Date and Time
February 20, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
February 21, 9:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Location
The Adolphus Hotel
1321 Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas 75202
Meeting Participants (in attendance)
(I)Advisory Committee Members
Rhonda Arena
Barbara Black
Michael Bouchard (joined on the afternoon of February 20th )
Judge Michael Brennan
Vernadette Ramirez Broyles
Lydia Chassaniol
Colleen Coble
Sharon Cooper
Anne Crichton Crews
Barbara Dehl
Pamela Galbraith
Peter Garza
Casey Gwinn (joined on the afternoon of February 20th )
Lt. Det. Margot Hill
Det. Gerald Lee Isaacs
Mary Lauby
Dianna Lightfoot
Elizabeth McCord, M.D.
Rev. Aldean "Al" Miles
Beverly Nuckols, M.D.
Nancy Mitchell Pfotenhauer (February 21 only )
Delilah Rumburg
Noelle Sampson
Greer Saunders
Sherolyn Smith-De Santis
(II)Federal Employees
Frances Ashe-Goins, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Cristina V. Beato, M.D., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(page 2)
Amy Mathers, U.S. Department of Justice
Catherine Pierce, U.S. Department of Justice
Andrew Schauder, U.S. Department of Justice
Diane M. Stuart, U.S. Department of Justice
Omar A. Vargas, U.S. Department of Justice
(III) Members of the Public Who Presented Oral or Written Statements
(A) Oral Statements
Deborah Decker, Dallas Morning News
Margaret Keliher, Dallas County Commissioners Court Judge
Sherry Lee, Family Violence Prevention Initiative & Work-life Wellness Program, Texas Resources
Don Smith, Violence Intervention Prevention Clinic, Parkland Hospital
Pam Wessel, Advocacy Center(B) Written Statements
None
Matters Discussed
Thursday, February 20, 2003
1. Diane Stuart, Acting Director, Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, opened the Committee's meeting with welcoming remarks underscoring the important leadership role the Department plays in enhancing victim safety and making certain offenders are held accountable for their crimes. Cristina V. Beato, M.D., Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Public Health, followed with additional welcoming remarks and announced a Centers for Disease Control award of an additional $1.2 million to five states' domestic violence coalitions to help develop and coordinate activities aimed at preventing and treating victims of domestic violence. A short discussion followed.
2. Francis Ashe-Goins, Deputy Director and Director of Policy and Program Development, Office on Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, delivered a briefing on programs administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address violence against women. A short period of questions and answers followed.
(page 3)
3. Catherine Pierce, Deputy Director, Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, delivered a briefing on Violence Against Women Act grant programs and related initiatives administered by the Office on Violence Against Women. A short period of questions and answers followed.
4. Delilah Rumburg, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, delivered a briefing on the Committee's previous work and products. Ms. Rumburg discussed the Committee's efforts to develop and publish Ending Violence Against Women: An Agenda for the Nation and The Toolkit to End Violence Against Women. A short period of questions and answers followed.
5. Three presentations were made to the Committee during its working lunch.
Cheri Lee, Director of the Family Violence Prevention Initiative & Work/Life-Wellness at Texas Health Resources, described her organization's programs to identify and treat victims of family violence, through their three roles as a health care provider, an employer, and a community partner. Texas Health Resources has also made their manager, employee, and clinical training available to other business and hospitals.
Don Smith, Research Director of the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center ("VIP Center"), at Parkland Health and Hospital System, discussed his organization's efforts to provide services for domestic violence victims and victims of violent trauma through the hospital system in Dallas. The VIP Center complements patient care at the Texas Health Resource Center and has begun work with foreign victims, victims of trafficking in persons, and sexual assault victims. Mr. Smith also announced a new program with the Dallas Independent School District to identify at risk children and begin to work with that child and their family with intervention efforts.
Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher discussed programs implemented by Dallas County to increase community collaboration, increasing arrests, prosecute offenders, and provide protection for victims.
6. Diane Stuart opened the meeting's afternoon session by asking each Committee member present to introduce themselves. Each Committee member present at that time described their current occupation, background, and further expressed their reasons for working with victims of violence against women.
7. After a short recess, Ms. Pierce and Ms. Ashe-Goins initiated discussion of the Committee's Charge and the assignment of subcommittees. A lengthy period of discussion followed seeking clarification of the Charge and a time frame for deliverables from the Committee to the Committee Co-Chairmen. The Committee resolved to discuss these matters further during the subcommittee meeting sessions scheduled for Friday, February 21, 2003.
8. The Committee adjourned until 9 a.m., February 21, 2003.
(page 4)
Friday, February 21, 2003
1. Diane Stuart, Acting Director, Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, reconvened the Committee meeting with brief opening remarks. The Committee then convened as subcommittees to conduct subcommittee business.
2. The Committee reconvened for a working luncheon. During the working luncheon, the Committee received presentations by the following individuals:
Deborah Decker, Dallas Morning News, spoke of the need for institutional change in order to end the inter-generational cycle of violence and the role that journalists can play. A short period of questions and answers followed.
Sandy Greyson, City of Dallas Councilwoman and Chairman of the City of Dallas Domestic Violence Task Force, welcomed the Committee to Dallas and discussed the activities of the City Task Force to ensure an effective response to victims by governmental actors and enforce domestic violence laws. A short period of questions and answers followed concerning Ms. Greyson's and Ms. Decker's presentations.
3. Following a short recess, the Committee received reports from the subcommittee meetings held earlier that day.
(A) The Criminal Justice Subcommittee resolved to develop a white paper concerning the standardization of practices throughout the country, including mandatory training as a prerequisite for receiving federal funds. The white paper will also include a section concerning recommended federal or state legislative or statutory changes to support the standardization of practices nationwide. The focus of the policy recommendations will concern the roles of all criminal justice system actors, re-entry programs, law enforcement personnel as perpetrators themselves, domestic violence in the military, and a national standard for protection orders.
(B) The Community Education and Prevention Subcommittees presented joint reports. Because of the numerous overlapping issues to be addressed by these two subcommittees, subcommittee members resolved to meet as one larger subcommittee to discuss the charge and the development of a white paper. Subcommittees' members underscored their desire to develop a proposal that will have practical impact nationally, as opposed to merely preparing a written document. The Subcommittees recommended the Committee adopt a proposal creating a federal government-based, national initiative that would refocus the nation's consciousness on the issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
(page 5)
The Community Education and Prevention Subcommittees also recommended the Committee develop nine working groups defined around "communities of influence". These working groups would work to develop specific action plans to implement the message conveyed through the "national initiative." The Community Education and Prevention Subcommittees offered the following list of "communities of influence": Business, Education , Faith-Based, Judicial, Law Enforcement, Local/State Government, Media, Mental and Physical Health, Sports/ Entertainment. An additional community of influence identified (but not developed into a working group at this time) is the Advocacy Movement. The Advocacy Movement, it was recommended, will serve as the "umbrella" for the nine other communities of influence.
The Community Education and Prevention Subcommittees further recommended that the communities of influence working groups develop an action plan that is responsive to the Charge.
4. The Committee discussed the subcommittees' reports and recommendations and accepted the development of, and voluntary assignment into, the "communities of influence" working groups.(1) It was further agreed that the communities of influence working groups would undertake preliminary work towards the charge in anticipation of the next Committee meeting.
5. Based on the foregoing discussions, the Committee made the following recommendations:
(A) That the Committee be briefed on the marriage initiatives at the Department of Health and Human Services.
(B) That the Committee be briefed on the Greenbook Initiative, an interagency project.
(C) That the federal government respond adequately and appropriately to the issue of violence against women in the military.
(D) That the Office on Violence Against Women prepare and circulate via e-mail an updated contact sheet of all Committee members.
(E) That the Committee's next meeting be scheduled for April 24-25, 2003 and again during the second week of October.
(F) That the Committee's charter be renewed when it expires in November 2003.
(G) That the ToolKit to End Violence Against Women be updated to reflect the Committee's final responses to the Charge.
(H) That the Committee consider during its next meeting a message that reflects its current work and develop talking points to accompany the message for the benefit of Committee members.
(page 5)
(I) That the Committee be provided with a list of sexual assault resources.
Report or Other Documents Received, Issued, or Approved by the Committee
1. Received and Considered:
(A) Briefing Materials on Violence Against Women Programming at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(B) Briefing Materials on Violence Against Women Programming at the U.S. Department of Justice
(C) Charge to the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women
(D) Ending Violence Against Women, An Agenda for the Nation
(E) California Coalition Against Sexual Assault 2003 Report: Research on Rape and Violence
2. Issued: None
3. Approved: None
I hereby certify that, to the best of my knowledge, the foregoing minutes are accurate and complete
/s/ Diane M. Stuart
Diane M. Stuart
Acting Director
Office on Violence Against Women
National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women
Designated Federal Official
These minutes will be formally considered by the Committee at its next meeting, and any corrections or notations will be included in the minutes of that meeting.