Commission on Immigrant Affairs - Feb. 7, 2022

Commission on Immigrant Affairs Regular Meeting of the Commission on Immigrant Affairs

Agenda original pdf

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COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2022 6:30 PM AUSTIN CITY HALL ROOM 1101 301 W 2ND STREET AUSTIN, TEXAS Some members of the Construction Advisory Committee may be participating by videoconference Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation. To register, please contact Sinying Chan at sinying.chan@austintexas.gov or 512-972-5117. CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Krystal Gomez, Chair Nicole Merritt, Vice Chair Sara Becker Karen Crawford Adrian De La Rosa AGENDA Rennison Lalgee Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch Joseph Ramirez-Hernandez Glenn Rosales Juan Vences-Benitez CALL TO ORDER CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – December 6, 2021 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Rey Arellano, City of Austin Assistant City Manager, to present updates from the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force b. Saeed Azadi and Holly Eades, City of Austin Refugee Health Screening Clinic, to provide updates on their work and the needs are c. Edna Yang, American Gateways, to share updates the City’s funding in support of immigrant legal services and seek continued support d. Budget updates, discussion and possible action 3. OLD BUSINESS a. Budget updates - Karen b. Report back from ISNA and the RST quarterly consultations – Juan and Rennison c. Joint Inclusion Committee meeting updates – Karen FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Sinying Chan at Austin Public Health Department, at 512-972-5117, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Commission on Immigrant Affairs, please contact Sinying Chan at 512-972-5117.

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Approved Minutes original pdf

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COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS MONDAY, February 7, 2022 6:30 PM Meeting Minutes Rennison Lalgee Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch Joseph Ramirez-Hernandez Juan Vences-Benitez Board Members in Attendance: Krystal Gomez, Chair Nicole Merritt, Vice-Chair Sara Becker Karen Crawford Adrian De La Rosa Board Members not in Attendance: Glenn Rosales Staff in Attendance: Sinying Chan, Staff Liaison & Health Equity Unit Program Coordinator/Austin Public Health CALL TO ORDER 1. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES – December 6, 2021 • Karen moved to approve, Kate seconded, all in favor 2. NEW BUSINESS: DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTIONS: A. Updates from Reimagining Public Safety Task Force by City of Austin Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano • In August 2020, the City Manager created the City-Community Reimagining Public Safety Task Force which gave its recommendations in April 2021. Council approved 9.3 million dollars towards task force recommendations. More information can be found on the website https://www.austintexas.gov/department/task-force • The dashboard on the website is used to track the review of recommendations that were sent to the City Manager and show 118 of 140 recommendations are complete. Currently, the focus is on follow-up action for these recommendations. Rey is reviewing the 8 working groups and will update the dashboard when complete, beginning with the two working groups for APD. • Austin Cares is an active program that moves 911 calls from those experiencing mental health crisis to a Mental Health Clinician. Language Access is a large effort right now and is currently focusing on Spanish and API languages for public services. B. Updates from Saeed Azadi, Public Health Division Manager, and Holly Eades, Program Manager, on their work at the City of Austin Refugee Health Screening Clinic • The Refugee Health Screening Clinic does comprehensive medical and mental health assessments, treatments, immunizations, and referrals. They work with them for one year and then give them documentation they need to apply for their green card and I-693. • Afghan Placement Program significantly impacted numbers. Projecting 500-1500 arrivals for 2022. Budget increased to 1.5 million dollars for FY2022 due to increased refugees for Afghan Placement Program • Challenges: 100% Grant-funded, unpredictable federal support, contract limitations per the grant, operating with minimal staff, anticipating 500-1500 Afghans to Austin area. • Recommendation: The City of Austin create two full-time general fund positions to support the office through the above challenges with funding and staffing. Ideally, the positions would be one manager and one medical staff. …

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