Santa Cruz County

Domestic Violence Commission

Research and Development / Annual Report Committee

Meeting Minutes

 

  1. Meeting Date:  January 24, 2007 Meeting was called to order at 1:18 pm.

 

  1. Committee Members present:

 

Alan Hiromura, Linda Starn, Kristie Clemens, Scott MacDonald, Patty King

 

  1. Additions or Deletions to Agenda:

 

None

 

  1. Oral Communications from the Community:

 

None

 

  1. Discussed preliminary drafts for 2006 Report to the Community
    1. Probation

                                                              i.      Status The Probation Department just needed to update stats, add new anecdotes and revise findings and recommendations.

                                                            ii.      Finding 1

1.      Stats indicate an increase in the number of both new and continuing participants while the stats for the other agencies in the DV system indicate a reduction in domestic violence incident.

a.      Is this a timing issue?

b.      Are the Criminal Courts domestic violence stats increasing or decreasing?  Are there more referrals from the Courts into the DV Intervention programs

c.      Are the DV Intervention agency stats accurate?

2.      Sources for Answers

a.      The Probation Department,

b.      DV Intervention Programs and

c.      The Criminal Courts

                                                          iii.      Finding 2

1.      Stats indicate that the number of participants that terminate from the DV Intervention Programs is greater than the number of participants completing the program.

a.      This is the first year in which this has occurred.  What are the reasons for this change?

b.      Are the stats accurate?

2.      Sources for Answers

a.      The Probation Department,

b.      DV Intervention Programs

    1. Advocacy Agencies

                                                              i.      Status The Walnut Avenue Women’s Center had the draft of their section of the report ready to send to Women’s Crisis Support~Defensa De Mujeres.  Defensa anticipates sending their draft to Alan and Linda by the last week in January.

                                                            ii.      Finding 1

1.      The number of client contacts has decreased substantially, especially the phone contacts.

a.      This is due to the elimination of duplicate clients that contact the agencies in more than one month during the year.

b.      Training of operators and modifying the data collection system are the reasons for the improvement in the accuracy of the data.

                                                          iii.      Finding 2

1.      The number of clients that are served by the advocacy agencies and also report their domestic violence incident to a Law Enforcement Agency has increased by 53% despite the fact that fewer clients are receiving services.

2.      Reason for the increase

a.      Advocacy agencies have increased their outreach and education efforts.  These efforts seem to be extremely effective.

                                                           iv.      Finding 3

1.      The number of women that report having experienced domestic violence for the first time has increased by 129%.

2.      Reason for the increase

a.      Advocacy agencies have increased their outreach and education efforts.  These efforts seem to be extremely effective.

    1. Law Enforcement Agencies

                                                              i.      Status  Alan will check with Susan Rozario.

                                                            ii.      Finding 1

1.      The number of DV incidents reported to LEAs has decreased by approximately 12% while the combination of felony and misdemeanor arrests has increased by approximately 2%.

a.      Why is there a decrease in incidents and slight increase in arrests?

                                                          iii.      Sources for Answers

1.      Law Enforcement Agencies

                                                           iv.      Finding 2

1.      The number of EPOs has decreased by approximately 11%.

a.      Is this due to a decrease in the number of domestic violence incidents?

b.      Are EPOs issued if there is an arrest?  If so, shouldn’t the number of EPOs increase slightly if the number of felony and misdemeanor arrests increase slightly?

                                                             v.      Sources for Answers

1.      Law Enforcement Agencies

                                                           vi.      Finding 3

1.      Child witnesses of domestic violence that are reported by LEAs in 2006 are 587.  Child witnesses of domestic violence that are reported by CPS in 2006 are 476.  Both agencies are reporting the number of children that reside in the home.  All child witnesses of domestic violence that are reported by LEAs, according to County protocol, should be reported to CPS.

a.      Are non-LEAs reporting child witnesses to CPS?

b.      Are all LEAs reporting all child witnesses to CPS?

                                                         vii.       Sources for Answers

1.      Law Enforcement Agencies

2.      CPS

                                                       viii.      Finding 4

1.      Watsonville PD has reported a significantly higher number of felony arrests than any other LEA and a significantly higher number of felony arrests than they had in 2005.

a.      Has Watsonville PD focused on domestic violence more in 2006?

b.      Has Watsonville PD worked with advocacy agencies to encourage women to report their incidence of domestic violence to the WPD?

                                                           ix.      Sources for Answers

1.      Watsonville PD

    1. Child Protective Services

                                                              i.      Status  Patty King will provide us with a timeline.

                                                            ii.      Finding 1

1.      Child witnesses of domestic violence that are reported by LEAs in 2006 are 587.  Child witnesses of domestic violence that are reported by CPS in 2006 are 476.  Both agencies are reporting the number of children that reside in the home.  All child witnesses of domestic violence that are reported by LEAs, according to County protocol, should be reported to CPS.

a.      Are non-LEAs reporting child witnesses to CPS?

b.      Are all LEAs reporting all child witnesses to CPS?

                                                          iii.       Sources for Answers

1.      Law Enforcement Agencies

2.      CPS

                                                           iv.      Finding 2

1.      Countywide the number of child witnesses of domestic violence has decreased by approximately 15%.

a.      Is this an indication that there is less domestic violence occurring in SC County?

                                                             v.      Sources for Answers

1.      Law Enforcement Agencies

2.      CPS

    1. District Attorney

                                                              i.      Status  Alan will check with Eric.

                                                            ii.      Finding 1

1.      There was approximately a 22% increase in domestic violence felonies charged, approximately a 9% decrease in domestic violence misdemeanors charged and approximately a 12% increase in cases that were not prosecuted by the DA.

a.      Why did those changes occur?

                                                          iii.      Sources for Answers

1.      District Attorney

    1. Courts Civil

                                                              i.      Status  Alan will check with Victoria Nahnsen.

                                                            ii.      Finding 1

1.      The number of temporary restraining orders issued by the Courts decreased by approximately 12% while the number of permanent restraining orders issued by the Courts increased by 4%.

a.      Why did the number of TROs decrease?

b.      Why did the number of PROs increase despite the decrease in the number of TROs?

                                                          iii.       Sources for Answers

1.      Courts

  1. Reviewed and discussed the artwork that Walnut Avenue Women’s Center brought for the Report to the Community 2006.  The committee felt that for the most part that there were too many images in a single collage.  However, there were images that our committee thought were effective and some of the words powerful.  We asked Linda Starn to take the collages and ask Jason Solis, the graphic designer to use the collages as his inspirations to develop the graphic designs for the 2006 report.

 

Alan will pick up additional collages and the collages from Hispanic clients Monday and will deliver them to Dominican Hospital.

 

For 2007, the committee will decide on the theme for the graphics for the report and ask the respective agencies to ask their groups to produce artwork that responds to the suggested themes chosen by our committee.

 

Walnut Avenue will submit a short, one paragraph attribution to recognize the women that have provided the inspirations for the 2006 artwork.

 

  1. The meeting was adjourned at 1:25 p.m.