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Asheville Buncombe Coalition for Prevention of Family Violence (ABCPFV) MINUTES

WHEN: April 11, 2008

PRESENT
Anne Parker (Allergy Partners of WNC)
Elaine Dutton (Our VOICE)
Julie Klipp Nicholson (Pisgah Legal Service)
Zahra Coleman (Pisgah Legal Services)
Angelica R. Wind (Pisgah Legal Service)
Shane Logan (Probation DV Officer)
Janice Loggins (Bunc. Co DA's Office)
Jenny Sliker (YWCA – New Choices)
Kathleen Balogh (NCCFW/DV Commission)
Bill McGuire (Child Abuse Prevention Services)
Elizabeth Fleming (MAHEC)
John Stewart (Bunc. Co Medical Society, Helpmate)
Amy Saunooke (Bunc. Co DSS)
Steve Snow (Bunc County Health Center)
Patience Burdine (Bunc Co Sheriffs Dept)
Amy Hobson (Helpmate)
Susan Anderson (Pisgah Legal Service)
Jimmy Hare (Win-Win)
Lois Bernard (Child Abuse Prevention Services)
(19 in attendance)

WELCOME
Joining us today are Elaine Dutton from Our VOICE and Shane Logan, a Probation DV Officer.

CALENDAR ITEMS

April 24, 2008 (Thursday) 5:30 pm-7:30 pm- Child Abuse Prevention Services, Inc. a Blue Ribbon Reception and Award ceremony with honoree(s) to be announced. Location: Reuter Mission Children’s Clinic.

April 25, 2008 (Friday) – 9 Parts of Desire. Location at Asheville Arts Center, on Merrimon Avenue to benefit Our VOICE.

April 28, 2008 “Searching for Angela Shelton”, Location: UNCA. Angela Shelton will be there for a discussion.

May 5, 2008 (Monday) – Genesis Alliance Luncheon at Renaissance Hotel to benefit Women at Risk.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPDATES
Jenny Sliker (YWCA – New Choices)
They had a great turnout at Women’s Confidence Day. Twenty-five women participated. There was great support from all who helped, including Kathleen and AAUW.
Elizabeth Fleming (MAHEC)
She wants to do a conference in the fall for DV Awareness Month. She has some handouts with a collection of ideas. If you have ideas for speakers or would like to be a part of a committee to work on this, please let her know. Amy mentioned Christy Price at Helpmate organizes things for October. Elizabeth may want to get in touch with her.
Jenny mentioned YWCA has something planned for October 2. It is open as to who the audience is. Steve would like to see how we can use it as a voice for our coalition.
Elaine Dutton (Our VOICE)
(1) The Survivors Art Show had a great turnout.
(2) They are starting a Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force. Anyone interested in joining, contact her at elained@ourvoicenc.org She will email me information to send out to everyone with further information.
John Stewart (Bunc. Co Medical Society, Helpmate)
(1)Helpmate met their goal! They hope to have the grand finale of the shelter in May. People should be hearing the specific date soon.
(2) Something for people to think about – publishing perpetrators names in the newspaper…

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES – Amy Saunooke
Stats: On average # CPS calls 350/mo, they accept 275 calls/mo, and screen out 75/mo
~340 cases are open for in-home services and 260 in foster care

DSS can hear from a variety of people to report a concern of neglect – a teacher, a neighbor, a family member. To evaluate to see if a child meets the definition of neglect, a number of events occur. The Family Assessment Response is a way to see if a family needs supportive services to make sure the child is safe. A Safety Assessment is first, then gathering information from family and others who may have information. The decision is then made regarding what services are needed. In Family Assessment Response, the safety of the child is family centered. (If this option does not work, they will use the Traditional Investigation response). They try to keep the child in the home, however the child safety is the most important. Foster care in another option. Information on foster parenting was passed around today.

If there is a need of services in a neglect case, they are transferred to an In-Home Services Social Worker. IF DV is involved, they talk to the non-offending parent first, then the children, then the perpetrator. They develop a safety plan separately for each individual. A separate Family Service Agreement and crisis plan is made for each individual as well.

6 principles specific to DV (from the N.C. Child Well-Being and Domestic Violence Task Force )
1. Enhancing a parent’s safety enhances the child’s safety
2. Domestic violence perpetrators may cause serious harm to children
3. Domestic violence perpetrators, and not their victims, should be held accountable for their actions and the impact on the well-being on the adult and child victims
4. Appropriate services, tailored to the degree of violence and risk, should be available for adult victims leaving, returning to, or staying in abusive relationships and for child victims and perpetrators of domestic violence
5. Children should remain in the care of their non-offending parent whenever possible
6. When the risk of harm to the children outweighs the detriment of being separated from non-offending parents, alternative placement should be considered

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION SERVICES – Bill McGuire
Bill began the meeting by passing out blue ribbons and blue arm bands for CAP month.
Their agency is funded through grants by United Way and fundraisers. In 2007, there were 5 million cases of child abuse in the nation. Of those, 4000 were in Buncombe county. One half of those were children under the age of 6 years old. Four children every day will die every day as a result of child abuse.

They offer 3 programs/services:
1. School Based Prevention Programs: It can reach approximately 8000 kids in Kindergarten through 4th grade. It educates and empowers them by giving them the skills to protect themselves as well as recognize and report abuse. They have had a few kids disclose they have been abused in these classes. It also educates the teachers.
2. Parenting Education: It teaches parenting skills.
3. Crisis Intervention and Counseling of Abused Children and Families: This helps stabilize a family after disclosure of abuse by learning new coping skills.

OUR VOICE – Elaine Dutton
They were formerly the Rape Crisis Center, but now are Our VOICE: V=Victims Services, O=Outreach, I=Intervention, C=Counseling, E=Education
In 2006, they served 950 clients, with 282 in the last quarter. Some are immediate survivors, some are not. They have a staff of seven full-time people – casemanagers, counselors and many volunteers. They serve ages 13 and up. This can be the primary victim, secondary victims, family or friends. They are on-call 24 hours a day and can go to the ER if needed. Court advocacy is available. A few volunteers are bilingual (Spanish) but they are not available all the time. They offer education programs to schools and other organizations in our community regarding sexual violence.

A Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force is beginning. It is funded by a Rape Prevention grant to look at ways to end sexual violence in our community. They want input from members of our coalition. Contact her if you are interested in being on this task force at elained@ourvoicenc.org. Information will also be sent out to you.

Steve and Julie wondered if the Speaker group had come up with ideas. The speaker group wanted input from our group. Shane mentioned that recovering offenders have spoken at other meetings and may be an option. Legislators are another choice – Martin Nesbitt, Susan Fisher and Bruce Goforth were some names mentioned. Julie will look into the legislators.

Next meeting is May 9, 2008.

Sincerely
Anne Parker http://www.abcpfv.org/

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