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Update from DVAC/DV Court
Lisa W. asked about whether the surety video has sound. It seems that the one shown in Kingston did not. Discussion among the committee confirmed that the video does in fact include sound.
Justice Deluzio was to speak with Justice Hunter about establishing protocol conformity between different courts (family, criminal, etc). We are still waiting for the results of that conversation. There was supposed to be a meeting on September 21st but it was cancelled. This meeting will be re-scheduled, a new date has not yet been determined.
Lee B. mentioned that Mike Lumkey is the new DV crown attorney.
Family Violence Project-Waterloo Region (Bring forward from last meeting)
Karen discussed this project as a "mammoth but doable? undertaking. Confidentiality was noted by numerous committee members as a primary concern, as was the concern of whether we could get enough interest and commitment to the project by community leaders. There was concern presented about where the information would be housed.
Lisa W. did some follow up with the Hamilton region coordinators and mentioned that they have had no domestic violence related homicides since the protocol?s inception. She also mentioned the 2nd workshop for Risk Assessment for Lethal Violence on October 26th and 27th. Its first counterpart was attended by Paul Blackmore, Lisa Warriner, Roxanne Lamothe and Teresa Gauthier. In choosing the committee members that would attend this time, the committee wanted to open it up to the members of the QCCAV outside of protocol as well. Many members of the Protocol cited short notice/other obligations as barriers to attending. Several members and Ashley (coordinator) agreed to re-send the information to QCCAV members. Lisa W suggested that Michele Arsenault would be a great choice to send for this event.
Nicole C. and Todd R. asked about the process on the part of the victim. What would accessing this building look like? Lisa W clarified that a victim would come into the building and could see representatives from any agency, and would be directed immediately to a partnering agency if appropriate. The victim does not have to wait for follow ups and potentially "fall through the cracks?. The partnering agencies would have a representative on hand as often as possible (preferably through business hours) and offer selected services there. In Waterloo for example, they have 14 partners in the same building.
Pam H. expressed concerns that the scales are not comparable. The community may not be large enough for this undertaking. Smaller agencies may not have the budget or staff to put these recommendations in place. What about rental fees for the offices in this building? Lee B. mentioned that there isn?t an assistant Crown Attorney that can be sent for face to face consultation. Some agencies may not be able to manage this.
It was suggested that the new courthouse might be a potential building. Lee mentioned that everything in the new courthouse has been earmarked for years. Lisa W. said that having the building in a courthouse may send the wrong message to victims (especially those who don?t want to involve police in their community outreach after victimization).
The main point of the building is "one stop shopping?, such that a victim gets immediate assistance without having to be tracked down by separate agencies. Pam H. suggested that having that much information at once may be overwhelming for a user. Agencies should have the option of offering as much or as little of their services at the satellite office in the proposed venue.
Kim M. is pleased about the potential to foster good collaboration and partnership among agencies. Shawn Y. raised concerns about being able to adequately serve our large geographic area. For example, Waterloo has 4000 police officers where we have only about 300 (staffing issues).
Considering the amount of questions raised about the logistics and procedures, there was a lot of interest in having some representatives travel to the area to discuss the implementation process. There is still the protocol budget that can be accessed to help pay for their travel and meal expenses. We could probably get some other community members to attend if it is offered in a day event with lunch provided. Lisa W. is going to get a hold of the director of the Waterloo Project to pursue this idea to be held in January 2011. It was suggested that 2 representatives from each model (Waterloo and Hamilton) be present for the event. Lisa W and Karen M will take the lead and are going to discuss appropriate venues (probably an offsite venue) and catering before the next meeting.
Protocol Team Budget: $4600
Very little has been used.
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