Ø Introductions
Ø The 1/18/2008 Meeting Minutes were read and approved.
Ø Julie Mauney announced meeting minutes are now posted on the web site.
Ø Julie announced the Gwinnett Force brochure is being passed out at various locations throughout the county and some sites even need stock replenished.
Ø Committee sign up sheets were distributed. Julie emphasized the need for all committees to be active.
Ø The idea of bimonthly meetings was discussed again. Julie stated that if the committees are actively meeting and working toward goals every month there is a possibility we could eventually go to bimonthly. Meetings remain monthly at this time. Committees were encouraged to meet at least monthly.
Ø Mike Leonard announced that web mail addresses have been set up for the committee chairs (ex: accountability@gwinnettfamilyviolence.org).
Ø Committee Updates
o Accountability – Committee has a chair. Meets the last Friday of every month. Members consist of a 911 dispatcher, FVIPs, and law enforcement (Suwannee and Duluth). Goals: gather stats and find out how the system is working. A form will be created for various sectors to report on so that stats can be tracked. Info will eventually be posted on the web site and updated monthly.
o Fatality Review – meets 1st Friday of every month. This committee will begin to review cases again in April. Focus of the committee over the past few months has been implementation of the Gwinnett Force TV show.
o Education & Prevention – six people have signed up; no chair.
o Fundraising/Membership – Chaired by the treasurer. No other members have signed up.
o Faith/Outreach – Penelope Batts of Awake, Inc. and Parish Parker of Destiny Road Family Violence Center are members of the committee.
Ø Julie Mauney announced that the third episode of The Gwinnett Force would tape on February 28. The topic will be Stalking. E-mails are beginning to come in from the web site with questions about and suggestions for the show.
Ø Jerry Connor announced that there is a need to educate the counseling community about couples counseling in the setting of DV. This is not always easy because the history of DV has to be elicited and is not always directly reported. Counselors often need effective listening and DV assessment skills.
Ø A representative from PADV, Gabriel Vargas,said there is an ongoing need for law enforcement training to identify primary aggressors in DV incidents. Sometimes victims are identified as the primary aggressor with unfortunate consequences. The case of a pregnant woman recently arrested by police for having thrown a shoe at her husband who had called police was cited as an example.
Ø Discussion of fact that judges have various interpretations of criteria for DV when someone destroys their own property in a dispute with their spouse.
Ø Discussion about the lack of availability of services and support for men who are victims of DV.
Ø Julie announced Judge Hutchinson is the new Chief Magistrate. Julie requested members send her any questions they have about law enforcement or the courts so she will have them when she meets with Judge Hutchinson.
Ø Julie Mauney announced that she will attend the ATAP Threat Assessment Conference on February 26 and 27 and this will provide useful information for Task Force programs and for discussion on the next episode of The Gwinnett Force TV show.
Ø Mike Leonard asked everyone to post requests for web content to info@gwinnettfamilyviolence.org.
Ø A member brought up the idea of having a forum on the web site for exchange of ideas and information about DV. Discussion about private vs. open forum. Mike will check into whether this can be done through our web site.
Ø Lynda Waggoner reported recent and upcoming disbursements from the bank account for $250 for the ATAP conference. An additional disbursement of $30 will be made to the Georgia Secretary of State in March to renew the corporate registration.
Ø Julie announced and read parts of the new Georgia Commission on Family Violence newsletter. Jennifer Thomas is the new Task Force Coordinator for the Commission. Participation by a variety of community members is recommended on a DV coalition. Julie reminded members to spread the word in the community and encourage others to join the Task Force.
Ø Jennifer Thomas will visit our task force next month.
Ø Julie announced Parish Parker is starting a quarterly newsletter with information on support groups.
Ø Julie passed out a document request form.
Ø Fundraising Event: Hometown Casino Party. Saturday, March 15, 2008. A flyer was distributed for the event. Proceeds go to Destiny Road Family Violence Center.
Ø The Georgia Commission on Family Violence will hold its 15th annual conference at the Hyatt Regency in Savannah Georgia September 7 through 10. Registration materials will be available in May.
Ø Joseph Brooks of Gwinnett County Animal Control announced there has been a sharp rise in reports of animal abuse in the county over the past two years.
Ø Meeting adjourned @ 3:30 p.m.
Ø The next Task Force meeting is March 21, 2008 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in Conference A. Conference Rooms are subject to last minute changes.
L. Waggoner
2/18/2008
