Item2b.PSC 5-3-2021- Reimaging Public Safety-Amanda Lewis Power Point — original pdf

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Recommendations to Counc Services for Survivors of Violence and Violence Prevention Workgroup Reimagining Public Safety Task Force Work Group Members Aja Gair - SAFE Kachina Clark - APD Victim Services Tricia Forbes - Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice Courtney Santana - Survive2Thrive Jenny Black - SANE nurse Farah Muscadin - Director of OPO Neva Fernandez - Victim Services Manager DA’s office Jen Margulies - Undoing White Supremacy Austin Shelli Egger - Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, Gun Violence Task Force, & Family Violence Task Force Eloise Sepeda - Mission Capital, Formerly Refugee Services of Texas Emily LeBlanc - CASA of Travis County Julie Sweeney - County Attorney’s Office, DVHRT Noor ZK - Sex Worker Outreach Project of Austin Connie Geerhart - APD Victim Services Amanda Michelle Lewis - Survivor Justice Project Deepika Modali - Asian Family Support Services of Austin Angel Carroll - MEASURE Maggy McGiffert - UTMB Center for Violence Prevention Guiding Working Group Values 01 02 03 04 05 Survivor Centered Healing Justice Systems Accountability Culturally Affirming Trauma Informed Individuals, families, & communities most impacted by violence Invest in non- carceral resources for healing Let those who need it lead it Anti-racism work is anti-violence work Adopt universal precautions for trauma Survivor Services & Violence Prevention: An Expanding Approach: Augment Victim Services with a proliferation of community services that do not require survivors to have contact with the criminal legal system. -based Community-Rooted Safety Grant Program Establish a permanent grant fund of at least $350,000 per year for co m m u n ity-b a se d o rga n iza tio n s to im p le m e n t, e xp a n d , o r su p p o rt p ro m isin g in itia tive s th a t fo cu s o n : ● Sa fe ty a n d Im m e d ia te We ll-b e in g ○ Exa m p le s: Crisis In te rve n tio n & Victim /Su rvivo r Em e rge n cy Fu n d s ● He a lin g a n d Re p a ir fro m Ha rm ○ Exa m p le s: Tra n sfo rm a tive Ju stice Circle s, He a lin g Circle s, a n d Po d -m a p p in g ● Pre ve n tio n - Pla n tin g Se e d s fo r Vio le n ce -Fre e Fu tu re s ○ Exa m p le s: Eco n o m ic Em p o we rm e n t, Cu ltu ra lly Ro o te d Pa re n t/Fa m ily Su p p o rt, a n d Co m m u n ity De fe n se Zo n e s Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) Model Through the Office of Violence Prevention, provide $1 million in funding for the creation of a Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) to provide: ● Free, culturally responsive, trauma -informed therapy and case management for survivors of violence without regard to involvement with the criminal legal system or immigration status; and ● Services tailored to survivors who are traditionally underserved by existing systems. Sex Worker Outreach Services Provide $460,000 first year, then $260k annually to fund sex worker outreach services by and for sex workers. Including but not limited to: ● Survey about violence within the community to strengthen available data ● Peer support programming (bad date list, paid peer mentorship) and mutual aid ● Street outreach and harm reduction ● City-funded campaign against stigma for sex working, unhoused, and drug using - $80k - $250k - $75k populations - $30k ● Cultural competency trainings for legal / medical /social service providers in Austin - $75k Community-Based Economic Services Expand access to emergency financial assistance such as the Bridge to Safety by: ● Directing City funds to at least 5 additional community -based partners who can distribute flexible emergency financial assistance without requiring criminal legal system involvement. ○ $75,000 per year, per site, for direct financial assistance x 6 (1 current, 5 additional) agencies = $450,000 ○ Dedicate additional funds for fund administration & distribution support, and/or for FTE/PTEs if agencies staff distribution themselves x 6 (1 current FTE, 2 additional) = $225,000 ● Providing free and deeply reduced CapMetro passes for distribution by community -based partners. ○ 100-150 passes per year, per site Community-Based Housing ● Increase and diversify funding for survivor housing support, with intentional investment in underserved communities - $16 million per year ○ Rent subsidies ○ Crisis/emergency housing ○ Hotel Safety Net programs such as Survive 2 Thrive ○ Food vouchers ● Create a subsidy program to incentivize landlords to rent at reduced and stabilized rates to low income trans people of color ● Fund a community housing trust to serve Black trans individuals who are survivors of state and interpersonal violence Community-Based Upstream Prevention In the next two fiscal years, fund at least 3 upstream, place prevention initiatives that are delivered through schools or community youth and family support organizations. -based, violence -led ● Funding Recommendation: $500,000 per year ○ $75,000 per FTE ○ $25,000 minimum for program supplies and direct support to participants ○ $20,000 per location, for expanding site -based and/or extracurricular programs Internal City of Austin - Survivor Healing $360,000 annually to expand the EMDR training program, currently housed with Victim Services, and provide free access to other culturally -resonant healing modalities. Internal City of Austin - Safety for Sex Workers ● Stop arresting individuals for prostitution and solicitation, release those currently held on these charges, and dismiss charges and expunge the records of those previously convicted. ● Advocate to end Phoenix Court and instead refer individuals to local sex worker outreach and harm reduction programs, with increased funding to to increase capacity of alternative programs. ● Follow a Baltimore -style model of stopping the prosecution of minor crimes to create a safer environment for most marginalized members of Austin’s communities. Internal City of Austin - Independent Police Oversight ● Relocate the Office of Police Oversight from the City Manager’s office to an independent Office of Police Oversight comparable to the City Auditor. ● Empower the OPO to respond to the experiences of victims of police violence by granting OPO full authority and access to City and APD administration. Internal City of Austin - Mandated Reporting ● Reevaluate and revise APD policies on mandated reporting, specifically the current practice of reporting to DFPS whenever responding to survivors with children. ● Meaningfully engage with Victims Services and the Equity Office in reviewing and reshaping policies on mandated reporting, as current practices disproportionately and negatively impact survivors of domestic violence and their families and communities. Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) ● We recommend that once the OVP is fully funded and staffed, and sustain the work of the RPStask force going forward by: the OVP support ○ Convening a core leadership team, anchored by the Reimaging Task Force, families, and young people in the impacted by violence to guide pilot site implementation, and testing using shared data with the addition neighborhoods disproportionately location, program design, and outside technical assistance; of survivors, ○ Developing a unified messaging campaign to increase awareness and build political will ; and ○ Working with data and IT experts to initiate planning and development of an integrated cross-sector data platform . Public Health Functions for Violence Prevention Build & maintain infrastructure to sustain community -led violence reduction efforts Monitor & report ongoing community levels of violence Improve & innovate through evaluation, research & improvement Investigate, diagnose, & address community safety threats Build & support a diverse & skilled workforce Racial Justice Communicate to inform about root causes of violence & how to prevent it Enable equitable access to the services & care needed to be safe Strengthen, support & mobilize communities & partnerships to reduce violence Utilize legal & regulatory actions designed to increase safety Create, champion, & implement policies, plans, & laws that create safety OVP Funding Recommendations ● $500,000 for the OVP and outside TA to facilitate a community -led strategic design process rooted in the principles of racial justice, inclusivity, transparency, self -determination, participatory decision healing. -making, and collective ● $500,000 to build local capacity to assess, monitor, and utilize violence -related data from a variety of sources beginning with the creation of a multidisciplinary Homicide Review Team . ● $2 m illio n in im m e d ia te fu n d s to im p le m e n t, m o n ito r, a n d e va lu a te co m m u n ity-b a se d p ilo t stra te gie s, su ch a s Cu re Vio le n ce a n d Ho sp ita l Ba se d Vio le n ce In te rve n tion , to in te rru p t th e cycle o f co m m u n ity vio le n ce in th e n e igh b orh o od s m o st im p a cte d b y p o lice vio le n ce . Victim Services Recommendations ● The VS Manager should report to the Assistant City Manager over public safety or the APD Police Chief, and be included in executive and command staff meetings with regular access to the APD Chief for communication and collaboration. ● APD’s budget should reflect the value VS adds to the department. ○ For example, VS salaries should be competitive and not depreciated by cutting benefits or replacing needed positions with temporary positions. ● VS staff should coordinate with outside TA to deliver training on VS role, trauma - informed response to survivors, case studies, role plays, and victim rights, with emphasis on interacting affirmatively with survivors representative of Austin’s diverse communities. ○ ○ ○ 30 hours of training time (currently 16 hours) for cadets; 2 hours yearly training for patrol officers; and Inclusion in Field Training Officer training and recertification Victim Services Recommendations, continued ● APD should move to a model where each Sexual Assault survivor has the option to speak to a patrol officer, a VS counselor, or both, with the counselor being the first point of contact (either by phone or taking the lead on the scene), so that the survivor will know what the counselor can offer and their options regarding reporting. ● Victim services collaborate with the Equity Office and community stakeholders to implement opportunities put forth by the Community + APD Equity Assessment Series: Austin Police Department, Victims Services Division Report. ○ Development of concrete equity standards and assessment processes; ○ Development and implementation of training modules on critical race issues as part of recruiting, training, orientation and onboarding processes; and ○ Collaboration with Equity Office and community to develop and implement specific accountability metrics for ensuring equitable practices.