Commission on the Status of Women Meeting February 13, 2020

Commissioners Present:
First District: Jan Blalock , Joanne M. Brown , Maddy Leader
Second District: Caitlin Quinn (Officer-at-Large) , Katie Gordon
Third District: Lorena Barrera (Vice-Chair)
Fourth District: Leticia Padilla, Dianna MacDonald
Fifth District: Ariana Diaz De Leon, Peggy Rogers

Commissioners Absent:
Second District: Trisha Almond (Chair)
Fifth District: Jessica Wood 

1. CALL TO ORDER – INTRODUCTIONS – MISSION STATEMENT  
   The meeting was called to order at 6:09pm. Commissioners then went around the table and
   made introductions.
2. APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 13, 2020 AGENDA
   
   Motion to approve the February 13, 2020 Agenda.
   
   Moved by: Commissioner Quinn
   Second: Commissioner MacDonald
   
   Ayes: 9      Noes: 0       Absent: 2       Abstained: 1
   
   Chair Almond and Commissioner Wood were absent. Commissioner Barrera abstained as Vice-Chair.
   
   The motion passed.
3. APPROVAL OF JANUARY 9, 2020 MEETING MINUTES
   
   Motion to approve the January 9, 2020 Meeting Minutes.
   
   Moved by: Commissioner Leader
   Second: Commissioner Blalock
   
   Ayes: 8       Noes: 0      Absent: 2       Abstained: 2
   
   Chair Almond and Commissioner Wood were absent. Commissioner Padilla abstained due to her absence at the January meeting. Commissioner Barrera abstained as Vice-Chair.
   
   The motion passed.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDIZED ITEMS
   No members from the public addressed the commission.
5. COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCEMENTS
   • Commissioner Blalock reported tabling at the Women’s March in Santa Rosa. Commissioner
     Brown reported that the commission is sponsoring a film series at the Sonoma Library through the Empowerment Ad hoc. Officer-at-Large Quinn informed commissioners about International
     Women’s Day 2020.
6. OPENINGS AND APPOINTMENTS
   • Vice-Chair Barrera announced there are still two (2) openings in the Third District and one (1) opening in the Fourth District.
7. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS
   No members of the public addressed the Commission.
8. PRESENTATIONS
   Commissioner Rogers introduced guest speaker Ms. Robin Bowen, Executive Director of the
   Child Parent Institute of Sonoma County. Robin Bowen has dedicated her professional life to
   the field of child abuse prevention as the Executive Director of the Child Parent Institute in
   Sonoma County.
   
   Robin is actively involved in both local and regional advocacy efforts on behalf of children and
   families. That includes coordination of the local Child Abuse Prevention Council in both
   Sonoma and Marin Counties. She has championed innovative and efficient services to meet the
   needs of vulnerable and under-served families. She has worked to increase collaborations with
   community organizations and a comprehensive expansion of CPI’s programs to offer
   prevention, intervention and therapeutic supports when needed.
   
   Importantly, Robin is a mother of three children and three grandchildren.
   
   The mission of CPI mission to end child abuse. Bowen reported the following:
   
   • 2019: 622 substantiated cases of child abuse in Sonoma County, majority in 0-5
     population
   • Shift in fears around immigration issues, have seen that in county. Have less Latinx
     families seeking services out of fear.
   • Creative Arts, New Directions School, Parent Supportive Services, Children & Family
     Counseling Services
   • Lifetime costs for victim of child abuse $270k, for the 622 cases in Sonoma County the
     lifetime economic cost is $162 million
   • Call to Action: support Rewind documentary on March 26th at Summerfield Theater in
     Santa Rosa. PBS will show May 11th.
   • Law passed in CA AB 318 to extend statute of limitations on child abuse accusations.
   
   The presentation was followed by questions and Bowen also requested the commission
   consider sponsoring one of CPI’s upcoming events.
9. REGULAR CALENDAR ITEMS
   
   1. Report on Administrative Responsibilities
      Vice Chair Barrera reminded Commissioners to complete their ethics training, She stated
      that April 18th the Commission will host a meeting with other organizations. She also
      reminded Commissioners that they can use the Petaluma Historical Museum and Petaluma
      Arts Center for free for any women-focused events during June through August. She
      reported that the sponsorship form is on the sococsw website. She also reported that Chair Almond continues to work on list of past Commissioners and she reminded Commissioners to
      please get their bios to Officer-at-Large Quinn if that has not been done. Additionally, she
      mentioned that officer nominations will be in April and that we need to begin planning for the
      strategic planning session. Lastly, she reported that the website update process will be slow
      for the next few months. 
10. AD HOC COMMITTEE AND PROJECT COMMITTEE UPDATES
    Commissioners to provide reports and/or updates from the work being done by their ad hoc committee(s) and/or project committee(s).
    
    1. Empowerment Ad Hoc: Commissioner Brown reported that the ad hoc is drafting a letter with program recommendations for the detention center that will go to the Sheriff.
    2. Marketing Ad Hoc: Officer-at-Large Quinn reported that the video the ad hoc created is
       now available on all social media platforms.
    3. Women’s Voices: Commissioner Blalock reported that the final listening session was
       completed at the library in downtown Santa Rosa. She mentioned there were some concerns that included racism in schools, cost of living, fear of becoming homeless, sheriff department not having Spanish speaking staff and forms not being in Spanish either. She also mentioned there are 450 survey responses that have been collected so far.
    4. Junior Commissioner Project Committee: The Junior Commissioners present at the meeting gave the following report: The Healthy Mind & Body ad hoc will have a booth at the Girls on the Run event. The Human Trafficking ad hoc will interview Councilman Olivares and create videos. The
       Relationship Violence ad hoc is creating an anthology via a survey. The Empowering Women ad hoc is painting a mural at Montgomery High School and then will have a ceremony. The Juniors will be taking a Field Trip to the De Young Museum for Frida Kahlo exhibit on April 18th. Additionally, the Women’s Building Roundtable topics that have been discussed in previous meetings and for the Career Panel they are still looking for a STEM professor, activist, journalist.
11. COMMUNITY ISSUES, LIAISONS, AND COORDINATORS
    Commissioners to provide brief updates or ideas on the following:
    1. Association of California Commissions for Women (ACCW): Blalock reported there is a
       potential meeting scheduled for June 7th.
    2. By-Law Review Group: A draft of the by-law revisions will be presented at the next meeting.
    3. Council on Aging: Nothing to report.
    4. Field Trip Ideas: No report was provided.
    5. Human Trafficking Task Force: The film screening will be at Sonoma State University
       on February 26th at 6pm.
    6. Legislative Advisory Group: Commissioner Rogers reported she has a list of more than
       100 bills that were introduced and affect women and girls. She spoke about the Violence
       Against Women Act and mentioned she will be drafting a letter on this.
    7. National Association of Commissions for Women (NACW): An extension to the survey
       has been approved. The survey will be available until February 15th.
    8. National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA): No report was provided.
    9. Sonoma County 2020 Centennial Coalition: No report was provided.
    10. Speaker Coordinator: Commissioner Brown mentioned she has invited a guest speaker
        from the California Homemakers Association to speak at the March meeting.
12. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING
    For the next meeting, the Commission will go over the request for a fiscal sponsorship for the
    CPI film screening. Vice-Chair Barrera mentioned the draft by-laws will be included along with
    an updated budget review. Commissioner Gordon requested the commission vote for a date for
    the strategic planning session.
13. ADJOURNMENT
    The meeting was adjourned at 7:37PM