March 23, 1999

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Youth Task Force

1. Call to Order and Roll Call:

The meeting was called to order at 6:13 PM. Present: Chen, DeVries, Ingraham, Kutner, Lamo, Michaels, Rothman, Robertson (8) Tardy: Vitaly, Otalvaro-Hormillosa (2) Absent: Butler, Michaels, Prozan, Slozberg, Turner (5)

2. Approval of Agenda: Motion to approve agenda, seconded and approved. (Objections to agenda could be but not limited to: amending the order of items on the agenda, asking to remove an item from the agenda, correct typographical errors, etc.)

3. Approval of Minutes March 10, 1999: Motion to approve minutes seconded and approved. (Objections to minutes could be, but not limited to, typographical errors, minutes do not accurately reflect the content of the meeting they are for, some pertinent facts are missing...)

4. New Business:

2. Discussion re: Progress report from members who have not been able to attend meetings. Rebecca Prozan had a Commission meeting to attend at the same time as our Task Force meeting and was unable to attend tonight’s meeting.

3. Discussion - Re: Continuation or termination of Task Force after June 30^th, 1999 - It was agreed by a majority of the members that continuation of the task force should be a priority, and that clarification of the future structure, composition and purpose of the task force would be helpful. One proposed structure included having the task force act as a monitoring body to ensure the implementation of recommendations, which raised concerns about the enforcement power of the task force if continued. The suggestion was raised that the task force should monitor implementation of existing recommendations rather than attempting to implement new ones. Concerns were also raised as to the demographic composition of the task force with regards to lack of representation from youth under 18 and some members raised issues regarding the appropriateness of the inclusion of youth under 21 in a monitoring group. Alternative compositions, such as the addition of an additional staff person who would work with task force members informally, and as to whether the task force had potential for continuation as a project of the Youth Commission were discussed. Additional suggestions included modifying the charter of the Youth Commission to specifically name the task force as one of its projects. Members felt that it might be productive to train future task force members regarding the nuances of task force operations to avoid having them learn on-the-fly. Considerations also included deciding which body the task force would exist under - whether it was indeed continuable as a Youth Commission project, or whether it should exist under a different body. A member of the public suggested the possibility of using community involvement to strengthen the goals and actions of the task force rather than having to rely entirely on established channels and the possibility of organizing queer youth and assisting them in establishing links to a variety of resources, City and non-City, to further their goals in the fulfillment of their needs. Members suggested allying the task force with existing organizations to increase recognition and possibility of enforcement powers assuming continuation of the task force.

4. Discussion and possible action re: Breaking out into working groups: Working groups met and discussed implementation of recommendations.

5. Working group reports:

   -Youth Services: Met with Deborah Alvarez and are in process of scheduling further meetings.

   -Family, Housing and Shelter: Set meeting with Deborah Alvarez, which was canceled, and are following up on DHS meeting.

   -Health and Mental Health: This group is in the process of drafting a letter to DPH, which they would like feedback from other members about and are scheduling other meetings to address all of their recommendations.

   -Juvenile Justice: Met with Juvenile Services and Huckleberry House and are arranging meetings with these and other agencies along with Legal Services for Children

   -Youth and Schools: Is organizing focus groups and arranging to distribute questionnaires to evaluate the implementation of school-related recommendations.

6. Discussion and possible action re: Setting next meeting’s agenda: Next meeting will be April 14^th at City Hall.

5. Announcements:

A party will take place at Proyecto next Friday. Contact Gigi Otalvaro-Hormillosa at 575-1649 for more information.

The Youth Commission is sponsoring an advocacy day regarding gun control, in Sacramento.

Additionally, a staff position is becoming available at the Youth Commission. Contact the Youth Commission at 415-554-6446 for more information on either one of these items.

6. Public Comment: There was no public comment

7. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:55pm