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R2011-028 - 2011-02-28BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS: Section 1. That the City hereby authorizes the participation in the Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women: Court Training and Improvements Program. PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this the 28 day of February, A.D., 2011. ATTEST: AIM LJ /IJ A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE PARTICIPATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: COURT TRAINING AND IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM. APPROVED AS TO FORM: DARRIN M. COKER CITY ATTORNEY RESOLUTION NO. R2011 -28 TOM REID MAYOR PROJECT ABSTRACT City of Pearland is requesting $49,628 over two years for the purpose of instituting formal, partnership-structured training and technical assistance activities for its presiding judge, associate judge(s), clerk of court, court officers, prosecuting attorneys, administrative staff and family/domestic violence victim's assistance personnel. These funds will be utilized to: (1), develop onsite training in coordination with OVW-designated technical assistance providers; and • (2), provide access to OVW-sponsored.judicial trainings to ensure that access to information about relevant Federal, State, Territorial laws, promising practices, procedures, and policies regarding court responses to adult and youth victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking is provided to: a. City of Pearland Municipal Court Judge,Associate Judge(s) and personnel; b. local prosecuting attorneys; c. Pearland Police Dept. Victim Assistance Program-Crime Victim Liaison; and d. local community-based partner-organizations. The goal of the project will be to educate and inform the aforementioned body of representatives on available and emerging best and promising court practices and procedures for handling domestic and family violence cases. Its objectives will involve: e increasing the access judges, officers of the court, staff, community stakeholders and victim assistance program staff have to training and technical assistance A increasing the Municipal Court's knowledge about the dedicated docket approach for handling domestic violence cases in the future ® increasing the Municipal Court's knowledge of strategies for reducing improper handling of domestic and/or family violence cases. 1 PROPOSAL NARRATIVE Court Jurisdiction The City of Pearland Municipal Court, as a municipal court, is a statutorily created court. The court has original, exclusive jurisdiction over violations of city ordinances in the territorial jurisdiction of the city, as well as property owned in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction. Texas' Municipal Courts have original, concurrent jurisdiction with Justice Courts on Class C misdemeanors, excluding those outlined above. These include traffic violations, status offenses (juvenile), Health and Safety Code violations, Texas Education Code violations, and others. Jurisdiction also includes Class "C" misdemeanor violations codified in the Texas Penal Code. These include assaults, disorderly conduct violations, thefts and others. The City of Pearland Municipal Court has a staff of 11 administrative and 4 judicial members, processes approximately 23,000 cases per year, and holds court three days weekly. Those dockets consist of arraignments,pre-trials, trials, show cause hearings, contempt hearings, commercial motor vehicle and juvenile cases. Pearland is situated along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston—Sugar Land—Baytown metropolitan area and is in the counties of Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Harris. As of the census of 2000, the city's population was 37,640. 2011 population estimates show that Pearland is expected to have 97,000 residents. In 2007, Forbes Magazine ranked Pearland as the 34th fastest growing suburb in the nation. It is therefore the fastest growing suburb in the Greater Houston area, and the 10th fastest growing in the state of Texas. According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the racial composition in 2009 was as follows: • White: 68.6% (57.0%non-Hispanic) • Black or African American: 14.6% 2 • Asian: 9.5% • Some other race: 5.0%. • Two or more races: 2.2% • Hispanic or Latino: 17.1% City of Pearland statistics on Family Violence, according to Texas Department of Public Safety reports, have increased with population growth and is, expectedly, the highest among all municipalities in Brazoria County. In 2008, 418 incidents of Family Violence occurred in Pearland, up by 35 percent since 2006 and these have more than doubled in the ten years since 1999. Target Population The proposed target population to be directly impacted by the project will be the City of Pearland's Municipal Court officials, prosecuting attorneys, community-based organizations and stakeholders, the police department's records unit, and its victim assistance/crime victim liaison. The proposed indirect target population to be affected by this project will be the victims of misdemeanor crimes involving domestic and/or family violence within the City of Pearland. Victims will be the ultimate benefactors of the technical assistance, training, and information provided to project participants throughout this project and beyond. Transfer of court training and improvement technologies, once implemented, will result in improved court procedures that affect case supervision, court administration, utilization of victims' assistance resources, prosecution of violators, confidentiality, sentencing and fines, intervention programs for batterers and those participants of deferred adjudication measures, collaborative agreements with community-based organizations and the types of adjudication skills available to judges when handling domestic violence cases. 3 Barriers to Accessing Effective Court Services Simple barriers may be challenge victims' ability to count on effective procedures when they appear in City of Pearland's Municipal Court for domestic violence cases. These often include: • challenges keeping parties in family violence separate during dockets, • inability to maintain confidentiality, • inability to provide proper professional support for emotional defendants, • lack of approaches for dealing with situations involving complainants and/or witnesses that,respectively, refuse to press charges and/or testify against perpetrators, • limited capacity for instituting temporary protective orders or restraining orders on violators of Class C misdemeanor family violence statutes, and • lack of technology and support for tracking out-of-jurisdiction offenses that may be cause for higher classification of charges or repeat-offender penalties. Current Services and Gaps Currently, there is no dedicated docket for domestic violence cases that come before City of Pearland Municipal Court for misdemeanor cases of family violence. The Court does not maintain a dedicated procedure for issuing protective orders and does not currently offer deferred adjudication or prosecution to violators of domestic violence crimes. Victim Assistance Program services include those that protect and advocate for the rights of victims,providing crime victims with necessary and important information, and preventing them from experiencing further victimization. Financial assistance is also available for indigent victims or those that have 4 expended final available resources dealing with the costs associated with being a victim of domestic violence and seeking justice against a perpetrator. STOP Violence Against Women The City of Pearland Municipal Court would not be eligible to receive a portion of the State's STOP Violence Against Women five percent set-aside funding for courts because the City of Pearland's is unable to approve the expenditures for the requisite 35 percent matching funds. Although it is not presently fiscally sound for the City to pursue these funds, its need for support in the form of funding for training and court improvements for handling domestic violence cases is substantive. Future efforts to secure these funds, if available, will be considered as economic conditions change. OVW Grant Funding Status While the applicant has not in the past, nor is it at this time, applying for multiple OVW grants, this project will complement the work of the existing Victim Assistance Program of the Pearland Police Department's Crime Victim Liaison, as well as the department's newly instituted Uniform Crime Reporting technologies placed into effect in August 2009. What Will Be Done Through the Office on Violence Against Women, a Supplemental Training Grant will be utilized to facilitate the implementation of the following OVW Court Training & Improvement Program's Statutory Program Purposes, per 42 U.S.C. §14043; specifically as it relates to the 5 City of Pearland's Municipal Court and its partners' participation in training, technical assistance and educational workshops designed to: • improve City of Pearland's Municipal Court functions, responses, practices and procedures; • educate City of Pearland Municipal Court, Pearland Police Victim Assistance Program and Women's Center of Brazoria County personnel on issues relating to victims' needs, including safety, security, privacy, confidentiality, and economical independence, as well • as information about perpetrator behavior and best practices for holding perpetrators accountable; • • collaborate and participate in training that will improve implementation and enforcement of relevant Federal, State,Tribal,Territorial and local law; and • seek and participate in technical assistance workshops and consultation with OVW designated technical assistance .providers to improve our practices, procedures and develop new programs. The City of Pearland's Municipal Court Training and Improvement project will focus on priority considerations that propose to emphasize: • community-based initiatives within the court system (such as court watch programs, victim assistants, or community based supplementary services); • offender management,monitoring, and accountability programs; and • education and outreach programs to improve community access, including enhanced access for underserved populations. 6 The City of Pearland's Municipal Court proposes to partner with area nonprofit organizations to provide judicial education resources to court staff, victim assistance resources and stakeholders from community based organizations. • The City of Pearland's Municipal Court and its project partners will participate in desired training(s) and target participants for domestic violence training for judges and court administrators Training Provider Target Participant(s) Location and Type/Title Proposed Timeline Court Watch Montana Coalition Women's Center of Helena,MT Against Domestic Brazoria County& Quarter One Violence Eagles Lift Ministries Bailiff's Training Texas Municipal Court Karen Smith— Austin,TX Education Center Municipal Court Bailiff Quarter Two Violent Offender Women's Center of Judges and Victim Angleton,TX Class—Sentencing Brazoria County Assistance Program Quarter Three Options for representatives Convicted Offenders Domestic Violence Texas Municipal Court Chief Municipal Court Austin,TX Training for Judges Education Center Judge&Associate Quarter Four Judges • The City of Pearland's Municipal Court and its project partners will develop training(s) and target participants requiring customized curriculum Training Provider Target Participant(s) Location and Type/Title Proposed Timeline Court Facility City of Pearland Court staff and administration Pearland Transition Court Administration Quarter One and Training Five Court Procedures City of Pearland Police, attomeys,Victim Pearland Update(s) Court Administration Assistance,Domestic Quarter One and Violence Organizations Quarter Four • The City of Pearland's Municipal Court and its project partners will participate in consultation and coordination with OVW-designated technical assistance providers 7 Technical Type of Target Participant(s) Location and Proposed Assistance Provider Technical Timeline Assistance Center for Court Creating or Municipal Court CCI—New York,NY Innovation expanding Administration,Victim Quarters One and Five existing domestic Assistance Program violence court Staff and Judges Family Violence Judicial practices All Project Team FVPF—San Francisco, Prevention Fund and procedures in Members and Project CA criminal cases Partner Representatives Quarters Two and Six involving domestic violence Performance Measures The City of Pearland Municipal Court, if awarded funding support from OVW for its Court Training and Improvement Program, will provide data that measures the results of its work. Municipal Court administration will collect and report the following types of information will be collected for the Courts Program: o Number of people trained; © Number of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking cases handled by the court; o Number of victims requesting services and the type of service requested; • The percentage of victims requesting services who received them; o Number of offenders ordered to batterer's intervention programs or related treatment; and • Number of protection orders issued. This information will be provided to OVW through semi-annual progress report forms. The City of Pearland Municipal Court, through the City of Pearland's Grant Coordinator, will submit all required annual and semi-annual progress reports. 8 Period of Performance The project period of performance will correlate with the OVW anticipated award period and/or fiscal cycle. The proposed period of performance for the City of Pearland is its current upcoming fiscal cycle beginning October 1, 2010 and ending at the completion of the 24 month project period on September 30, 2012. However, the City will conform to the program specifications regarding the project start and end dates that OVW prescribes to effectively and efficiently take advantage of the OVW-mandated technical assistance and training requirements. Who Will Implement the Project? City of Pearland Municipal Court will handle administrative implementation of the project. Project activities will occur through collaborative efforts involving the Municipal Court and the Victim's Assistance Program of the City of Pearland Police Department. This Court Training and Improvement Project will invite community-based organizations that are traditional community stakeholders in matters involving family violence and domestic abuse prevention, intervention and education/awareness to participate in relevant training and/or technical assistance activities. Training Coordinator: Pat Riffel—Court Administrator, City of Pearland Municipal Court City of Pearland Municipal Court Administrator will act as the official training coordinator and will arrange and track staff participation in OVW trainings, as well as coordinate with OVW technical assistance providers in developing and delivering customized training curriculum for relevant personnel and court officials. The Court Administrator, as training coordinator, will be responsible for implementation of procedures and standards that correlate 9 with relevant, suitable best-practices technologies taken from the training and technical assistance experiences. Victim Services Partner: Gina Mendez—Crime Victim Liaison, Pearland Police Dept. Crime Victim Liaison Gina Mendez of the Pearland Police Department's Victim Assistance Program will act as the City of Pearland Municipal Court's Victim Services Partner in the Court Training and Improvement project. Victim Assistance will: • coordinate participation in related Victim Assistance Program training and improvements, • provide training and technical assistance to relevant stakeholders and participants in the court training and improvement project, and • institute proper Victim Assistance practices and procedures collected from participation in court training and improvement project activities. After victims of crimes file a police report, or an arrest has been made of a perpetrator of a crime against them, the Crime Victim Liaison is available to assist them with a variety of matters at the Pearland Police Department through the Victim Assistance Program. The State of Texas requires all police departments to have a liaison to assist and work with crime victims. In 2002, the City received a Victim Assistance Discretionary Grant (VADG) from the State of Texas' Office of the Attorney General to implement this program. The Victim Assistance Program in the City of Pearland has provided primary services to victims of domestic violence or dating violence or stalking since 2002, addressing the demonstrated need in the community for services that promote the dignity, self sufficiency, 10 access to resources and options for victims of such crimes, that do not compromise the safety of the victim. These often include: • protecting victims of a number of crimes, • advocating for the rights of crime victims, • providing crime victims with necessary and important information, and • preventing them from experiencing further victimization. The liaison is also on call to respond to after-hour emergencies and to answer victims' questions about next steps and prosecutorial procedures. Victim Assistance provides bilingual services, case status information, information about the criminal justice system, court and hospital accompaniment services, and emergency transportation for victims of family violence and abuse to women shelters. Depending on the type of crime that has occurred, victims can also receive counseling services or referrals to support and social service agencies. Victim Assistance also provides victim's with information about parole notification and support with parole protests. Victim Assistance also helps recipients of services determine their eligibility for financial assistance when they have exhausted their own financial resources. The Crime Victims' Compensation Fund - paid out of court costs generated by criminal convictions - provides for medical bills, counseling, lost wages, funeral expenses and other crime related expenses without any cost to taxpayers. Pearland Police Department's Crime Victim Liaison, is also a member of the Office of the Attorney General Crime Victim Services Advisory Council, the Harris County Victim Liaisons, the Multi-County Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MICSA), the Brazoria County Community Plan, and 2006 Texas Victim Services Association (TVSA) Conference Committee member. 11 Local and regional non-profit organizations that traditionally focus on domestic violence prevention, education and awareness, intervention and advocacy will be involved in the efforts to access training and court improvement strategies dealing with domestic violence cases. Women's Center of Brazoria County Women's Center of Brazoria County considers itself a "refuge for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault." Its mantra is "No Woman Should Live in Fear" and it works to prevent crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault through advocacy, education and awareness. Established in 1982 to provide services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, the Women's Center operates two shelters in Brazoria County for battered women and their children. Additional services are provided out of five offices that are conveniently located throughout Brazoria County. These include group and individual counseling, twenty-four hour hospital accompaniment, a supervised visitation program, and a variety of other services designed to help victims regain control of their lives following an abusive encounter or a criminally violent occurrence. • Responsible for adopting standards for delivering community supportive services for victims of domestic abuse based on the best practices obtained from the Court Training and Improvement project and resulting procedural changes in City of Pearland's Municipal Court. Eagles Lift Ministries Eagle's Lift Ministries provides Housing, Counseling, Training in Self Sufficiency, Education, Coping skills, Conflict Resolution, Social and Sexual Behavior, Job Skills, Financial 12 Skills, Planning Skills, Responsible Personal Life Skills for homeless pregnant teens. Eagles Lift Ministries is embarking on an endeavor to enhance its supportive resources involving transitional housing offerings to victims of domestic abuse. Its relationship with City of Pearland Municipal Court will strengthen the available resources for victims of domestic abuse that need temporary housing in times of transition following an abusive occurrence and when the decision to leave a common domiciliary relationship with a spouse or intimate partner that has perpetrated violence against the victim. • Responsible for adopting standards for delivering community supportive services for victims of assault and sexual abuse based on the best practices obtained from the Court Training and Improvement project and resulting procedural changes in City of Pearland's Municipal Court. 13 ,.% . ;or_ ,, .0-4.„ 40--,..--. 4,.. i/ir....,,,,,,,. .1..y6 I 1 L1�'1 1—.-l {�,E 9�L�s Proposed Budget A. Personnel Participation of the Presiding Judge(1) and Associate Judges (2) in training and technical assistance activities will require compensation for their hourly contract salaries in the amount of $95.00 per hour and will occur based on a combination of days and times where court schedules represent no conflict for each judge. Judges will not be compensated through Office on Violence Against Women funds for attending planning meetings and work sessions. Each judge will participate in eight trainings and compensated for eight full time work days per training, including travel time. Position Computation Cost Presiding Judge $95.00/hour @ 64 hours $ 6,080 Associate Judge(1) $95.00/hour @ 64 hours $ 6,080 Associate Judge(1) $95.00/hour @ 64 hours $ 6,080 Total Personnel $18,240 B. Travel Airline travel, lodging and per diem for 7 individuals for attendance at 4 off-site technical assistance training activities Purpose of Travel Location Item Computation Cost OVW-Mandated TBD Airfare $500 X 4 X 4 $ 8,000 Training/Technical Lodging $130 x 4 nights x 4 ppl '$ 2,080 Assistance Per Diem $ 38 x 4 days x 4 ppl $ 608 Customized and TBD Airfare $500 x 7 x 4 $ 14,000 Desired Training and Lodging $130 x 4 nights x 7 ppl $ 3,640 Technical Assistance Per Diem $ 38 x 4 x 7 ppl $ 1,064 Total Travel $29,392 14 0 } C. Supplies Evaluation Pre-Post Test Materials will include binders for all participants in the training project, as well as a 24 month subscription to an electronic online survey software package that will allow the training coordinator to conduct numerous pre/post test surveys for participants throughout the project period. Purpose Item Calculation Cost Information Management 7 Program Binder(s) 7 @$14 ea. $ 98 Survey Software Subscription Zoomerang.com contract 2 years @ $199 year $ 398 Total Supplies $ 496 D. Other Fiscal Management Training for the primary fiscal manager of the City of Pearland is a required allocation for the project, if awarded. Director of Finance Claire Bogard will participate in the required training and will coordinate this activity in conjunction with forthcoming information provided by OVW. Purpose of Allocation Cost Fiscal Management Training $ 1,500 Budge Summary Budget Category Amount A. Personnel $ 18,240 B. Travel $ 29,392 C. Supplies $ 496 D. Other $ 1,500 TOTAL PROPOSED COSTS $49,628 Federal Share Requested $49,628 Non-Federal(Match)Amount $0 15