians who are not as trained about issues particular to veterans.
Release and Assessment
- Candidates for the Veterans Court calendar are identified in custody for those clients referred by other departments. Military status will be determined, and clients are assigned to the appropriate case management team.
- For clients out of custody, military status is determined, and the same screening and assessment tool is utilized by the VA case manager after the initial court date.
- For both in custody and out of custody, clients are asked to sign a release of information form and data (SSN, DOB) are shared with the VA representative for treatment planning.
Treatment Planning and Case Management
- Depending on VA benefits, VJC clients are clinically assessed either by a contract Pretrial Diversion case manager or a VA social worker for a determination of treatment and services needs.
- Based on the clinical assessment, a treatment plan and linkage to VA or other veteran-related agency treatment programming is provided. Service needs may include housing, financial supports, treatment (therapy and medication), rehabilitation, medical assistance, education or training necessary for employment or meaningful activity, and support with legal issues.
- The VA representative/s are team members, will attend the weekly collaborative staff meeting and court session and will report on treatment activities and compliance. Appropriate sanctions and incentives will be applied, according to drug court best practices.
VJC Team Review
- Periodically the VJC team reviews the treatment plan at and makes appropriate adjustments based on legal and clinical factors.
Court Monitoring
- Clients are required to attend weekly court at the outset and will have less-frequent court dates with ongoing compliance. Once linked to services, the client’s progress is tracked, and problems are resolved to maximize the veteran’s opportunity to succeed and to avoid incarceration.
Mentor Program
- The Veterans mentor program is a critical addition to the Veterans Court program. Mentors assist with goals and action planning, and serve as coaches, facilitators, and advisors, encouraging participation in VA services, community-based treatment and intervention programs and navigation in the court. They also have been a key source of connecting veterans to benefits and services provided by the VA and local nonprofits. Mentors meet weekly with VJC participants before or after court.
Current numbers
- 408 clients seen since program inception in 2013
- 212 successful graduates including ten active clients that continues as voluntary participants working time off probation
- 141 transferred to other criminal departments (opted out, absconded, or needing further legal disposition)
- 55 clients currently in VJC (including ten graduates participating voluntarily)
- As of September 23, 2016, 6 out of 84 VJC graduates had new San Francisco arrests, with one conviction for a 7.14% SF recidivism rate on arrests, and 1.19% SF recidivism rate on convictions.
Veteran’s Justice Court – 2018
In 2018, 42 clients entered VJC. Ninety five percent of new clients were male, 2% were female.
|
**Represents graduates from April 2013 to September 2018; San Francisco County arrests only. Graduation and Retention rates calculated from April 2013 to March 2019.
Current need
The current case manager position for non-VA Health Care participants has been funded with grant money since 2014. Our current grant also funded a part-time licensed clinician who provided one-on-one therapy as well as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) groups, which has been proven to effectively address criminal behavior and impulse control. This funding ran out June 20, 2020. VJC was also able to provide a small monthly stipend to the Veteran Mentor Coordinator for a year.
The current grant will be out of money before the end of 2020, which will force approximately 40% of current VJC clients out of this treatment court.
We have applied for a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to continue funding for the case manager positions but will not know whether we were awarded this grant until late October at the earliest. There is no pending funding for the clinician or mentor coordinator.
Request
Funding for clinical case manager
|
1 FTE @ $100,000* |
100,000 |
|
45% fringe benefit** |
45,000 |
|
Total personnel |
145,000 |
|
Transportation costs to/from county jail, taking clients to treatment and services |
10,000 |
|
TOTAL |
155,000 |
Funding for part time clinician
|
.5 FTE @ $100,000 |
50,000 |
|
45% fringe benefit** |
2,500 |
|
TOTAL |
52,500 |
Funding for veteran mentor coordinator***
|
1 FTE @ $90,000 |
65,000 |
|
45% fringe benefit |
29,250 |
|
TOTAL |
94,250 |
*Based on Behavioral Health Clinician salary range
**Estimated rate
***Based on Health Worker II salary range