the city. almost all our parents. some are grandparents. they live in the valley come in the mission, tenderloin, chinatown, trying to raise families in these communities. last year, we launched a public awareness campaign, partners and prevention. we are trying to embrace every but a -- everybody. we embraced them as partners in prevention. the mission is to protect childhood and to enhance and empower families to help their children, to raise them in a healthy environment. i want to throw my hat into the ring and say that we are open to anything the city would require a bus to help. i want to give my support and whatever i can toward the accomplishment of receiving any support from the board for a

child advocacy center. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you very much. i believe beverly and mary were also mentioned about making a presentation. good to see you. >> thank you, supervisors. this is such a great opportunity and we are honored to be here. three years ago, when we reform then revisited what our family violence council could be, it was an honor to partner with our colleagues in elder abuse and child abuse. i can see that this is the wave of the future, to look at all of these issues together. they all bring a different dynamic to the table. we see how big a problem family violence is. this report really tells us what every advocate has known all along. it is san francisco's biggest crime. it is the most reported crime

when we add elder abuse, domestic violence, and child abuse together. when we look at that and we think, 4000 domestic violence calls, that is a lot. but the community is receiving over 29,000. we are really looking at a huge opportunity here to bring san francisco's resources to more of the folks that are suffering. we are so excited to have all of these numbers in the same place. thank you for hosting us today. supervisor mirkarimi: when you speak of the lower number, is that a reference to the police department's channels? the higher number has been fielded by any number of the cbo's? >> the 4000 number are the calls coming to 911. we have to look at how many of those have decided to go forward. you will see that the matrix

gets smaller and smaller. the 29,000 is to the community. that is contacting crisis lines, shelters, programs, and legal services. then we look at 4000. a very small percentage of what is being handled in the community. another thing that this will illustrate is the vital partnerships between the city criminal justice and the community. we are seeing about five times what the city is seeing. those folks are visiting community-based resources first. supervisor mirkarimi: do you think that denotes a lack of seriousness, or is that a different reflection? >> i think it is a different reflection. i think in a post-9/11 world, the communities may not feel as comfortable calling the police. maybe things have not risen to the level that somebody feels in

danger of their lives, the community-based resources are certainly the first place a lot of people go. we want to have those resources available. if we look at 25% of these cases and if they come to the attention of the criminal justice system, it shows how much is being done in the community. supervisor mirkarimi: i was looking in the report. what i was looking for, what i did not see is a statistic -- was there any kind of count on recidivism in any one of these categories of people who have been repeat offenders or the logging of crimes of victims of those who have been repeat offenders? i did not see that anywhere in the information. >> you are onto the front -- next frontier. the tracking recidivism. our former chief and our chief

are both interested in taking the perpetrators, records, and really watching the recidivism. i think we would make that a high priority. i understand we have something. it is certainly the next frontier because not only are we seeing perpetrators with the same victim over and over again, we are seeing them with new victims. new partners. new families. we would like to see more tracking of recidivism. i think you will see a little bit of opportunity when we talk about the justice recommendation, which will give the city an opportunity to perhaps flags some of those perpetrators and track the recidivism that way. supervisor mirkarimi: please, is there anything further? supervisor campos: a quick comment on the justice system. what is the status of that?

>> i am so glad you asked. supervisor campos: i will be honest with you. i worked on that matter as a deputy city attorney years ago. i advised the city on a piece of the project. it is interesting to see that many years later, we're still talking about when it will be implemented. supervisor mirkarimi: we approved it recently. >> it is approved for its next iteration. i have been one of the community members that attend the government's council meeting for it. i cannot say i am totally thrilled with the progress, obviously. i brought an article today with me that was published in 2002 in "the chronicle." i carry it with me. i try to raise awareness. it was written by the then- treasurer and head of the family violence prevention center. it is called "a cry for justice."

it really goes into how san francisco made a commitment after the murder in 2000 to implement this computer system. i think we have made good progress over the last few years. as you know, especially supervisor campos, this languished for quite some time. i will say under the leadership of the shirt department and the new energy that paul henderson has brought to city hall, we are really seeing a huge opportunity to move it light years ahead in the next few years. of course, it has taken way too long. i did bring a copy of the article that i want to leave with you today. one of the other things i wanted to touch on, one of my main talking point today, was going to be about justice and how to implement it. another place that i think we should be going with this report is to start tracking homicide. as you know, i have been telling

the board of supervisors and the mayor's office for some time that we have a great story to tell. homicides are down by 80% when related to domestic violence. most of them were non-english speaking women. you will hear more about language access to the. now for the last three years, our average has been two. that is too many. it is a tragedy for that family. it is the world, right? from a statistical point view, down 80% when the homicide rate of san francisco was down 50%. for us to be down 80% shows the collaboration in the community coordination with the criminal justice system is working. we are headed in the right direction. i want to highlight one of the examples of this. it is a very sad case.

it is a case that all of us are familiar with. it is the case that happened in october of 2000. the community, through the department of status of women and the city's office, held a full investigation. there was a report written with scores of recommendations. it has taken us 10 years to implement it. we are in the 11th year. we do not give up, ever. based on those relationships with the verdict in that case, it was overturned, sadly, by the appellate court. we knew each other so well that we found each other that night and said, the next work day, we have to start meeting with the's office, with the sheriff's department, with everybody to try to pull whatever resources we can to take this case to the supreme court. it would have tremendous implications in domestic

violence and other kinds of homicide cases. we did not have to rebuild those relationships. we did not have to figure out who we knew. we knew everybody and they knew was coming even with new leadership. i was thinking about this today. we have been through three mayors, four police chiefs, three district attorneys. the staffs of those offices and are advocates and our executive directors in the field have stayed cohesive, even though we have had new leadership. we have been able to keep together and keep a coordinated response. we have relied on that response anytime anything happened. we also can rely on it during times when we can forge new policies, when we can make big steps forward as far as reducing homicide, which have been

suffering in our community. family violence council also speaks to that. every quarter, there are probably 30 of us in the room. not all of us knew each other. we were not always at the same table. now we are. when something needs to happen, like a child abuse intervention program, we were able to help. we were able to find our intervention colleagues in the state that were doing this. i think we are able to help mobilize each other's resources, our own resources, and i think san francisco is doing something right. we are headed in the right direction. but, resources are an issue. keeping fully funded, as both of you well know, you have been so supportive in trying to keep domestic violence, trafficking,

funded under the violence against women grant process. you can see what a struggle it is to keep these dollars. these are not high-profile projects until there is a homicide. we are going to need your support year in and year out. we will be looking at new funding streams to try to grow what we know is working. domestic violence is only receiving about $2 million from the city dearly. you can see that for one of the most reported crimes in san francisco, that is a very low rate. while we are very appreciative of the mayor's decision to keep violence against women fully funded in the city's budget, we heard that yesterday, we are excited, but we are hoping to expand that. as i said, to be the number one report a crime, 2.1 million in

domestic violence. we need to see san francisco's commitment a little bit stronger. supervisor mirkarimi: it can be a dangerous proposition. where there is progress on all these fronts, there is a threat to funding. >> absolutely. supervisor mirkarimi: in the different areas of streams of populations that we are focusing on here, what would you say is the population that is still really requiring the kind of attention that it is not getting and it should? is there any kind of trends or shift? elder abuse, for example. i would think with a booming, over the age of 55 population, we might see a larger trend of elder abuse, for example. >> i think you will hear more about elder abuse from our friends in the elder abuse

community. for domestic violence, two things. every community needs to be constantly reminded that the services are out there. there is no excuse for domestic violence. the city will respond. it is an ongoing support to every community. to be more specific, supervisor mirkarimi, i do think, still, the non-english-speaking or limited-english-speaking communities require that extra support just to make sure that folks know that it is not ok, and that they will not be deported, and that san francisco and our community is here to help. supervisor mirkarimi: very good. thank you very much. >> i've brought you all a copy of the article. anything else? supervisor campos: i want to just make a very brief point. it is not so much directed at

you. it is a general statement. i think it is something that i hope that we are mindful of, because one of the things i have seen in the last two years as the interconnection between all of these violence prevention efforts, whether it is child abuse, a senior abuse, you know, the family is impacted in a lot of different ways. one of the concerns that i have with respect to the budget is that even though a lot of progress has been made by the mayor in terms of minimizing the types of violence prevention cuts that have been proposed, there are still very sizable violence prevention cuts in the dcyf budget, for example. the head of this has done a very good job of trying to minimize those cuts. i think that department has gone as far as it can go. i think it is now up to the city

family, the mayor and the board of supervisors, to make sure that we try to restore as much of that violence prevention funding as possible, because i cannot see how those cuts are not going to impact our efforts on this front. i will give you an example. there is a proposed cut of $50,000 for the violence prevention work that a neighborhood center does of around housing. there are many families that benefit from that work. we just had a shooting at holley court. two died. everything is connected. and so, i hope that as we are talking about this, we keep the larger budget context in mind, and that we do whatever we can to make sure that the violence prevention funding that is being proposed for a cut is restored. we added back about $1.7 million

last year in violence prevention funding. about $900,000 might be on the chopping block. that is a pretty significant amount of money. >> i could not agree with you more. every violence prevention dollar, elder abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, and gang prevention, those are the kids. those are the kids that are raised. they are the same families. they are kids. every dollar that we use puts lives -- every dollar that we lose put lives at risk. i could not agree more. we did work with the mayor's office and housing to get the domestic violence shelters put back into the funding matrix. we were so appreciative. you are absolutely right. there are cuts happening to violence prevention and anything we can do to work with the board of supervisors and the mayor's office and allies at city hall would be money well spent.

supervisor mirkarimi: let's not forget that it was in 2006 that many of us fielded proposition a, which lost by less then half a percentage point. those who fought it for many of the same when actually have the lion's share of the public safety budget in san francisco. >> well taken. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. who is next? >> i am jill. i am the director of program services. i would like to thank you for hosting the family violence community today and for acknowledging the fact that family violence is a public safety issue. women and is proud to have the continued funding for our domestic violence crisis line. we have therapeutic services for

survivors of domestic violence. the report on family violence is really a valuable tool for the domestic violence community. it details the services san francisco offers survivors of domestic violence and family violence. it showcases the entrance a coordination of services and illustrates the importance of ongoing resource allocation for violence against women. as has been stated throughout this meeting, our funding is being reduced. in many cases, as you can see in the report, it has been increased. for our front line workers, education and city services for survivors of domestic violence is imperative. comprehending the network in which we navigate means support and referral for families impacted by violence.

having an understanding of the different systems, their terminology, and types of response they provide increases the quality of our services. the result of the report on family violence is well-informed clients who feel empowered by the education we can offer them. we all came together and we created a very comprehensive service network. each agency sharing its area of expertise with the other, if one service area is diminished, service providers and survivors of domestic violence seeking those services, and monumental number, as you can see in the report, all feel the impact. we must ensure that violence against women grantees continue to receive funding. we're very fortunate to have u.s. advocate to end the final breach of family violence. i hope you take an enormous amount of pride in the reviewing

report that shows the amazing work we do here in san francisco and how much we care about the families who are lucky enough to revive -- reside in our city. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: i'm curious. has the report invited public comment? >> in terms of the family violence council, it has been a focus. all of the community-based organizations have been encouraged to review, take a look, add comments. there has been plenty of opportunity. in terms of the public at large, i am not really in the best position to speak to that. i can tell you that it has been collaborative. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. please. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is heinicke. -- heidi. i want to highlight a few

things the report touches upon or addresses. one is with respect to that there is a significant population in the city of limited english proficiency, elder abuse, and child abuse survivors and families. one of the things that we really want to make sure -- hoping this report continues to monitor and track is really how that is affecting those populations. the organization i work for is one of the many necessary collaborators and partners in providing a safety net and media response. on the legal front, i wanted to note that on page 20 of the report, i think there is an interesting statistic for the last years. it focuses on the pro's that have been to grant -- been granted cummingtonite, or taken off calendar. one thing we are wanting to please see as we work together

around this is, what is the basis for why things are being taken off calendar in the family law context? anecdotally speaking, my agency and others have found that we are seeing concerns because of language access, because of cultural barriers, there continues to be fear and distrust, and lack of understanding of how law enforcement and other key responders are a part of this process and are able to beat an effective response resource. as the report mentions, training is going to be invaluable to be expanded upon and continue as all of us are included, law- enforcement, and other response separate. we are finding that there is concern that reports are being taken, or investigations are being done, but sometimes, there

is a situation where the domestic violence or other survivor of abuses on able to present in a fashion accurately and with a sense of safety that this is the incident or account of what has happened. we do hope that one of the recommendations moving forward that we would like to see in this report and future reports is that there were some recommendations that the police department put into place under its own general orders to provide for added training and added interpret your qualifications for law enforcement for abuse incident matters. because of the timing of things, this report was not able to capture the growing concern around secure communities and how that particular federal policy is now impacting us here in california and us in the bay

area and san francisco. we are finding that there are many people who we believe are not coming forward. there is more uncertainty and trepidation for the survivors of abuse, including domestic violence. we're also finding that we look at matters that are being taken off calendar. 50% being taken off calendar is starting to reflect a potential trend. the process is being pulled back upon. people are fearful that we will have increasing deportation and risk of losing families and other members of their communities because of these policies. thank you so much. we want to stress that with the budget efforts that are challenging, the increased coordination that we are asking for will be vital and hopefully, the budget will be in place to continue to support that effort.

supervisor mirkarimi: with your remark about secure communities, which i agree with you on, i would think that would merit a supplemental report sometime soon, instead of waiting for another year for a report to come out. perhaps the council will see the wisdom or partners will move forward in directing that. this is more than just a contemporary issue and one that i think a city like san francisco and county are tackling in trying to make sense out of how to address the best path forward. >> yes. i think that is something the council would look at. i think in relation to the intersection of language access services and resources in the city, particularly with law- enforcement and other agencies, hopefully they are at their best. supervisor mirkarimi: supervisor campos? supervisor campos: thank you for your presentation. thank you for being here in city

hall. i am trying to understand with respect to the numbers that you pointed out -- we are talking about 45% in 2009-2010 and 44% in 2008-2009. what happened to those cases when these items are put off calendar? do you know what the usual result is bugs>> i am thinking r my office and those who have bought the the service to clients. we thought there could be a decision on the part of the survivor to no longer proceed forward with the matter and take it off calendar voluntarily based on an add need to reconcile perhaps with the alleged perpetrator, but also because they may identify their safety is not compromised as they may have felt at one point. but in the course of the last of months or so, at my agency, we have been seeing an increase of

individuals taking these matters off calendar because of two reasons. one which i mentioned earlier. they are fearful the alleged perpetrator will now be put into a system where they are going to be subject to deportation. the other thing, the economics of our time, the continuing recession has impacted for some of our clients, survivors of domestic violence and other abuse, whether they will not proceed and drop the matters. they could have a dependency, a need to consider a bit financial contribution of the alleged perpetrator. supervisor campos: i imagine the answer is no, but we do not track the breakdown of who falls within that 45 percent said we are talking about? is there a way of tracking which cases are the ones that end up being put off calendar?

whether it is by ethnicity, language ability, socio-economic status --whenever that might be. i wonder if this is something that is dispassionate -- is proportionally impacting -- disproportionately impacted one group of individuals. >> i am sure that service providers, others that represent these people could do some tracking, but it would require both sides of participation to do that. supervisor campos: thank you very much. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. i also want to say earlier -- identified the three chairs, members of the console. i also want to recognize several other people that are part