* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] ONE. [CALL TO ORDER] UM, THIS IS CHAIR LISA CHANG, AND I'M CALLING THE MEETING TO ORDER AT 5:32 PM ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH, UH, 2026. UM, WE HAVE QUORUM, BUT WE WILL DO ROLL CALL NOW. CHAIR CHANG. PRESENT VICE CHAIR. SAM MARTIN. A PRESENT COMMISSIONER ANO PRESENT. COMMISSIONER CHASE. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER COMER. HAGANS. COMMISSIONER MURPHY. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER SIMON PRESENT. COMMISSIONER SLADE PRESENT. COMMISSIONER VASSALLO PRESENT. THANK YOU. UM, AND AS A POINT OF PRIVILEGE, I'D LOVE TO, UH, INTRODUCE OUR NEWEST COMMISSIONER, UM, COMMISSIONER ANTHONY, UH, CHASE. AND, UH, WE WELCOME YOU TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF, UH, TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION, THOSE PRESENT AND ONLINE. LET'S SEE. KENNY. RIGHT? OKAY. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UM, AS I STATED BEFORE, UM, MY NAME IS BRIAN ANTHONY CHASE JR. I GO BY ANTHONY CHASE. AND, UM, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME SERVING, UM, AS A COMMISSIONER FOR, UH, THIS, UH, COMMITTEE. UM, I HAVE, UH, LIVED HERE IN AUSTIN SINCE NOVEMBER. OFFICIALLY LIVED HERE IN OFFICE IN AS A RESIDENT SINCE NOVEMBER OF 2024. AND, UM, AND, UH, OUTSIDE OF HERE, I AM A BOARD DIRECTOR FOR THE AUSTIN COUNCIL OF BLIND, AS WELL AS, UH, ADVOCACY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN. UM, I, UM, WAS APPOINTED, UM, IN THIS, UH, POSITION BY, UM, UH, MPT, UH, JOSE CHILA. AND, UM, I'M, UH, VERY HAPPY TO, UH, BE ATTENDING, UH, AND SERVING TODAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YES, WELCOME. OH, WELCOME. WELCOME. YEAH, WELCOME. VERY HAPPY TO HAVE YOU. [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL] UM, AND THEN WE WILL MOVE ON TO PUBLIC COMMENT. WE HAVE, UM, BRANDON CHESTER HERE PRESENT WITH US TODAY, AND HE WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO, UH, GIVE HIS INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMISSION. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UM, HELLO COMMISSIONERS. SO MY NAME IS BRENDAN CHESTER AND I HAVE SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION FOR ONE OF THE VACANCIES. UM, I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT HERE IN AUSTIN, UH, SINCE 2005, AND I CURRENTLY SERVE ON A FEW DIFFERENT COMMITTEES. I CURRENTLY WORK AT THE AUSTIN AUSTIN LIGHTHOUSE, WHERE I'M A PART OF A ADVOCACY GROUP WHERE WE'VE WORKED WITH, UH, CAPITAL METRO AND AUSTIN AIRPORT. UM, I'VE ALSO DONE ADVOCACY WORK THROUGH THE NATIONAL BEAT BASEBALL ASSOCIATION, NOT ONLY IN, UM, EDUCATING ABOUT BLIND ATHLETICS, BUT ALSO BLIND INDEPENDENCE, NOT ONLY ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, BUT I'VE ALSO BEEN TO ARGENTINA, THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, UM, TO EDUCATE OVER THERE. UM, CURRENTLY WORKING WITH, UM, NEW ZEALAND AND, UM, AUSTRALIA DOING ADVOCACY WORK IN, UH, PROMOTING BLIND ATHLETICS AS WELL AS BLIND INDEPENDENCE. UM, YOU KNOW, I REALLY WOULD LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, WORK ALONGSIDE OF EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AS BEING YET ANOTHER VOICE FOR, UH, THE COMMUNITY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITY. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND, UM, YES, UH, WE WISH YOU LUCK ON, UM, PROCEEDING WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS AND, UH, INVITE YOU TO JOIN US ANYTIME. [1. Approve the minutes of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities regular meeting on August 14th , 2026. ] WE WILL BE, UH, MOVING TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR OUR LAST MONTHLY MEETING, AUGUST 14TH, 2026. DO I HAVE A MOTION? I'LL MAKE A MOTION I APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. OKAY. UM, THIS IS COMMISSIONER SANMAR. I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. OKAY. UH, AND THEN WE HAVE A SECOND. I'LL SECOND. OKAY, I'LL SECOND. SO WE HAVE, UM, COMM, UH, VAN VICE CHAIR SAM MARTIN, UM, MAKING A MOTION. AND THEN COMMISSIONER VASA. SECOND. THANK YOU. OH, SO NOW WE NEED A VOTE. UM, UH, ALL APPROVE, SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? OKAY. HEARING NONE, UH, THE, UH, MINUTES HAVE [00:05:01] BEEN APPROVED. [2. Staff briefing regarding processing times of rape kits and abuse reporting. Presentation by Dr. Dana Kadavy, Forensic Science Director, Austin Police and Kachina Clark, Division Manager, Austin Police. ] NOW WE MOVE INTO DISCUSSION ITEMS. SO WE WELCOME, UM, THIS EVENING A STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING, UH, PROCESSING TIMES OF RAPE KITS AND ABUSE REPORTING. THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE BY DR. UH, DANA CA, CAVI AND FORENSIC SCIENCE DIRECTOR AT THE AUSTIN POLICE, UH, DEPARTMENT, KACHINA CLARK, WHO'S THE DIVISION MANAGER, AND I BELIEVE, UH, KATRINA CLARK WILL BE JOINING US ONLINE. THANK YOU. HELLO. GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY. I AM DR. DANA CAVY. I AM THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN FORENSIC SCIENCE, WHICH IS A SEPARATE DEPARTMENT FROM, UM, AUSTIN POLICE. AND KACHINA WILL BE TALKING MORE ABOUT THE OTHER SIDE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS, BUT I'LL BE SPEAKING, UM, MORE DIRECTLY ABOUT HOW WE ANALYZE THOSE FOR DNA AND HOW LONG THAT TAKES. AND JUST GIVE YOU A HISTORICAL AND CURRENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE, THE METRIC WE USE AND TRACK AND, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE DOING TODAY. SO THIS IS GONNA REALLY TEST MY VISION. OH, NO, IT'S RIGHT THERE. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, SO WITH REGARD TO SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS, WE HAVE, ONE OF OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT WE TRACK IS THE PERCENT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT, DNA ANALYSIS REQUESTS THAT ARE COMPLETED, MEANING FULLY ANALYZED AND THEN ENTERED INTO THE CODED CODIS DATABASE, IF THERE ARE ANY ELIGIBLE PROFILES, UM, TO HAVE THAT ALL THAT WORK BE DONE WITHIN 90 DAYS. UM, I'M GONNA TALK JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY 90 DAYS, UM, ONE, IT'S REALISTIC, BUT TWO, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A BACKSTORY. BACK IN, UH, SEPTEMBER, 2019, HOUSE BILL EIGHT WAS PASSED AND THAT ACTUALLY ADDED A LOT OF LAYERS OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND TIMELINESS WITH REGARD TO THE PROCESS FROM COLLECTION TO GETTING THE KIT ANALYZED AT THE LABORATORY. AND, UM, THOSE DATA, YOU KNOW, VERIFIED AND POTENTIALLY ADDED INTO A DATABASE. SO WHAT THAT DID WAS IT PUT THE CLOCK ON, UM, LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PICK UP AN EXAMINATION KIT FROM THE MEDICAL FACILITY WITHIN A WEEK. AND THEN IT ALSO REQUIRES, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT TO SUBMIT THAT KIT FOR TESTING TO A QUALIFIED LABORATORY WITHIN 30 DAYS. FROM THERE, ONCE THE LABORATORY RECEIVES IT BY STATE LAW, WE'RE REQUIRED TO FINISH ALL OF THOSE TESTS WITH REGARD TO THE DNA AND THE KIT WITHIN 90 DAYS. AND SO WHAT THAT DOES IS PROVIDES THIS LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE SURVIVORS ARE ABLE TO TRACK THE PROCESS OF THEIR KIT THROUGHOUT THAT WHOLE SERIES THROUGH A PROGRAM CALLED TRACK HIT THAT'S RUN BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. SO IF WE MISS A DATE, WE HAVE TO REPORT THAT ON SPECIALIZED FORM AND THAT GETS SUBMITTED TO THE TRACK HIT FOLKS, AND THEY WRITE A REPORT AT THE END OF THE YEAR. AND THOSE WILL ALL BE KIND OF ACCOUNTED FOR. SO IF WE MISS A DATE FOR WHATEVER THE REASON MIGHT BE, WE DOCUMENT THAT ON THIS FORM AND SUBMIT THAT. SO ALL OF THAT IS AVAILABLE AND TRANSPARENT. UM, UM, BUT WITH THAT SAID, THAT'S WHY WE MAKE SURE WE'RE TRACKING 90 DAYS BECAUSE WE'RE REQUIRED TO GET IT DONE WITHIN 90 DAYS. WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA SHOOT FOR AS QUICKLY AS IT MAKES SENSE THAT WE CAN DO IT AND MAINTAIN THE LEVEL OF QUALITY WE NEED TO. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS, UM, THE PERCENT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT DNA ANALYSIS REQUESTS THAT WE GET INTO OUR LABORATORY, SO FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, THAT ARE COMPLETED WITHIN THOSE 90 DAYS, UM, I'VE JUST GIVEN THE DATA THERE, SO STARTED TRACKING THIS IN, UH, FISCAL YEAR 25. SO THAT WAS 97% AND WE'RE IN FISCAL YEAR 26. NOW, OUR TARGET IS GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO 95% OF ALL KITS WE RECEIVE WILL BE ANALYZED WITHIN 90 DAYS. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN QUARTER THREE, BUT IN QUARTER ONE WE ARE AT 98% QUARTER 2 96 AND QUARTER THREE, 100%. SO WE'RE HITTING THAT METRIC. AND THEN WE ALSO TRACK INTERNALLY JUST OUR AVERAGE TURNAROUND TIMES IN DAYS, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE THE LAB TO DO THIS WORK? AND THE REQUIREMENT IS 90 DAYS, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY UNDER THAT QUITE A BIT. SO FOR FISCAL [00:10:01] YEAR 25, THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS IT TOOK US TO FULLY PROCESS, UM, A SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT FOR DNA WAS 68 DAYS. AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE QUARTER ONE, TWO, AND THREE DATA FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 RANGED FROM 68 DOWN TO 63 DAYS. UM, I GAVE YOU THE QUARTERS BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE DATA FOR FISCAL YEAR 26. IT ENDS SEPTEMBER 30TH OF THIS MONTH. SO WHEN WE HAVE ALL THAT DATA ROLLED UP, I'LL HAVE A WHOLE YEAR OUTLOOK FOR YOU. BUT THAT'S REALLY HOW WE TRACK THOSE AND ESSENTIALLY BE BECAUSE OF THIS, WE'RE ABLE TO PREVENT ANY BACKLOG. SO WE'RE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH ALL OF THE KITS THAT ARE COMING IN TO THE AUSTIN FORENSIC SCIENCE DEPARTMENT AND MAKE SURE THOSE GET PROCESSED WITHIN THE REQUIRED AMOUNT OF TIME. SO THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE WITH REGARD TO TURNAROUND TIMES, AND I'LL STOP AND INVITE ANY QUESTIONS. AND THEN WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THAT, I HAVE A QUESTION BACK FOR YOU BEFORE WE KICK IT BACK TO KACHINA WHO CAN TALK ABOUT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ASPECT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT SERVICES. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND, UH, WE WILL OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO COMMISSIONERS TO, UM, TO ASK QUESTIONS IF THEY'D LIKE. UM, I SEE THE FIRST COMMISSIONER HAS RAISED THEIR HAND TO INDICATE THEY WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK. YES. IF YOU COULD, UH, DO THAT, UM, MOVING FORWARD, AS I WILL RECOGNIZE, UM, SPEAKERS TO MAKE SURE, UM, YES, EVERYONE, UM, YES. UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER VASA. HI. HI DANA. HI. UM, , I'M WONDERING WHAT KIND OF DEMOGRAPHICS DO YOU TRACK IN TERMS OF WHO IS TURNING IN THESE KITS? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY NOT IDENTIFYING THEM, BUT IN TERMS OF DEMOGRAPHICS, WHAT KIND OF DEMOGRAPHICS ARE YOU TRACKING? UM, AND HOW, IF THAT VARIES IN TERMS OF TURNAROUND? WE DO NOT, THE LABORATORY DOES NOT TRACK ANY DEMOGRAPHICS. WE TRY TO BE THE SWITZERLAND OF THE LEGAL PROCESS. SO WE TRY TO DE-IDENTIFY ANY EVIDENTIARY SAMPLES, GIVE IT A LAB NUMBER THAT WOULD MEAN NOTHING TO ANYBODY IN THIS ROOM. SO OUR ANALYSTS CAN NOT HAVE ANY CONTEXTUAL BIAS AND THEY CAN JUST FOCUS ON ANALYZING AND REPORTING. SO, UM, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO TELL YOU THAT. BUT, UH, ONCE THE REPORTS ARE LET, I'M WONDERING IF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT CAN BE COMBINED WITH OTHER DATA THAT ARE OUT THERE, I JUST, I DON'T KNOW IF, IF THOSE ARE BEING COLLECTED OR HOW, OR IF THEY'RE IN AN EASY WAY TO, YOU KNOW, QUERY. WELL, IT MAKES COMPLETE, THAT MAKES COMPLETE SENSE IN TERMS OF THE LAB. UM, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT KEEPS, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THIS IS VERY INFORMATIVE. OF COURSE. GOOD TO SEE YOU. YOU TOO. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, WELL I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU, UM, ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO AND FOR EDUCATING US ON, UM, THIS WONDERFUL, UM, COMPLETION RATE WITHIN THE 90 DAY PERIOD. I THINK THAT'S, UM, UH, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT AND ENCOURAGING. UM, SO, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND, UH, THANK YOU. DO YOU MIND IF I ASK THE YOU ALL A QUESTION? YES. OH, OH, CAN I ASK A QUESTION? ALRIGHT, I'M SO SORRY. I DID NOT SAY, I WAS JUST, I JUST WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION. NO, THIS IS THE COMMISSIONER OR VICE, YOU KNOW, VICE CHAIR SAM MARTIN. I JUST HAD A QUESTION, SO IF, IF THE CHAIR WOULD RECOGNIZE ME, PLEASE. UM, DANA, IS IT DANA? YES. YES. MM-HMM. SO I JUST HAD A QUESTION ON THE, SO WHO RECEIVES THE, I GUESS THE ANALYZE, I GUESS, LAB RESULTS AND MM-HMM . WHAT DID, WHAT DO THEY DO? I MEAN, JUST A GENERAL QUESTION OF LIKE, WHAT DO THEY DO, LIKE, I GUESS, WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP LIKE IN THE PROCESS? SO WHEN, WHEN WE COMPLETE AN ANALYSIS AND COMPLETE THE REPORT AND IT'S REVIEWED 10 WAYS TO SUNDAY, THEN THAT GETS SUBMITTED TO THE, UM, DETECTIVE OR LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSON WHO REQUESTED THE TEST. SO IT GETS ACTUALLY TRANSMITTED TO THEIR RECORD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, WHICH IS HOW THEY HANDLE ALL THEIR CASE INFORMATION. AND SO FROM THERE, SAY IF THERE WAS A, IF THERE WAS AN ELIGIBLE DNA PROFILE THAT GOT PUT INTO THE DATABASE, AND LET'S JUST SAY IT MATCHED TO SOMETHING IN THE DATABASE AND GAVE THEM A SUSPECT NAME OR A LEAD, THEN LAW ENFORCEMENT THEN WOULD COLLECT A CON CONFIRMATION, BUCCAL SWAB OR LIKE A DIRECT DNA SAMPLE FROM THAT PERSON. AND THEN THE LABORATORY COULD TAKE THAT AND [00:15:01] DO A DIRECT COMPARISON FROM THE EVIDENTIARY SAMPLES TO THE SUSPECT. UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S REQUIRED AS PART OF A FOLLOW UP TO A CODIS HIT. BEYOND THAT, THAT'S KIND OF A, IN THE INVESTIGATIVE FIELD, WHICH I AM NOT , I'M THE SCIENCE NERD OF THE GROUP. SO I COULDN'T REALLY ANSWER WHAT ELSE THEY DO THERE. BUT, UM, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, WE COMPLETE THE REPORT AND THEN SUBMIT IT. IF IT DOES HAPPEN TO GO TO TRIAL, THEN OUR PEOPLE WOULD TESTIFY AT, AT THOSE TRIALS ON THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE, THEY'VE DONE. BUT I, I CAN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION, BUT MAYBE WHEN KACHINA COMES ON, SHE'LL BE ABLE TO SORT OF ROUND OUT SOME OF THIS INFORMATION FOR YOU IF SHE, SHE KNOWS SOME OF THAT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWER, I APPRECIATE IT. SURE. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER, OKAY. YES. UM, UH, COMMISSIONER ANO. HI THERE. THIS IS COMMISSIONER ANO GABRIEL ANO, AND I AM SITTING OPPOSITE FROM THE INTERPRETERS. JUST AN FYI, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS FOR, OR FOR THE CA THE, THE KIT, THE SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT. SO DO THEY HAVE, UH, THAT BRAILLE OR DO THEY HAVE AN OPTION TO HAVE THAT IN BRAILLE OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY WHO CAN'T SEE IT? OR DO THEY HAVE, UH, ANOTHER LANGUAGE, UH, THAT, THAT COMES IN? IS THAT KIT AVAILABLE FOR MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE LANGUAGES FOR PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT DISABILITIES? SO FOR OUR REPORTS, THEY'RE GENERATED BY A LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SOFTWARE. SO IT KIND OF GENERATES THOSE IN, IN ENGLISH AND WRITTEN WORD. UM, AS FAR AS WHAT THE TRACK HIT PROGRAM CAN DO WITH REGARD TO THE SURVIVOR BEING ABLE TO GO THROUGH AND SEE WHERE THEIR KIT IS ALONG THE PROCESS. UM, I ALSO DON'T KNOW OF ANY OPTIONS FOR BRAILLE OR ANY OTHER INTERPRET INTERPRETATIONS, SO I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY, BUT I THINK THAT'S A, A REALLY GREAT QUESTION AND SOMETHING TO KIND OF LOOK INTO. HOPEFULLY WE COULD HELP DEVELOP, UH, SOME MORE ACCESSIBILITY TO THE TRACK KITS FOR EVERYONE. UH, UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS SUPER IMPORTANT. YEAH, I THINK FOR THE TRACK IT, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE BIGGEST GROUP IS GONNA HAVE ACCESS TO, WHERE THEY WOULD REALLY NEED THAT. SO I, I LOVE THIS IDEA. AND THAT'S DONE THROUGH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, DEVELOPS IT. UM, BUT WE, WE DEFINITELY HAVE COMMUNICATION WITH THEM. SO SOMETHING I CAN AT LEAST BRING UP NEXT TIME I SPEAK WITH THEM. THANK YOU. AND I BELIEVE, UH, COMMISSIONER SIMON, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YEAH. UM, WHEN IT COMES TO RAPE KIT PROCESSING AND DISABILITY, WHAT SORT OF COMES TO MIND FOR ME IS REDUCING THE RE-TRAUMATIZING NATURE POTENTIALLY OF COLLECTING THE RAPE KIT. MM-HMM . AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS INSIDE SORT OF YOUR SCOPE OF WORK, BUT CAN YOU SPEAK TO ANY MEASURES BEING TAKEN TO REDUCE THE RETRAUMATIZATION? KACHINAS GONNA BE AMAZING AT ANSWERING THIS QUESTION. I SEE. I CAN SEE HER ONLINE RIGHT NOW. UM, SHE'LL DEFINITELY BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THAT. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THE WORK THAT HER TEAM DOES. OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS ONLINE? AND I BELIEVE YOU HAD A QUESTION. I DID. SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF LIKE REEVALUATING OUR KPIS OR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS. AND SO THE PRIMARY ONE AROUND SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS WAS THAT ONE THAT I REPORTED, WHICH IS THE PERCENTAGE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS PROCESSED WITHIN 90 DAYS. AND SO I'VE JUST SEEKING FEEDBACK IF, IF HOW YOU FELT ABOUT THAT. WE'RE TRACKING IT TO STATE LAW. IS THERE ANY OTHER PERFORMANCE INDICATOR THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO YOU ALL, OR DOES THAT SEEM SUFFICIENT? GIVEN THAT WE'RE ALSO LIKE INTERNALLY MONITORING TURNAROUND TIMES AND MORE OF THE OPERATIONAL PIECE. BUT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S MEANINGFUL FOR Y'ALL TO SEE. AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY ANSWERS RIGHT NOW, ALSO YOU CAN JUST PING ME, UM, ANYTIME I'M OPEN TO IT. YES. UH, UH, THIS IS A VICE CHAIR SANMAR. I JUST HAD A QUESTION IF THE CHAIR WOULD RECOGNIZE BEFORE THE QUESTION. OKAY. THANK YOU. I I JUST WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THE, THE NUMBER OF, I GUESS, RAPE KITS THAT YOU PROCESS. UM, MAYBE LIKE ON A MONTHLY, DO YOU HAVE LIKE DATA ON, I GUESS THE NUMBER OF, [00:20:01] I GUESS, RAPE KITS THAT YOU COMPLETE? UH, LIKE MAYBE LIKE PER MONTH OR SOMETHING LIKE ON AVERAGE? YES. YES. WE TRACK, WE TRACK HOW MANY ARE COMPLETED EVERY MONTH INTERNALLY AS WELL. BUT IT DEPENDS ON HOW MANY WE RECEIVE. SO A LOT OF OUR WORK IN FORENSICS IS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON WHAT'S COMING IN. LIKE WE HAVE CAPACITY TO THUS FAR PROCESS ALL OF THEM THAT ARE COMING IN. USUALLY ON AVERAGE, I'D SAY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE 45 PER MONTH COME IN AND IT TAKES US LONGER THAN A MONTH TO, TO PROCESS THEM. BUT WE JUST STAGGER THEM AND WE DO THEM IN BATCHES. SO I'D SAY, YOU KNOW, 30 TO 45 PER MONTH ARE INCOMING AND WE'RE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THOSE. BUT IT FLUCTUATES MONTH TO MONTH ON THE NUMBER COMING IN, NOT NECESSARILY OUR OUTPUT. THAT'S PRETTY STEADY. SO I I, SO ON LIKE, JUST TO FOLLOW UP. SO ON THE, I GUESS THE, I GUESS THE FOLLOW UP, SO THE, THE INVESTIGATORS THAT ARE REQUESTING THESE, I GUESS, COMPLETIONS OF THE RAPE KITS. SO DID THEY EVER TRY TO, UM, ASK YOU TO PROCESS THEM ON, ON LIKE, THERE'S LIKE A 90 DAY LIKE PERIOD, RIGHT? SO I KNOW YOU WERE MENTIONING THAT THERE'S LIKE IN SIX, I THINK 63 DAYS, 68 DAYS. SO DOES IT HELP THEM WHEN YOU PROCESS THEM EARLIER THAN THE 90 DAY WINDOW YEAH. TO LIKE HELP THEM PROCESS WHAT THEY NEED TO GET DONE ON THEIR SIDE? ABSOLUTELY. THE SOONER WE CAN GENERATE ANY RELIABLE OBJECTIVE DATA THAT SUPPORTS THEIR INVESTIGATION, WHETHER THAT'S EXONERATING SOMEBODY OR WHETHER THAT'S IDENTIFYING A POTENTIAL TRUE PERPETRATOR OF THE CRIME THAT HELPS THEIR INVESTIGATION IN GENERAL, AGAIN, NOT AN INVESTIGATOR, BUT BEING ABLE TO ACT AS QUICKLY IN TIME CLOSE TO THE TIME THE CRIME OCCURRED, ACTUALLY INCREASES THEIR ABILITY TO SOLVE IT. SO WE DO WANT TO DO THEM AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN WHILE MAINTAINING THE QUALITY. WE DO HAVE OPTIONS TO DO EXPEDITED, UM, CASES. SO WHEN THERE'S LIKE REALLY NO SUS UNFORTUNATELY MANY TIMES, OR FORTUNATELY, HOWEVER YOU WANNA LOOK AT IT, THEY MIGHT KNOW THE PERPETRATOR. SO THAT MIGHT NOT BE THE BIG UN UNKNOWN REALLY, BUT WHEN THERE'S TRULY UNKNOWN OR STRANGER ASSAULT, UH, OR SERIAL, UH, OR EXPECTATIONS OF A SERIAL ASSAULT, THEN SOMETIMES WE'LL BE REQUESTED TO EXPEDITE, UM, A KIT, WHICH WE'RE HAPPY TO DO. BUT THE REASON WHY WE DON'T DO THAT, LIKE WITH ALL KITS, IS BECAUSE WE RUN 'EM IN BATCHES. SO IF WE RUN ONE IN A RUSH, IT SORT OF PUSHES ALL THE OTHERS BACK A LITTLE BIT. SO WE DON'T WANNA DO IT UNLESS IT'S REALLY NECESSARY, BUT SOMETIMES IT'S REALLY NECESSARY. AND WE WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK. OF COURSE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND, UM, UH, IF OFFICER CLARK IS READY FOR YOU TO GIVE THEIR PRESENTATION. YEAH, HI. UM, AND I'M ACTUALLY, I'M A NOT AN OFFICER. I'M A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL, LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER. I AM, I'M KACHINA CLARK, AND I WANT TO APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY FOR NOT BEING THERE AND NOT HAVING OUR POWERPOINT. WE COMMITTED TO THIS WHEN I WAS ON VACATION. IT'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT CHAOTIC LATELY. LATELY, JUST WE'VE BEEN, WE GOT GO BACK ON VACATION AND THEN WE'VE HAD TO VACATE, UH, MAIN HEADQUARTERS BECAUSE OF A MOLD ISSUE. SO LIFE HAS BEEN . I DON'T HAVE AN OFFICE RIGHT NOW, SO I'M VERY SORRY. UM, BUT I HAVE WITH ME, TRACY MORRIS. TRACY, DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF REALLY QUICKLY? CAN YOU COME OFF MUTE? YES. ARE YOU ABLE? YES. OKAY. HELLO. THANK YOU. I, MY NAME'S TRACY MORRIS. I MANAGE OUR VICTIM SERVICES DIVISION. SO I WORK, UH, JUST UNDER KACHINA. UM, AND WE HAVE ABOUT 50, A BIT MORE THAN 50 MASTER'S LEVEL MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIANS THAT WORK IN OUR VICTIM SERVICES DIVISION. UM, AND SIX OF THOSE BEING SUPERVISORS, THE REMAINDER WHO ARE ACTUALLY PROVIDING CRISIS COUNSELING AND FOLLOW-UP COUNSELING TO VICTIMS OF CRIME. YEAH. AND I, I THINK YOU ALL WANTED US TO SPEAK ABOUT, UH, REPORTING ABUSE, UH, WHEN, WHEN ABUSE HAPPENS IN A, A GROUP HOME OR A FACILITY AND THE PROCESS OF REPORTING, JUST SORT WHAT MAYBE I, I WASN'T SURE IF THERE WAS MORE BEYOND THAT. SO WE WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT PROCESS, BUT WE'RE ALSO VERY INVOLVED, UM, WITH, UM, WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT COUNSELORS IN ALL THE MAJOR INVESTIGATIVE UNITS. WE HAVE QUITE A FEW IN SEX CRIMES, AND WE'VE BEEN, UM, WE'RE VERY, WE WORKED WITH DANA AND HER TEAM, OR, UM, AND SO ANY OF I, AND I MAY HAVE MISSED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS YOU ALL HAD EARLIER THAT I THINK DANA MAY WANTED US TO ANSWER, UM, RELATED [00:25:01] TO, UM, AN INVESTIGATION OF, OF SEX CRIMES CASES. UM, SO WE'RE HAPPY TO, TO TALK ABOUT THAT AS WELL. SO WE'RE, UM, PART OF A, A WORK GROUP THAT IS, UM, HAVE HAVE BEEN OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS MAKING IMPROVEMENTS TO HOW WE, UM, INVESTIGATE AND SUPPORT SURVIVORS, UM, OF SEXUAL ASSAULT. SO, UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT ME AS WHETHER WAS THERE, DANA, THERE WAS A SPECIFIC QUESTION I THINK THAT YOU WERE GONNA, THAT YOU WERE KICKING OVER TO US TO, I BELIEVE ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT A COMMISSIONER ASKED, AND THEY WILL CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, WAS REGARDING, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU'RE SUPPORTING SURVIVORS IN THE, IN THE, UM, IN THE EVIDENCE COLLECTION PROCESS, TRYING NOT TO RE-TRAUMATIZE SURVIVORS. AM I PARAPHRASING WHAT YOU SAID? ? SO PLEASE. BUT KIND OF ALONG THOSE LINES WAS WAS ONE THAT'S MM-HMM . OKAY. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO, UM, THE, THE FORENSIC EXAMS ARE, ARE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ONE PROVIDER OF FORENSIC EXAMS. YOU'VE ALL PROBABLY SEEN ON THE NEWS THAT SAFE ALLIANCE WAS KINDA THE MAIN PROVIDER FOR FORENSIC EXAMS. AND, UM, THE AUSTIN AREA, WE HAVE A SECOND, WE'VE HAD A SECOND PROVIDER FOR QUITE A WHILE, THAT'S BRAVE ALLIANCE. SO SAFE, UM, IN JUNE, UM, STOPPED PROVIDING, UH, THE FORENSIC, UM, EXAMS. THEY STILL HAVE THEIR, UH, ADVOCACY PROGRAM. SO THEY HAVE THE CONFIDENTIAL ADVOCATES THAT SUPPORT SURVIVORS, UM, THROUGH, THROUGH THE PROCESS OF GETTING AN EXAM AND, AND OTHER, AND WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AS WELL. UM, AND SO BRAVE ALLIANCE IS OUR PRIMARY PROVIDER RIGHT NOW. AND SO WHEN A SURVIVOR, WHEN, WHEN OUR TEAM, SO OUR VICTIM SERVICES TEAM, I'LL JUST BACK UP A LITTLE BIT AND TRACY, FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN IF I LEAVE ANYTHING OUT. UM, WHEN A SEXUAL, WHEN SOMEONE IS CALLING TO REPORT A SEXUAL ASSAULT CALL TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, AN OFFICER IS DISPATCHED ALONG WITH A VICTIM SERVICES COUNSELOR. SO WHEN SOMEONE FROM OUR TEAM, SO THE, THE LICENSED, UH, MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL, UM, THEY ARE DISPATCH, THEY'RE CO DISPATCH. SO IF A COUNSELOR'S AVAILABLE, WE HAVE COUNSELORS AVAILABLE 24 7, BUT IF ONE, THEY'RE NOT TIED UP ON OTHER CALLS, THEY WILL CORRESPOND WITH AN OFFICER. AND, AND SO THAT WOULD BE AT A HOSPITAL POTENTIALLY, OR JUST FROM, FROM THEIR HOME OR SOMEBODY ELSE'S HOME. UM, AND THEN THEY, THE COUNSELOR WILL, UM, TALK WITH THE SURVIVOR ABOUT THE, THEIR, THE PROCESS OF GETTING AN EXAM IF THEY'RE WANTING TO GET ONE. AND THEN WE WOULD REACH OUT TO BRAVE ALLIANCE AND A FORENSIC NURSE WOULD SHOW UP. UH, WE ALSO WOULD TALK ABOUT THE, UM, OPTION FOR SURVIVORS TO HAVE A CONFIDENTIAL ADVOCATE. AND, AND RIGHT NOW THE PRIMARY PROVIDER CONFIDENTIAL ADVOCATES IS STILL SAFE ALLIANCE. SOME WORK WITH HOPE ALLIANCE, HOPE ALLIANCE AND AAFSA AS WELL. UM, AND THE CO AND SO OUR COUNSELORS WITH VICTIM SERVICES ARE NOT CONFIDENTIAL ADVOCATES. WE HAVE TO EXPLAIN THE LIMITS OF CONFIDENTIALITY TO FOLKS. UM, AS SOON AS WE ARE, UH, WE MEET WITH THEM OR INTRODUCE OURSELVES SO THAT THEY KNOW THAT WHATEVER THEY SAY TO US GETS DOCUMENTED INTO THE OFFENSE REPORT. BUT, UM, SAFE OFFERS, THAT'S CONFIDENTIAL ADVOCATE. SO SURVIVORS THERE ARE, THERE, WE WILL, VICTIM SERVICES WILL BE WITH THE SURVIVOR WHEN THEY'RE GETTING THE EXAM, UH, UM, AT THE HOSPITAL OR AT THE BRAVE ALLIANCE FACILITY. UM, SO THAT'S OUTSIDE OF A HOSPITAL SETTING. UM, AND WE WILL ALSO ASSIST IN TRANSPORTING TO BRAVE ALLIANCE. SO OBVIOUSLY IT'S FOLKS SHOULD AT A HOSPITAL, A LOT OF TIMES THEY CHOOSE TO HAVE THE EXAM THERE. IF THEY WANNA HAVE IT IN A SETTING OUTSIDE OF AN EMERGENCY ROOM AND NOT, NOT GET ADDITIONAL CHARGES, THEN, UM, THEY CAN RECEIVE THE EXAM AT BRAVE ALLIANCE AND WE WILL HELP GET THEM TO THAT, TO THAT LOCATION. AND THEY HAVE A SOFT SETUP. SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, COMFORTABLE FURNITURE. AND THEY DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF, UM, TRYING TO MAKE SURE SURVIVORS KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. AND, UM, AS THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE EXAM, AND WE, AND THEY, WE CAN STOP AND TAKE BREAKS AND MEET WITH EITHER THE CONFIDENTIAL ADVOCATE OR VICTIM SERVICES, WHATEVER THE SURVIVOR CHOOSES, UM, TO DO. AND TRACY, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? YEAH, THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT I WOULD ADD IS THAT WE KNOW VICTIMS ALSO HAVE THE OPTION OF A NON MAKING A NON-REPORT OR GETTING A SAFE, UH, WHEN, WHEN THEY DON'T WANT TO REPORT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT. AND TYPICALLY THAT WOULD MEAN THAT A PD VICTIM SERVICES WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE INVOLVED. BUT BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN IN THIS PROCESS, UM, OF MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING VICTIM CENTERED, UM, RESOURCES, AND THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SUPPORT SURVIVORS, WE, ALONG WITH A COUPLE OTHER AGENCIES, WHEN, WHEN WE ARE ABLE, UM, WE'LL PROVIDE TRANSPORT, UH, TO THOSE FOLKS AND WE CAN MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY WHEN THERE'S NO POLICE REPORT. UM, AND SO WE ARE A RESOURCE IN THAT WAY. AND WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN UTILIZED QUITE A BIT IN, IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS SINCE WE'VE BEEN TRANSITIONING, UM, FULLY TO BRAVE. UM, THE ONLY OTHER THING I WANTED TO MENTION IS WE DO HAVE A, A PAMPHLET SPECIFICALLY THAT WAS MADE IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, UM, THAT IT, WE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE KNOWN FOR THIS [00:30:01] SORT OF VICTIM ASSISTANCE PAMPHLET THAT'S REQUIRED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR US TO, TO GIVE OUT TO VICTIMS, TO SURVIVORS. BUT WE'VE ALSO WORKED PRETTY HARD TO CREATE, UH, ONE THAT'S SPECIFIC TO SEXUAL ASSAULT THAT INCLUDES VICTIM RIGHTS, AND THEN AGAIN, SEXUAL ASSAULT SPECIFIC, UM, REMINDERS. SO THAT, AND RESOURCES SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TRAUMA IS THAT A, A LOT OF SURVIVORS WILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WAS DISCUSSED WITH THEM WITHIN, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST SEVERAL HOURS OF AN ASSAULT. AND SO PROVIDING THEM WITH THAT SORT OF, UH, DOCUMENTATION THAT THEY CAN HOLD ONTO IS SOMETHING THAT WE WORKED ON TO TRY TO DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, WHICH IS PREVENT RETRAUMATIZATION FROM HAVING TO RECALL AND SAY, CAN YOU TELL ME EVERYTHING THAT YOU TOLD ME LAST NIGHT? YOU KNOW, OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE. UM, THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT I WOULD ADD IS IF THE SURVIVOR GETS TO MAKE EVERY DECISION IN THAT PROCESS. AND SO MM-HMM. ING HAD MENTIONED, WE ABSOLUTELY WILL SIT IN A HOSPITAL AT BRAVE ALLIANCE, UH, WHEREVER THE SURVIVOR WANTS TO WHEN THEY WANT US THERE. SO, YOU KNOW, WE PROVIDE ALL THE EDUCATION THAT WE WOULD WANT A SURVIVOR TO HAVE, AND IF THEY DON'T WANT US IN THE ROOM OR THEY DON'T WANT OTHERS IN THE ROOM, THEN WE WOULD CERTAINLY EMPOWER THEM TO DO THAT. AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE A WARM HANDOFF TO WHOMEVER THEY DO WANT IN THE ROOM TO TRY TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT THAT VICTIM HAS TO, UM, SAY WHAT THEY WANT, UM, OR EVEN TALK THROUGH AND, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE DETAILS, UH, OF THE ASSAULT ITSELF. YEAH. , GO AHEAD. YEP, YEP, YEP. SORRY. I BELIEVE WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM THE, UH, COMMISSIONERS. UM, STARTING WITH, UM, COMMISSIONER ONLINE. COULD YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF? YEAH. HI, THIS IS COMMISSIONER ELIZABETH SLADE. UM, AND I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS RECENTLY, SO YOU MAY BE GETTING A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, BUT IS THERE A PLAN TO WORK WITH CENTRAL TEXAS FORENSIC CARE? UM, THE GROUP THAT WAS FORMED BY THE, UM, FORMER SAFE NURSES? I JUST HAPPENED TO READ ABOUT THAT THIS WEEK. AND SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE NOT CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THEM, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THE PLAN MAY BE. YEAH, OUR, OUR PLAN WOULD, I MEAN, WE'D LIKELY BE WORKING WITH THEM. THERE'S A PROCESS THROUGH OUR SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE AND RESOURCE TEAM, UM, THAT'LL, THAT, UM, ANY PROVIDER, ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO PROVIDE FORENSIC EXAMS AND IN THE AREA WE FIRST RECOMMEND THEM, WE, THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF GETTING VETTED THROUGH OUR, THROUGH OUR SART. UM, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THAT. WE ARE IN LOTS OF, WE, WE WE'RE COMMUNICATING WITH, UM, THEIR DIRECTOR FREQUENTLY. THEY'RE NOT PROVIDING EXAMS YET. AND SO, UM, YEAH. BUT WE ARE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF A MULTI PROVIDER SYSTEM. UM, WE ALL ARE, EVERYONE, YOU KNOW, OUR SART IS OUR SART HAS, UM, RECOMMENDED A MULTI PROVIDER SYSTEM. SO, UM, SO I IMAGINE THAT, UM, THEY WILL, THEY'LL LIKELY BE, UH, VETTED BY THE SART AND THEY'LL BE ADDED TO OUR REFERRAL LIST, AND THERE'LL BE ANOTHER OPTION FOR SURVIVORS. THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION, AND THANKS FOR YOUR ANSWER. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. AND I DID HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, THE ABUSE REPORTING, ESPECIALLY THAT YOU WORK IN GROUP HOMES. UM, MANY OF THE, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE IN GROUP HOMES DON'T HAVE A LOT OF AGENCY OVER THEMSELVES AND ARE COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON THEIR CAREGIVERS. AND SO WHEN YOU SAY THINGS LIKE, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, WE COMPLETELY RELY ON THEM TO TELL US, OR I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE INTAKE PROCESS IS LIKE, OR WHEN THERE IS DISCOVERY OF ABUSE IN THOSE SITUATIONS. SO I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD PROVIDE US A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON WHEN THOSE, UH, CASES COME TO LIGHT AND WHAT THAT PROCESS IS LIKE WHEN YOU ARE, UM, WORKING WITH A SURVIVOR OR VICTIM, UM, WHO, UM, MAY NOT BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN OR REALIZE SOMETHING WAS DONE TO THEM THAT WAS WRONG. AND IN THOSE CASES, WHAT DO YOU DO, ESPECIALLY IF MAYBE THE CAREGIVER NEEDS TO BE QUESTIONED. YEAH. TRACY, DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THE CRISIS WITH WHAT YEAH, THE PROCESSES ON CRISIS TEAM FOR THAT? YEAH. ON OUR CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM. YEAH. AND WE, WE'VE HAD, WE HAVE HAD THESE CALLS ON OCCASION, UM, AND THE, THE POLICY OR PROTOCOL WOULD BE THAT WE, OUR AUTO DISPATCHED TO THOSE, THESE SCENES AS WELL, UM, SPECIFICALLY LIKE IN A GROUP HOME. AND WE WOULD, I, I THINK THE IMPORTANT PART FOR ME HERE IS THAT WE ARE, OUR TEAM IS ALL MENTAL HEALTH OR MASTER'S LEVEL MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. SO THEY WOULD, WE WOULD RELY ON THEM TO BE USING THEIR ASSESSMENT SKILLS AS TO WHAT IS BEST FOR THAT SURVIVOR AT THAT TIME. I, I THINK ESPECIALLY WHEN WE GO TO HOMES WHERE, UM, THERE IS SOMEONE WHO IS DEPENDENT ON THE CARE OF THAT FACILITY, [00:35:01] WE WOULD BE INCUMBENT ON THEM TO EDUCATE US A LITTLE BIT ON WHAT THE, WHAT IS THE SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE, THE VICTIM, UM, THE SURVIVOR IN THAT CASE. AND SO IF THE REALITY WAS THAT WE NEEDED, YOU KNOW, THE CAREGIVER PRESENT, WE WOULD ABSOLUTELY WAIT UNTIL A CAREGIVER'S PRESENT AS LONG AS WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION. AND MY HOPE WOULD BE OUR STAFF. I MEAN, MY BELIEF WOULD BE THAT OUR STAFF IS, IS EDUCATED AND HIGHLY TRAINED ENOUGH THAT THEY WOULD BE EITHER CALLING A SUPERVISOR IF THEY WERE UNSURE WHAT TO DO IN THAT SCENARIO, WHICH WE'VE TRAINED THEM VERY MUCH TO DO. MM-HMM . BUT MOST OF MO, I MEAN, I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED A TIME WHEN THEY DID NOT, UM, AC ACCURATELY AND ADEQUATELY ASSESS AND THEN DOCUMENT, UM, WHY THEY NEEDED TO HAVE A CAREGIVER, THE CAREGIVER ASSIGNED PRESENT TO ASSIST WITH MAKING DETERMINATIONS ABOUT NEXT STEPS OF CARE. OKAY. THANK YOU. YES. QUESTION CHAIR. UH, THIS IS VICE CHAIR SAN MARTIN. I JUST HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE VICTIM SERVICES. UM, WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE SITUATION WHERE, UH, VICTIMS DON'T REPORT? IS THERE A WAY FOR YOU TO, I GUESS, REACH OUT IN THE COMMUNITY TO, UM, LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT SERVICES Y'ALL PROVIDE SO THAT IF SOMEONE IS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE HESITANT TO REPORT A SITUATION THAT THEY'RE IN, WHAT DO YOU DO IN THAT SITUATION? OR DO YOU HAVE A WAY TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY TO LET THEM KNOW THERE ARE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO VICTIMS? WAIT, SORRY, TRACY ? NO, NO, YOU'RE GOOD. I WAS GONNA SAY, WE, WE, WE TRY, WE TRY TO PROVIDE A LOT OF EDUCATION, UM, TO COMMUNITY ABOUT THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE THROUGH VICTIM SERVICES, OUR PARTNER AGENCIES. UM, WE PARTICIPATE WITH OUR OFFICE OF COMMUNITY LIAISONS VERY FREQUENTLY AND, AND EVENTS, UM, WHERE WE'RE PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, THE SERVICES PROVIDED. WE HAVE, UM, OUR SART ALSO, UM, HAS A, A, A GROUP THAT FOCUSES ON, UM, COMMUNITY OUTREACH. WHAT WE WANT FOLKS TO KNOW IS THAT VICTIM SERVICES, LIKE TRACY SAID, CAN, IF THERE'S NOT, IF SOMEONE'S NOT SURE IF THEY WANNA MAKE AN OFFENSE REPORT, IF THEY'RE NOT SURE IF THEY WANNA ENGAGE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, THEY CAN STILL CALL VICTIM SERVICES. IF THERE'S NOT A REPORT, IT IS COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL. UM, THEY CAN SPEAK TO US, UM, CONFIDENTIALLY, ONCE THERE'S A REPORT, WE'RE GONNA EXPLAIN THAT THERE'S AN OFFENSE REPORT AND WE'RE REQUIRED TO DOCUMENT. BUT, UM, WE, YEAH, WE WORK, WE WORK PRETTY HARD TO TRY TO GET, UM, INFORMATION OUT IN OUR, LIKE I SAID, OUR SART, UM, HAS BEEN WORKING ON THAT. AND THEN WE HAVE AN INTERNAL GROUP COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL PROJECT, UM, THAT HAS BEEN VERY FOCUSED ON OUTREACH TO, UM, COMMUNITY TO VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, UM, AS WELL. AND THAT'S, THAT'S A GROUP THAT WAS, UH, CREATED TO RESPOND TO THE, UM, SEXUAL ASSAULT LAWSUIT THAT WAS BROUGHT AGAINST THE, THE, THE CITY AND, UH, THE COUNTY. UM, SO THERE WERE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF, WELL, SOME, SOME THINGS WERE REQUIRED TO DO THAT CAME OUT OF THE, UM, SETTLEMENT OF THAT LAWSUIT. AND THEN THERE WERE RECOMMENDATIONS IN AUDIT DONE BY THE POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM. AND, AND SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, UM, THE OUTREACH, UH, INCREASED OUTREACH WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS RECOMMENDED. SO WE, WE, WE WORK HARD AND TRACY, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT. YEAH. YOU KNOW, I KIND OF CUT YOU OFF. THE ONLY THING NO, YOU'RE FINE. THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD IS THAT, THAT COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL, UM, WE CALL IT CS CRM. SO IF ANYBODY'S HEARD OF THAT, THAT'S, IT WAS A VERY COMPLICATED NAME THAT WAS GIVEN. YEAH. BUT IN THE LAST, AGAIN, YEAR OR TWO, THEY LAUNCHED A WEBSITE ALSO CALLED A TX BELIEVES, RIGHT? THAT WAS INTENDED, UM, TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO SURVIVORS WHO DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHAT TO DO, HAVE INTEREST IN MAKING A REPORT, AREN'T SURE IF THEY WANNA MAKE A REPORT, AND THEN THEY ACTUALLY PUT IT ON THE SIDE OF CITY BUSES. AND SO FOR, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT CAMPAIGN IS RUNNING ANY LONGER, BUT IT WAS FUNDED FOR, I BELIEVE, A CALENDAR YEAR. UM, AND SO THEY HAVE BEEN MAKING EFFORTS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, THAT GOT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, I WOULD HOPE WE WOULD CONTINUE TO DO THAT KIND OF THING. WE ALSO DO, YOU KNOW, KACHINA AND I BOTH GET QUITE A FEW REQUESTS TO BE A PART OF COMMUNITY EVENTS AND TABLING. AND, UH, JUST TODAY I SENT AN EMAIL ONTO THE SUPERVISOR OF THAT UNIT SAYING ABOUT A SPECIFICALLY, SPECIFICALLY SEXUAL ASSAULT, UM, COMMUNITY EVENT THAT'S COMING UP. AND THEY HAD ASKED FOR IF WE WOULD BE WILLING TO TABLE AT THAT EVENT. AND SO WE DO QUITE A FEW OF THOSE EVENTS. NOT THAT IT ALWAYS REACHES THE MASSES, RIGHT. BUT I THINK, I MEAN, WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF BUDGETS AS MUCH AS WE CAN, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS KNOW THAT A POLICE REPORT IS NOT THE ONLY OPTION, UH, FOR EVIDENCE COLLECTION. YEAH. AND WE MEET, WE'RE A PART OF, UM, LIKE THE, LIKE I SAID, THE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE AND RESOURCE TEAM. WE ARE PART OF MANY OTHER COLLABORATIONS, UM, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, ANY THAT DEAL WITH, UM, SUPPORTING SURVIVORS OF CRIME. AND SO WE ALWAYS ARE MAKING SURE THAT [00:40:01] OUR PARTNER AGENCIES ARE AWARE OF THE RESOURCES OFFERED THROUGH, UM, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. AND WE DO KNOW THAT THERE A LOT OF FOLKS MAY NOT WANNA ENGAGE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, BUT IT DO, AGAIN, DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY CANNOT CALL US. UM, AND OUR STAFF ARE WELL VERSED IN ALL THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY, AND THE PROCESS OF REPORTING, THE PROCESS OF NOT REPORTING FOR ANY TYPE OF CRIME. UM, AND THEN IF SOMETHING HAPPENS, YOU, SO IF SOMEONE DOES NOT WANNA ENGAGE, IS NOT SURE IF THEY WANNA MAKE A REPORT. SO THERE MAY NOT JUST BE CALLING IN ON A MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, BUT IF THEY WANNA TALK TO A COUNSELOR ABOUT THEIR OPTIONS ABOUT WHETHER THEY WANT A, A POLICE OFFICER TO COME TO THE HOUSE AND, AND TAKE REPORT, THEY CAN CALL, THEY CAN ALWAYS CALL 9 1 1 AND RE AND REQUEST A VICTIM SERVICES COUNSELOR REACH OUT TO THEM TOO. SO THAT'S ANOTHER OPTION FOR FOLKS, SO IT IMMEDIATELY AFTER SOMETHING HAPPENS THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, UM, ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE AS WELL. THANK YOU. UH, I SAW TWO HANDS, UM, COMMISSIONER, UH, SIMON, AND THEN, UH, FOLLOWED BY COMMISSIONER SLATE. YEAH. SO I SORT OF SEE THESE TWO WORLDS AS BEING LIKE CIRCLES THAT COULD BE MORE OF A VENN DIAGRAM, UM, FOR, UH, SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS THAT ARE LATER DIAGNOSED WITH PTSD, LIKE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE VERY, VERY COMMON ACUTE TRAUMATIC DISTRESS. BUT FOR THOSE WHO ARE DIAGNOSED WITH PTSD, DO YOU EXPLICITLY CONNECT THEM WITH DISABILITY RELATED SERVICES? UH, WE, WE, WE DO. YEAH. SO WE, WE WILL TALK THROUGH ALL OF, ALL OF THE OPTIONS FOR, UM, SUPPORT AND COUNSELING. AND SO, UM, YES, UM, SOMETIMES WE DO, IF THAT'S, IF, IF THAT'S THEIR, UM, DESIRE, THEN WE WOULD DO THAT. UM, WE ALSO, UM, WILL CONNECT THEM WITH LONG-TERM COUNSELING AS WELL. WE HAVE A PROJECT THROUGH VICTIM SERVICES. WE RECEIVE FUNDING TO TRAIN, UM, COMMUNITY THERAPISTS. UM, WE PAY FOR EMDR TRAINING, UM, FOR COMMUNITY THERAPISTS. AND IN EXCHANGE THEY PROVIDE 50 PRO BONO SESSIONS TO, UM, SURVIVORS. UM, SO WE REFER FOLKS. WE'VE GOT A, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. WE GET FUNDING EVERY YEAR. SO WE'VE GOT A LONG LIST, UH, OF THERAPISTS THAT, UM, WE CAN REFER FOLKS TO PRETTY, PRETTY IMMEDIATELY, ALTHOUGH WE'VE GOT A LITTLE WAIT LIST NOW, WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE SOME NEW THERAPISTS TRAINED AND OUT THERE. BUT, UM, SO THAT'S FREE, UM, FREE OF CHARGE FOR, FOR SURVIVORS. BUT, YEAH. AND TRACY, DID YOU WANNA ADD? SORRY. YEAH, NO, YOU HIT EVERYTHING. I WAS GONNA SAY, THE ADDITION THAT I WOULD MAKE IS, I FEEL LIKE I'M TRYING TO SELL EVERYONE ON WHY IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE MASTER'S LEVEL CLINICIANS, BUT A LOT OF VICTIM SERVICES PROFESSIONALS ACTUALLY DON'T. THEY'RE, THEY'RE EITHER BACHELOR'S LEVEL OR SOCIAL OR ASSOCIATES LEVEL, BUT PART OF BEING MASTER'S LEVEL IS THAT EMDR OR OTHER SPECIFIC TREATMENT MODALITIES MAY NOT WORK FOR SOME FOLKS WITH DISABILITIES. RIGHT. UM, AND WE, WE HAVE A WAY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO SCREEN AND MAKE THAT ASSESSMENT BECAUSE OUR CLINICIANS, UH, HA YOU KNOW, HAVE THE DEGREE TO SUPPORT THAT KIND OF ASSESSMENT. SO THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO THEN SPECIFY, UM, THE RESOURCES THAT THEY WOULD BE GIVING AND OUR FOLKS STAY WITH. WE, WE HAVE, WE DIDN'T QUITE EXPLAIN THE TWO DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, TYPES OF TEAMS THAT WE HAVE. WE HAVE THAT CRISIS RESPONSE THAT COMES TO THE SCENE, BUT THEN OUR, WE HAVE A SEX CRIMES UNIT THAT WILL FOLLOW UP NEXT DAY OR WITHIN THE NEXT 48 HOURS, TYPICALLY, UM, WHO WILL STAY WORKING WITH THAT, THAT SURVIVOR THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THEIR CASE, OR AS LONG AS THE SURVIVOR WANTS TO MAINTAIN CONTACT. AND SO, UM, THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY YOU, YOU KNOW, OVER THE COURSE OF TIME IF THERE ARE OTHER RESOURCES THAT ARE GOING TO BE MORE APPROPRIATE, UM, FOR FOLKS DEPENDENT ON THAT ASSESSMENT. YEAH. AND WE HAVE, SO WE HAVE COUNSELORS ASSIGNED WITH OUR 24 7, OUR CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM THAT WORKS WITH PATROL OFFICERS. AND THEN WE HAVE COUNSELORS ASSIGNED, NOT JUST THE SEX CRIMES UNIT, BUT THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE UNIT, OUR AGGRAVATED ASSAULT UNIT OR HOMICIDE UNIT, UH, VEHICULAR HOMICIDE, HUMAN TRAFFICKING, CHILD ABUSE, ROBBERY. AND SO WE'VE COUNSELORS IN ALL THOSE UNITS THAT CAN SUPPORT SURVIVORS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS AS WELL. SO THOSE COUNSELORS DO A LITTLE MORE LONG-TERM WORK, AND THEY'RE DOING MORE OF THE ASSESSMENT AND THEN MAKING SURE, UM, THAT SURVIVORS GET, UM, CONNECTED WITH THE APPROPRIATE, UM, SUPPORT SERVICES. THANK YOU. UH, YES, COMMISSIONER, UH, SLATE. HI. UM, SO THAT KIND OF LEADS EXACTLY TO MY QUESTION THAT I WAS GOING TO ASK, WHICH, UM, IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT BOTH KIND OF, UM, UNITS OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. SO THE IMMEDIATE ONE, LIKE THE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM, AND THEN THE SEX CRIME UNIT. SO I, I JUST WANNA, I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT TO WHAT EXTENT THEY ARE TRAINED IN OR MAYBE GETTING, CONTINUING CONTINUING EDUCATION AND WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH IDD. I KNOW THAT IN THE MENTAL HEALTH SECTORS, UM, ESPECIALLY LIKE YOUR MASTER'S LEVEL LCSW, UM, THAT THERE IS MORE KIND [00:45:01] OF INTEREST RIGHT NOW IN WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH IDD, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S NOT AS MUCH KIND OF LIKE RESISTANCE OR FEAR OR JUST HESITATION ABOUT WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH IDD IN THE FIELD OF MENTAL HEALTH. UM, AND SO I'M CURIOUS IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE TRAINING THAT THEY HAVE, ESPECIALLY, UM, THE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM, SOMEONE WHO IS SHOWING UP RIGHT THEN, UM, HAVING EXPERIENCE OR KNOWLEDGE TO WORK WITH SOMEONE WITH IDD, WHICH IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT THAN WORKING WITH SOMEONE WHO, YOU KNOW, IS NOT FACING ANY DISABILITIES YEAH. WITHIN THEIR EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER'S DEGREE, THAT WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THEIR EDUCATIONAL, YOU KNOW, REQUIRED. BUT I REALIZE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT CONTINUING EDUCATION. WE, I MEAN, TO BE FAIRLY HONEST, THIS IS A GREAT POINT. AND, YOU KNOW, I DO THINK WE GET QUESTIONS FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT COMMISSION COMMISSIONER COMMISSION MEETINGS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT ARENAS. RIGHT. AND FAIRLY RECENTLY, OUR LICENSURE OR MASTER'S DEGREES HAVE REQUIRED, OR LICENSING BOARDS HAVE REQUIRED SOME MORE SPECIFIED TRAINING, INCLUDING MM-HMM . WE'VE ALWAYS HAD ETHICS, BUT RECENTLY THEY ADDED MULTICULTURAL RE UM, REQUIREMENTS FOR THAT, THOSE CEUS TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THAT WOULD INCLUDE IDD, BUT IT DOESN'T SPECIFICALLY. AND SO I DON'T KNOW THAT KACHINA AND I HAVE REQUIRED OUR FOLKS, UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN EDUCATIONAL, UH, THEIR CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS. UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE, WE HAVE REQUIRED ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT I ACTUALLY DO THINK THAT THIS IS A GOOD REMINDER THAT THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD LOOK INTO AND CERTAINLY HIGHLIGHT WHEN WE SEE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CITY WHERE CEUS ARE ABLE TO BE OBTAINED THROUGH, UM, TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES. MM-HMM . MM-HMM . WE WILL DEFINITELY KEEP AN EYE ON THAT. YEAH. SO THERE'S SOME ONE-ON-ONE TRAINING WHEN THEY COME ON THAT, THAT WILL, UM, ADDRESS WORKING WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, A VARIETY OF POPULATIONS. UM, BUT YEAH, THOSE ARE TRAININGS THAT WE WILL LOOK OUT FOR AND STAFF, AND THERE ARE STAFF THAT ARE VERY INTERESTED IN THOSE I, AT TRAININGS THAT, UM, I'M WORKING WITH, UM, THOSE POPULATIONS. AND SO, BUT THEY'LL CHOOSE THEMSELVES. THE CITY WILL FUND SOME, WE'LL PAY FOR SOME OF THE TRAININGS, BUT I THINK THIS IS A, A GOOD, UM, REMINDER TO US THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD BE BRINGING SOME MORE, UM, TO FOLKS INTERNALLY. I HAVE A THANK YOU. OH, AND I HAVE A QUESTION FOLLOWED BY, UH, VICE CHAIR SAN MARTIN. UM, I WAS CURIOUS IF WE WERE TO FORM A WORKING GROUP THAT WORKED WITH DIFFERENT, UM, ORGANIZATIONS AND MAYBE A COALITION OF GROUP HOMES AND OTHER AREAS WHERE, UM, WE HAVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISABILITIES REPRESENTED IN OUR COMMUNITY WHERE WE COULD ACTUALLY RECOMMEND SOME INTERVENTIONS AND TRAINING, UM, FOR A PD. WOULD A PD BE, UM, RECEPTIVE OF THAT? DO YOU KNOW WHO WE COULD WORK WITH ON THAT COMPONENT? YEAH, I THINK IN THE TRAINING ACADEMY, SO FOR CADETS, THEY DO GET SOME TRAINING ON THAT. UM, AND THEN VICTIM SERVICES COMES IN AND ACTUALLY PROVIDES A LITTLE BIT OF TRAINING ON WORKING WITH, UM, VARIOUS POPULATIONS. BUT I CAN SPEAK FOR VICTIM SERVICES, AND I'M ALSO OVER OUR EMPLOYEE WELLNESS TEAM TOO. SO, UM, WE WOULD ABSOLUTELY WELCOME RECOMMENDATIONS. UM, SO I WILL SAY FOR VICTIM SERVICES, YES. UM, I CAN CONNECT YOU WITH SOMEBODY AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY, UM, FOR, UM, TO SEE SORT OF WHAT THEIR CURRICULUM IS NOW, WHAT THEY'RE TEACHING NOW, AND THEN THEY'D BE OPEN TO SOMETHING IN ADDITION IN ADDITION TO THAT. SO THE, THE CHIEF THAT IS OVER, THE ASSISTANT CHIEF OVER THE TRAINING ACADEMY IS ANGIE JONES. AND I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S COME TO SPEAK TO YOU ALL YET, BUT, UM, I, THAT WOULD PROBABLY, I, YOU MIGHT WANNA START WITH HER, BUT I CAN ALSO TAKE THIS BACK. I'M PART OF THE EXECUTIVE TEAM, SO I CAN TAKE THIS TO THEM ON MONDAY AS WELL. UM, WE MEET EVERY WEEK, SO, UM, BUT I, I'M GUESSING THEY WOULD BE OPEN TO THAT TRAINING AS VERY PACKED, UH, FOR CADETS, BUT WE CAN MAYBE OFFER, UM, UH, TRAINING OUTSIDE FOR, FOR ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF THEIR CONTINUING EDUCATION TRAINING AS WELL. SO, YEAH. BUT, BUT OUR TEAM WOULD BE VERY, VERY INTERESTED IN THAT. SO IF YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR US, WE, WE WOULD, UM, WE'D WELCOME THAT. AND IN TERMS OF POTENTIAL WORKING GROUP, EITHER KACHINA AND I WOULD BE THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR VICTIM SERVICES OR BOTH? YEAH, BOTH OF US THERE. OF US. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . UH, THIS IS THE VICE CHAIR, SAM MARTINE. I WAS JUST WANTING TO MAYBE ASK ABOUT THE, HOW MANY COUNSELORS DO Y'ALL HAVE AT LIKE, WITHIN VICTIM SERVICES AND, UM, DO YOU HAVE, I GUESS, ENOUGH COUNSELORS TO MEET THE DEMAND, LIKE FOR SERVICES? AND THEN DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE PERCENTAGES OF VICTIMS WHO HAVE, UM, DIS DISABILITIES IN GENERAL, [00:50:01] DO YOU KNOW, UM, MAYBE WHAT THE, THE STATISTICS ARE OR WHAT THE PERCENTAGES OF, YOU KNOW, VICTIMS WHO MAY HAVE OR MAY NOT HAVE DISABILITIES OF ANY KIND? SO WE, WE DO TRACK WHEN WE'RE WORKING WITH SOMEBODY, IF THEY SELF-DISCLOSE THAT THEY DO HAVE A DISABILITY, WE'LL TRACK IT. UM, AND THIS IS KINDA AN INTERNAL SYSTEM, VICTIM SERVICES IS WE MANAGE. UM, I CAN, I CAN GO LOOK AT THAT, AND I'M SORRY I WOULD'VE PREPARED FOR THAT TODAY, BUT I CAN GET BACK WITH YOU. WE CAN GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT. UM, WE, UM, AND THEN VICTIM SERVICES HAS, WE HAVE ABOUT 54 EMPLOYEES NOW. SO, AND THAT INCLUDES TRACY, THAT MAY INCLUDE MY POSITION. AND THEN, UH, SIX SUPERVISORS, AND THEN THE REST ARE COUNSELORS. WE ARE, I BELIEVE, THE LARGEST VICTIM SERVICES DIVISION WITHIN A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY IN THE COUNTRY THAT'S ACTUALLY EMPLOYED BY, BY THAT WORKS FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THERE ARE SOME, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE, THAT WORK WITH AGENCIES OUTSIDE OF THE, THEIR DEPARTMENT. UM, AND DO WE, ARE WE ABLE TO SUPPORT EVERYBODY THAT WOULD NEED SUPPORT? NO. I MEAN, EVEN WITH THIS VERY LARGE DIVISION, NO. UM, WE, UM, WE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE, UM, YOU KNOW, SEVERITY SOMETIMES OR FREQUENCY OR THOSE WHO ARE, WHO ARE REACHING OUT AND, AND WANTING SUPPORT. UM, SO WE, COUNSELORS HAVE PRETTY, THE COUNSELORS THAT WORK IN THE INVESTIGATIVE UNITS HAVE PRETTY HIGH CASELOADS. UM, WE JUST HEARD IT FROM SUPERVISORS YESTERDAY, ABOUT THE, UH, THE, THAT THE WORK IS INTENSE AND, UM, CASELOADS ARE HIGH, AND THERE ARE SOME CRIME TYPES THAT WE DON'T AUTOMATIC. SO SOME CRIME TYPES, UM, THAT AREN'T AUTOMATICALLY, THOSE CASES AREN'T AUTOMATICALLY ASSIGNED TO COUNSELORS. OUR FOCUS ARE VIOLENT CRIMES, BUT ANYBODY CAN CALL IN AND REQUEST OUR, UM, OUR SERVICES, AND WE WILL. SO IF SOMEONE REACHES OUT, WE'LL ALWAYS, UM, ENGAGE AND, AND SUPPORT THEM. TRACY, DO YOU WANNA, SORRY, I, NO, YOU HIT IT ALL. I JUST WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD TO PRIORITIZE WHICH CASE TYPES WE'RE GONNA WORK, AND EVEN WITHIN THAT, SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO MAKE ASSESSMENT DECISIONS BECAUSE OF CAPACITY ON, YOU KNOW, WHICH CASES WE CAN AND CAN'T FOLLOW UP ON. SO IF WE WERE GONNA FOLLOW UP ON EVERY CASE IN THE CITY PO POLICE REPORT IN THE CITY THAT HAD A VICTIM ATTACHED, NO MATTER WHAT THE SEVERITY WAS, I MEAN, WE COULD EASILY DOUBLE, MAYBE TRIPLE OUR NUMBER OF COUNSELORS, WHICH IS CRAZY. BUT THE OTHER THING IS, WE DO TRACK THE NUMBER OF CALLS WE MISS ON OUR CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM, SO THAT WE'RE AWARE, AND I, I MEAN, WE, OUR FOLKS TRACK THOSE FAIRLY WELL, AND IT, IT'S REALLY, IT'S KIND OF FEAST OR FAMINE SOMETIMES. UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'LL MISS SIX CALLS IN A NIGHT AND OUR FOLKS ARE TAUGHT HOW TO PRIORITIZE THOSE CALLS, SEX CRIMES WOULD BE AMONG THE HIGHEST PRIORITY. UM, AND, AND, BUT YES, WE COULD ALWAYS USE MORE COUNSELORS. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S WORKING FOR THE, THERE'S A BUDGET, UH, THERE'S A, THERE'S ALWAYS A BUDGET. SO, SORRY, DID I SEE A HAND? NO. OKAY. YES. OH, YES. UH, COMMISSIONER ANO, COMMISSIONER ARIANO HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST ONE PERSON, UM, A REPRESENTATIVE IN THE DEAF COMMUNITY. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I'M PART OF A WORKING GROUP IN THE DEAF WORKING GROUP. WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT GROUPS. WE HAVE THE TEXAS HEALTH SERVICES AND DEAF SERVICES, UH, SPECIFICALLY, WHICH DOES AN AWESOME JOB OF NETWORKING WITH THE DEAF COMMUNITY AND KEEPING IN CONTACT WITH THEM, UH, IN, WITHIN THE STATE. AND WE ALSO HAVE THE, THE RESIDENTIAL DEAF SCHOOL HERE, TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF. AND, UM, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN GROUP, A LARGE, UH, PUBLIC GROUP THAT THEY HAVE, UH, RESOURCES AND OUTREACH WITH. UM, SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE DEAF COMMUNITY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION ABOUT VICTIM SERVICES. SO, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO REACH OUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO PROVIDE DEAF SERVICES, UM, NOT JUST THROUGH THE DEAF SCHOOL, BUT TO THE LARGER COMMUNITY IN GENERAL. AND I WANNA KNOW WHAT I COULD DO TO GET MORE INFORMATION OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, FROM YOUR DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS, UM, UH, I HAD AN, AN ADDITIONAL THOUGHT. GIMME JUST A SECOND. UM, I'M SORRY. IT WAS RELATED TO YOUR, YOUR COMMENT, VICE CHAIR, UM, SAN MARTIN, ABOUT, UM, WELL, LET ME GO BACK TO THE FIRST QUESTION, AND MAYBE I'LL, I'LL, UH, REMEMBER THE SECOND QUESTION. UH, BUT WHAT CAN WE DO TO BETTER WORK WITH THE DEAF COMMUNITY IN GENERAL AND GET MORE INFORMATION OUT? WHAT MY INITIAL THOUGHT IS, I WOULD LOVE TO SCHEDULE A TIME TO MEET, UM, BECAUSE [00:55:01] YOU KNOW MUCH MORE THAN LIKE, YOU ARE THE EXPERT ON THAT. AND I KNOW OFTENTIMES, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALK ABOUT MOST IS IT'S REALLY UNFAIR TO, TO PUT YOU IN A POSITION TO HAVE TO EDUCATE US. AND YET, RIGHT NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW IS THAT WE, WE HAVE A REALLY HARD TIME FINDING, UH, A SL INTERPRETERS, UM, ON CALLS. IT TAKES QUITE A LONG TIME FOR US TO DISPATCH TO A SCENE WHEN NEEDED. UM, AND SO IF I HOPE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S OKAY FOR ME TO SAY, MAN, I WOULD LOVE, WE WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO MEET AND ASK YOU FOR SOME GUIDANCE IN THAT REGARD TO WHAT WE CAN DO TO DO A BETTER JOB IN THAT SPACE. YEAH. THIS COMMISSIONER ARIANO. YES, ABSOLUTELY. WE WOULD LOVE TO. AND, UH, OH, WHAT I WANTED TO TALK TO IS, UH, THE PREVIOUS POINT ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY OF THE COUNSELORS, AND IF PEOPLE ARE COMFORTABLE, UM, THE COUNSELORS THAT YOU DO HAVE, ARE THEY COMFORTABLE WORKING WITH VARIOUS COMMUNITIES LIKE THE DEAFBLIND, UH, COMMUNITY AND THE DEAF COMMUNITY, AND DO THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH THOSE CULTURES? UM, YOU KNOW, AND EMPATHETICALLY ABLE TO MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE AS A COMMUNITY? YOU KNOW, IT'S NICE TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO CAN SIGN, UH, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO MEET THOSE VARIETY OF CULTURES WITHIN THE DEAF COMMUNITY AS WELL. AND, UM, THAT WOULD BE MY ADVICE. EXCELLENT. I APPRECIATE THAT ADVICE. AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THAT WE HAVE SOME OF THE, THE BEST CLINICIANS WORKING FOR US. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE ALWAYS DO EVERYTHING RIGHT. UM, AND YET, I, I WOULD, I CAN THINK OF IN MY, AS A SUPERVISOR ON CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM FOR YEARS, I CAN THINK OF MANY, MANY CALLS THAT, YOU KNOW, AS AN ASSESSOR OF THE DOCUMENTATION SEEMS TO BE HANDLED VERY WELL WITH, WITH EXCELLENT EMPATHY, KNOWING THERE ARE BARRIERS. UM, AND ACTUALLY WE'VE HAD, PART OF THE REASON I KNOW IT'S REALLY HARD FOR US TO GET INTERPRETERS IS BECAUSE THOSE COUNSELORS COME BACK AND THEY ADVOCATE AND EXPRESS MM-HMM . THAT THEY DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THEY COULD MEET A SURVIVOR OR VICTIM AS MUCH WHERE THEY WERE AT, BECAUSE THEY'RE SITTING THERE SAYING, WE, WE CALLED, WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE WE DON'T KNOW. YOU KNOW? AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE LOOKED INTO THAT QUITE A BIT, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO ARE WE CONTRACTED WITH, WHAT ARE THE CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS MM-HMM . UM, AND I KNOW I'M SPEAKING AROUND YOUR QUESTION, I DO DEFINITELY BELIEVE THAT OUR FOLKS WANT TO DO THE BEST EMPATHETIC, VICTIM-CENTERED, SURVIVOR-CENTERED, UM, INTERVENTIONS POSSIBLE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE HAVE ALL THE EDUCATION NECESSARY TO, TO DO THAT. WELL, I HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUALLY, AS A LEADERSHIP TEAM INSTILL IN OUR FOLKS THAT WORKING WITH DIVERSE COMMUNITIES INCLUDES ALL DIVERSE COMMUNITIES, NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, THE ONES WHO THAT, THAT WE THINK OF INITIALLY OFF THE BAT. YEAH. AND WE ARE HAPPY TO. SO WE, WE COME OUT AND PROVIDE OVERVIEWS OF THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE, AND ALSO MEET WITH, UM, GROUPS ABOUT WHAT IT IS THEY NEED FROM US. AND WE'RE, WE'RE VERY OPEN TO RECOMMENDATIONS TOO. SO WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO MEET WITH ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO, FOR US TO COME OUT AND, AND TALK ABOUT OUR, OUR, UM, THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE, UM, HEAR OF ANY CONCERNS THAT FOLKS HAVE ABOUT, UM, LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE OR OUR RESPONSE, UM, AND AREAS THAT THEY FEEL WE COULD IMPROVE. SO, VERY OPEN TO THAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. UH, HEARING NONE, SEEING NONE. UM, I WILL, UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. AND, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE MIGHT BE SOME INTEREST IN POTENTIALLY FORMING A WORKING GROUP, SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN CONNECT WITH YOU AGAIN IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPENDING YOUR FRIDAY EVENING WITH US, AND, UM, WE REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND, AND AGAIN, HUGE APOLOGIES FOR NOT BEING THERE. IT'S, IT JUST WENT OFF. SO, UM, I, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL, UM, ALLOWING US TO COME SPEAK TO YOU AND JUST REACH OUT TO TRACY OR MORRIS OR ME, GINA CLARK, UM, TO GET MORE INFORMATION IF YOU WANNA SET SOMETHING UP, UH, TO TALK ABOUT A, A WORKING GROUP AS WELL. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. VERY INFORMATIVE. THANK YOU. AND NOW [3. Presentation from SAFE ATX regarding SAFE’s disability program, interpersonal violence in the disability community and current gaps in resources. Presentation by Pierre Berastain, CEO, SAFE ATX and Serena Villa, Disability Services Project Coordinator and Educator, SAFE ATX. ] APPRECIATE IT. I'M GOING TO GIVE AV A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO PUT UP THE NEXT PRESENTATION. OUR, UM, NEXT PRESENTATION WILL BE FROM SAFE, A TX, UM, TO DISCUSS, UH, SAFES DISABILITY PROGRAM, INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE, AND THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY, AND CURRENT GAPS IN RESOURCES. UM, WE ARE JOINED BY, UH, PIERRE BARTEN, UH, CEO OF SAFE, A TX, AND SERENA VIA, UH, DISABILITY PROJECT COORDINATOR AND EDUCATOR AT SAFE A TX. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, UH, JUST TO, FOR THE RECORD, THE NAME OF, UM, THE NAME [01:00:01] OF THE ORGANIZATION IS, UH, THE SAFE ALLIANCE, AND I BELIEVE SAFE A TX IS, UM, MAYBE ANOTHER COALITION OR GROUP, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. I APOLOGIZE. YEAH, IT'S AGENDA IS SAFE, A TX. SO, UM, UH, APOLOGIES. SAFE ALLIANCE. WELL, AND THANK YOU EVERYONE, UH, FOR, FOR WELCOMING US. MY NAME IS DR. PIERRE BARAIN, AND I'M THE CEO FOR THE SAFE ALLIANCE. AND I'M HERE WITH MY COLLEAGUE, UH, SERENA. HI. IS IT ON? THERE WE GO. HI, I AM SERENA AND I AM THE PROJECT COORDINATOR AND EDUCATOR OF THE SAFE ALLIANCE. I PRIMARILY WORK WITH ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, WITH PREVENTION AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS. THANK YOU. UH, WE'LL DO, DO TWO THINGS HERE. ONE, UH, BRIEF, KIND OF HIGH LEVEL INTRODUCTION TO SAFE ALLIANCE, ALTHOUGH I BELIEVE MANY FOLKS KNOW WHAT SAFE PROVIDES. UM, AND TWO, THEN TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR DISABILITY SERVICES PROGRAMS AT THE ORGANIZATION. UM, I DON'T EXPECT FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO READ, UM, THIS, THE, THE DETAILS OF THIS SLIDE, BUT SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT SAFE ALLIANCE WORKS AT THE INTERSECTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC HEALTH AND HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS. AND WE HAVE OVER 20 PROGRAMS ACROSS THE ECOSYSTEM OF SAFE, UH, OF, OF THE SAFE ALLIANCE, MAKING IT ONE OF THE LARGEST ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COUNTRY PROVIDING VICTIM SERVICES SPECIFICALLY. UH, I'D LIKE TO ILLUSTRATE THIS POINT BY INDICATING THAT IN ANY OTHER CITY, THE SERVICES THAT SAFE PROVIDES WOULD BE PROVIDED BY AN EQUIVALENT TO OF EIGHT TO 12 INDEPENDENT NONPROFITS. THAT IS, UH, A HOMEGROWN INSTITUTION WHERE PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND HOUSING MEET. AND THE, UH, AND THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK THAT SHOULD MAKE US AS AUSTINITES INCREDIBLY PROUD. THIS IS THE LARGEST ORGANIZATION IN THE SOUTH AND THE THIRD LARGEST ORGANIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF ITS KIND, WORKING ACROSS DOMESTIC SEXUAL VIOLENCE, SEX TRAFFICKING, AND CHILD ABUSE. AND OUR PROGRAMS SPAN, UM, CRISIS, POINT OF CRISIS INTERVENTION. QUITE LITERALLY. SOME OF OUR, OUR FOLKS WILL, UM, GO ON, UM, RECOVERY OPERATIONS AND SEX TRAFFICKING STINGS WITH AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT. UH, WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE PARTNERSHIP WITH A PD. UM, SO RANGING FROM THAT TO PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND, AND, AND FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN IN OUR, IN OUR PROGRAMS FOR WELL OVER A DECADE, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT VICTIMIZATION SOMETIMES LASTS, UM, UH, OR, OR HAS RIPPLE EFFECTS OR HAS SEQUELA THE LAST BEYOND THE, THE, THE ONE TIME INCIDENT. AND WE ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS AROUND PREVENTION, UH, TRAINING AND, AND COMMUNITY BUILD, UH, COMMUNITY, UH, AWARENESS, UH, FOR SOME OF THE, THE, THE ISSUES THAT WE COVER, UH, WE HAVE AN INTEGRATION OF, OF, UM, OF, OF SERVICES, WHICH WE SAY THAT INTEGRATION IS THE INTERVENTION, RIGHT? I MENTIONED PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE, CRISIS RESPONSE, UM, HEALING, UH, AND, AND JUSTICE, RIGHT? WE HAVE A HUGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN THAT WE, THAT WE SERVE. UM, AND, AND, AND, AND THEN A NUMBER OF, UH, FAMILY STABILIZATION PROGRAMS. UM, MY BELIEF IS THAT HUMAN LIVES ARE CONTINUOUS AND THEREFORE OUR RESPONSE MUST ALSO BE CONTINUOUS. AND THIS IS WHAT MAKES SAFE, UH, SO SPECIAL. UH, SOME STATISTICS AT ANY, UH, GIVEN YEAR, WE RECEIVE ABOUT 26,000 CALLS, TEXTS, AND CHATS THROUGH OUR SAFELINE. THIS IS THE CRISIS HOTLINE, UM, FOR, FOR AUSTIN, TEXAS, THAT SAFE ALLIANCE OPERATES. WE BROKE THE RECORD OF NUMBER OF CALLS OR NUMBER OF TOUCH POINTS IN A MONTH IN JULY AT 2,500 CALLS ON OR TOUCH POINTS. WE BROKE THAT RECORD AGAIN AT 2,600 TOUCH POINTS IN AUGUST. AND WE ARE SEEING THE TREND CONTINUE. UM, WE SERVE ANYWHERE FROM FIVE TO 6,000 PEOPLE, UH, CLOSER TO 6,000 PEOPLE IN A TYPICAL YEAR, UH, WHICH IS, IS QUITE SIGNIFICANT. AND WE HOUSE ABOUT A THOUSAND PEOPLE A NIGHT. TO GIVE YOU A COMPARISON OF, OF WHAT THAT MEANS, UM, THE LARGEST PROVIDER OF HOUSING, OF BED NIGHTS OR OF BEDS IN THE UNITED STATES IS IN NEW YORK, A CITY OF 10 MILLION PEOPLE. UH, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT WOULD BE AN ORGANIZATION, THAT HOUSE THAT, THAT PROVIDES 2,500, UH, BEDS A NIGHT, RIGHT? 2,500 PEOPLE A NIGHT. WE HOUSE THE, WE HAVE THE SECOND LARGEST NUMBER OF HOUSING, UM, SERVICES OR, OR BEDS IN THE COUNTRY AT ABOUT A THOUSAND PEOPLE. AND THE NEXT ONE, UH, DOESN'T COME CLOSE TO THAT. IT'S AROUND 500. SO THAT SHOWS YOU THE SCALE, UM, OF, OF SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE. AND THROUGH OUR SERVICES, UH, THROUGH OUR OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, WE REACH OVER 8,000 FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY. AND THAT IS, UH, A CONSERVATIVE NUMBER BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE WILL REACH IS CAPTURED. UM, ONE ILLUSTRATIVE POINT THAT I LIKE TO MAKE ABOUT THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE IS CHILDREN. CHILDREN MAKE UP ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF OUR, OUR RESIDENTS IN EMERGENCY SHELTER. AND I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO IS IN [01:05:01] OUR SHELTER IS, UH, HAS SOMEBODY WHO IS LOOKING FOR THEM TO CAUSE THEM GRAVE HARM OR MURDER THEM. UH, EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS HIGH LETHALITY. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN OUR SHELTER, THE NUMBER OF WOMEN TYPICALLY IN OUR SHELTER, UM, THAT IS, THAT IS A SERIOUS PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERN. UM, I'VE MADE THE ARGUMENT, UH, OFTENTIMES IN, IN, IN AUSTIN AND NATIONALLY THAT, UM, THAT NONPROFITS SUBSIDIZE THE WORK OF, OF, OF PUBLIC SAFETY. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, RIGHT? UM, MOST RECENTLY I MADE THIS ARGUMENT IN THE STANFORD SOCIAL INNOVATION REVIEW, UM, IN WHICH, YOU KNOW, I, I ARGUE ONCE AGAIN THAT, THAT NONPROFITS LIKE SAFE ALLIANCE, DO THIS WORK AT A MORE, UH, UH, AT A LESS COSTLY, UH, TAB, IF YOU WILL, FOR THE CITY. AND IT SAVES DOWNSTREAM COSTS THAT ARE SIGNIFICANT, UM, TO GIVE, UH, AN EX, UH, CONCRETE DATA BEHIND THIS IS THAT ACROSS THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM, WE SAVE THE, UH, OUR SYSTEM AT APPROXIMATELY $120 MILLION, CONSERVATIVELY $120 MILLION A YEAR. THAT IS $4 OF DOWNSTREAM COSTS SAFE FOR EVERY DOLLAR INVESTED IN THE SAFE ALLIANCE. UM, OUR HOUSING PROGRAMS HAVE EVEN HIGHER RETURN ON THAT INVESTMENT. UH, OUR MODEL SAVINGS IS THAT FOR EVERY DOLLAR INVESTED, WE SAVE THE SYSTEM ABOUT $6 AND 37 CENTS. UM, AND, AND THAT IS AGAIN, QUITE, QUITE SIGNIFICANT, QUITE SIGNIFICANT, UH, HOUSING IS, IS ONE LESS WITHIN THAT ONE LENS, WITHIN THAT BROADER ECONOMIC CASE. UM, AND, AND, AND THAT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE BECAUSE ACROSS, AGAIN, ACROSS THE ECOSYSTEM, WE'RE SAVING THE SYSTEM TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF, UM, OF, OF, OF FUNDING. AND OF COURSE, THIS IS NOT TO REDUCE THE, THE VICTIMIZATION THAT WE SEE TO ECONOMIC NUMBERS, BUT I THINK THAT ECONOMIC ARGUMENT IS AN IMPORTANT ONE AS WE CONSIDER WHERE OUR INVESTMENTS ARE MADE AS A CITY. I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A VERY QUICK, UH, OVERVIEW OF OUR FUNDING STRUCTURE, BECAUSE I THINK THIS SHOWS THE COMMITMENT OF SAFE ALLIANCE TO SUSTAIN PROGRAMS, UM, ABOUT THIS LIGHTS AS 50% OF HER FUNDING COMES FROM GOVERNMENT. THE REALITY IS THAT RIGHT NOW, ABOUT 45% OF HER FUNDING COMES FROM GOVERNMENT SOURCES. THAT IS LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL. UH, ABOUT 55% OF HER FUNDING COMES FROM PHILANTHROPY. UH, AND THAT MAKES US ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSIFIED ORGANIZATIONS DOING THIS WORK IN THE COUNTRY. MOST ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COUNTRY THAT DO THIS WORK HAVE THEIR BUDGETS, UH, RELY ON 85 TO 95% OF THEIR FUNDING COMING FROM THE GOVERNMENT SOURCES, MAKING THEM QUITE FRAGILE IN TERMS OF FINANCIAL, UH, STABILITY. UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT, THAT MAKES SAVE ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSIFIED AND, AND WELL SUPPORTED ORGANIZATIONS IN TERMS OF, UM, OF PHILANTHROPY, UH, AND OUR COMMUNITY. I THINK THAT IS A TESTAMENT TO, UH, AUSTIN, TEXAS, THAT WE HAVE DECIDED AS AUSTINITES TO ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES AND INVEST IN THE WELLBEING, THE COLLECTIVE WELLBEING OF OUR COMMUNITY. UM, SO I'LL PASS THIS ON TO MY COLLEAGUE, UM, WHO WILL SPEAK ABOUT OUR WORK AROUND DISABILITIES. THANK YOU. SO THE FIRST ITEM I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT IS THAT WE KNOW THAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT VIOLENCE DOES NOT IMPACT ALL COMMUNITIES EQUALLY. YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES ARE 40% MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE VIOLENCE, INCLUDING SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND INTERPERSONAL, YOU KNOW, PARTNER VIOLENCE. UM, ABOUT HALF OF ALL WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES EXPERIMENT, INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE. AND STUDIES ALSO SHOW THAT 80% OF WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES HAVE EXPERIENCED SEXUAL ASSAULT AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIFETIME. IS IT NOT CLICKING ANYMORE? ? OH, THERE YOU GO. YOU'RE CLOSER. OKAY. UM, THE DATA ALSO SHOWS THAT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, THE WHOLE STRANGER IN THE BUSHES THING IS ALSO UNTRUE. 97 TO 99% OF ALL INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE OCCUR FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS A RELATIONSHIP STRICTLY ABOUT THE DISABILITY TO THE PERSON WITH A DISABILITY. SO I WANT YOU TO IMAGINE DOCTORS, THERAPISTS, UM, RESIDENTIAL STAFF, AND CARETAKERS, RIGHT? IT'S GOING TO BE THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE MOST ISOLATED ACCESS TO THEM. ALRIGHT? AND I WANNA POINT OUT THAT LAST YEAR WE HAVE SERVED ABOUT A LITTLE OVER 5,000 PEOPLE. AND OF THIS POPULATION, 18% IS SELF-DISCLOSE AS DISABLED. MY PERSONAL BELIEF IS THAT THIS NUMBER IS LIKELY HIGHER AS THE UNIVERSAL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT A DISABILITY IS CONTINUES TO GROW. AND CONSIDERING THE NATURE OF WHAT THEY'RE REACHING OUT TO US FOR THESE EXPERIENCES OFTEN LEAD TO DIAGNOSES OF PTSD AND EVEN C-P-T-S-D, WHICH ALSO QUALIFY AS DISABILITIES. ALL RIGHTY. SO NOW WHAT? SAY YOU'RE SOMEONE WITH A DISABILITY WHO'S MANAGED TO, WHILE PERFORMING YOUR DAILY TASKS, UM, MANAGING YOUR CONDITION, YOU'VE MANAGED TO SAFELY [01:10:01] AND SECRETLY GET AWAY FROM YOUR ABUSER. THE ISSUE HERE IS THAT NOT A LOT OF SERVICES PUT LOCATIONS THAT PROVIDE THE SERVICES THAT WE DO HAVE THE MEANS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, RIGHT? SO, ONLY 35% OF SHELTER SURVEYED HAD DISABILITY AWARENESS TRAINING FOR STAFF. 16% HAD A DEDICATED STAFF PERSON TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES. REALLY, UM, THE LACK OF SERVICE CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO LACK OF TRAINING. UM, OFTEN WE DON'T EVEN MAKE IT THIS FAR BECAUSE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, ARE CONSIDERED TO BE LESS CREDIBLE. AND THERE'S JUST A LOT OF ABLEISM. CASE IN POINT. AND SERENA, SORRY TO INTERRUPT, JUST TO, UH, CLARIFY THIS DATA, THAT THE DATA THAT YOU ARE, UH, PRESENTING THIS 35% OF SHELTER SURVEYED, THIS IS NATIONAL, UH, CORRECT STUDIES. CORRECT. AND 16% HAD A DEDICATED STAFF PERSON WHO PROVIDED SERVICES TO WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES, ALSO IS A NATIONAL, UH, STATISTIC. CORRECT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHTY. SO THE LAST POINT THAT I WANT TO MAKE IS THAT PREVENTION HAS TO BE ACCESSIBLE. OBVIOUSLY, WORKING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE DIFFERENT CAPACITIES AND RESOURCES IN THE GENERAL POPULATION, ESPECIALLY IF SOMEONE HAS AN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE INFORMATION IS EASY TO ACCESS, IT'S EASY TO UNDERSTAND, AND THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING WITH IT. UM, IT EXISTING DOESN'T DO AS MUCH AS WE WOULD LIKE IT TO. WE HAVE OUR PROGRAMS THAT WE TEACH OUR CURRICULUMS, BUT IF WE CAN'T GET IT TO THE PEOPLE THAT IT'S DESIGNED FOR, IF WE CAN'T GET THEM TO COME TO US, IF WE CAN'T GET TO THEM, IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO BACK UP WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO TEACH THEM, IT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, A LOST CAUSE. AND, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO WANT TO CONTINUE GROWING THIS WORK BECAUSE PREVENTION, EDUCATION EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE GET THERE TOO LATE, AND WE WILL, UM, WHAT DO WE DO WHEN SOMETHING HAS ALREADY HAPPENED? ? UM, I, I WANT TO KIND OF TAKE A QUICK PAUSE AROUND THE, UM, AND THANK YOU SERENA, FOR, UH, AROUND THE DISABILITY SERVICES WORK THAT WE DO TO JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT, UH, THE SAFE ALLIANCE, UH, DISABILITIES PROGRAM, WHICH INCREASES CAPACITY OF THE COMMUNITY TO WORK WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED VICTIMIZATION. UM, IT, IT BUILDS CAPACITY INTERNALLY AS WELL, UH, FOR, AND IT PARTNERS WITH ACROSS OUR 20 PROGRAMS, SORRY, OR, OR WE'RE DOING MORE TO PARTNER ACROSS OUR 20 PROGRAMS TO BUILD CAPACITY, UH, AND ENSURE THAT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES HAVE ACCESS. UM, THAT PROGRAM HAS SET NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR HOW TO WORK WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. WE HAVE HAD FOLKS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, OTHER COUNTRIES, UH, GOVERNMENTS HAVE SENT PEOPLE TO THE SAFE ALLIANCE TO LEARN HOW TO WORK WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE. THIS IS REALLY CRITICAL, UH, THIS JUNCTURE IN TIME BECAUSE, UM, AGAIN, SAFE SET NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR HOW TO DO THIS SAFE CREATED SOME OF THOSE BEST PRACTICES, UH, OVER THE LAST 20, 30 YEARS. THE IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO KNOW, I THINK, AND THE ALARM HERE, IS THAT AS FUNDING HAS CONTRACTED FUNDING THAT GOES TOWARDS PROGRAMS THAT WORK WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES HAS EVAPORATED. THAT IS THE CASE FOR THE SAFE ALLIANCE. ALL OF OUR FEDERAL FUNDING THAT WAS DEDICATED TO WORK TO, TO THIS PROGRAM HAS EVAPORATED. AND THE BOARD OF SAY, SAFE ALLIANCE, AND I HAVE BEEN A COMMITMENT THAT WE CANNOT, UM, WE CANNOT CLOSE THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY DEPENDS ON IT. PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES DEPEND ON, UH, ON, ON PROVIDERS HAVING AWARENESS AND, AND TRAINING AND CAPACITY ON, ON KNOWING HOW TO SERVE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. AND THAT WHEN WE SEE GREENER PASTURE, UM, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT TWO, THREE YEARS IN TERMS OF THE FUNDING LANDSCAPE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE, WE WILL HAVE PRESERVED THE KNOWLEDGE AND WE WILL ONCE AGAIN, UH, BE ABLE TO, UM, TO RAISE AWARENESS AND RAISE THE CAPACITY, NOT JUST IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, BUT REALLY ACROSS THE NATION, UM, ON HOW TO DO THIS WORK. SO, UM, THAT, THAT TO US IS, IS A PRIORITY. THE PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, UH, AS I SAID, IT'S BEEN DECIMATED IN TERMS OF FUNDING, UH, FROM ALL GOVERNMENT SOURCES. SO RIGHT NOW IT'S ALMOST ENTIRELY, UH, FUNDED BY UNRESTRICTED FUNDS, AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO CONTINUING THAT. UH, BUT IT IS ABOUT $350,000 A YEAR, RIGHT? TO, AND THAT IS AT A REDUCED CAPACITY THAT WE ARE OPERATING AND THAT CAPACITY CANNOT MEET, UH, THE NEED THAT WE HAVE AND THE REQUEST THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW FROM, FROM FOLKS. SO THAT BRINGS ME TO WHAT CAN AUSTIN DO? UH, OF COURSE, UH, INVESTING IN PREVENTION. I MENTIONED A SPECIFIC NUMBER, RIGHT? I'M NOT ASKING OF THAT, OF THE CITY. UH, WE HAVE ASKED THE CITY FOR FUNDING FOR OTHER PROGRAMS. UM, AND SAME, SAME WITH THE COUNTY, RIGHT? BUILDING ACCESSIBILITY INTO SA UH, INTO SAFETY SYSTEMS. SO ENSURING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CAN RECOGNIZE ABUSE, DISCLOSURE OF VIOLENCE, ACCESS, UH, UH, CAPABLE [01:15:01] ADVOCATES AND NAVIGATING SERVICES. OUR PROGRAM DOES THAT, IT INCREASES CAPACITIES. UH, PREVIOUS COMMISSIONERS TALKED ABOUT NURSING, UH, I'M SORRY, UH, HOMES, RIGHT? CARE HOMES, UH, UH, CARE HOME PROVIDERS. UM, AND, AND OUR PROGRAM GOES DIRECTLY TO THE SOURCE AND BUILDS THAT CAPACITY. AND SERENA CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THAT IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED. UM, AND OF COURSE, CENTERING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND DESIGNING AND EVALUATING PREVENTION AND SAFETY STRATEGIES ARE CRITICAL. OUR WORK TRULY, TRULY CENTERS, UH, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES BY DESIGNING THE PROGRAMS, UH, THAT WE HAVE THE INTERVENTIONS, THE CURRICULA, UM, WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AT, AT THE CENTER. UM, AND THEN THE LAST ONE THAT I'VE MENTIONED HERE IS THE STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS. AND THAT IS CREATING ENVIRONMENTS WHERE PEOPLE CAN BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, IDENTITY, TRUSTED PEOPLE, UH, IDENTIFY TRUSTED PEOPLE, AND KNOW WHERE TO WHERE TO TURN AGAIN. UH, WE, IT'S A SMALL TEAM OF TWO RIGHT NOW, AND AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S DOWNSIZED GOING TREMENDOUSLY. UM, AND I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO BUILDING IT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS BECAUSE THIS IS CRITICAL. UM, FOR US, WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE PART OF EVERY SINGLE PROGRAM THAT WE RUN, UH, AND WE ARE, WE ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH TO MEET THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IF WE DON'T CONTINUE TO INVEST, UH, IN THIS COMMUNITY. UM, SARAH, ANY FINAL THING THAT YOU WANNA ADD? NO, YOU PRETTY MUCH GOT IT ALL. THANK YOU. AND WE ARE OBVIOUSLY, OF COURSE, OPEN TO QUESTIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, COMMISSIONERS, UM, IN PERSON AND ONLINE, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO START WITH? I THINK I SAW COMMISSIONER VASSO. YES. I BELIEVE YOU'RE MUTED. SORRY ABOUT, UM, COMMEND, UH, FOR THIS, THE WORK YOU DO, AND I REALIZE IT'S TRYING TIMES. UM, BUT I'M ESPECIALLY THINKING ABOUT THE IDD COMMUNITY, WHICH CAN BE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE. AND, UM, YOU SAID IT NOT ALWAYS TRUSTED IN TERMS OF THEIR STORIES AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. AND, UM, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU AND, AND I KNOW, AND I HOPE THAT WE TURN AROUND AND GET THE FUNDING THAT WE NEED, UM, FOR THESE KIND OF SERVICES. 'CAUSE THEY'RE ACTUALLY INVALUABLE, SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, MY COLLEAGUE SERENA HAS, UH, QUITE A, A BIT, UH, OF WORK, UH, AND EXPERIENCE WITH THE IDD COMMUNITY. I DUNNO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY ANY WORDS AROUND THAT. UH, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. UM, IT CAN BE CHALLENGING WORK BECAUSE IT'S JUST THE NATURE OF IT. THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT IN THEIR DAY PROGRAMS THAT THEIR PRESENCE, THEIR EXISTENCE IS AN INCONVENIENCE. SO THEY'RE TOLD, YOU KNOW, TO STAY AWAY, TO BE QUIET TO COLOR. THEY'VE BASICALLY HAD THEIR HUMANITY STRIPPED FROM THEM. AND SO WHEN I GO IN THERE AND I PROVIDE THE CURRICULUMS THAT I DO, UM, I TRY TO TEACH THEM THAT EVEN IF IT'S FOR THAT ONE HOUR A WEEK THAT WE'RE HERE TOGETHER, THIS IS A SAFE SPACE. THEY'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS, LIKES AND DISLIKES, AND EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN WAYS THAT THEY CAN'T AND, YOU KNOW, OTHER TIMES OF THEIR LIVES. SO I THINK IT REALLY HELPS TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IN ONE SMALL ASPECT, THEY KNOW THAT THEIR PRESENCE DOES MATTER, THAT THEY ARE CARED FOR, AND THAT THEY DESERVE TO BE HERE LIKE ANYBODY ELSE, AND THEY DESERVE SUPPORT LIKE ANYBODY ELSE. THERE IS AN EMPOWERMENT, I THINK THAT COMES FROM YOUR WORK, SERENA, THAT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT, AND YOU'VE KIND OF IMPARTED ON ME, WHICH IS THAT, UM, SERENA HAS THIS BEAUTIFUL STORY, UM, OF, OF, YOU KNOW, SHE'S THE TEACHER, IF YOU WILL, IN THESE CLASSROOMS, AND SHE'S, YOU GOING THROUGH THE CURRICULUM, IF YOU WILL. AND, UH, AND SHE SAID ONE TIME, AND I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR YOU, BUT AT ONE TIME, SOMEBODY, ONE PERSON CAME AND TOOK THE, THE, UM, THE PEN ON THE, THE MARKER, RIGHT? AND SAID, I THINK WE NEED TO DO, YOU KNOW, TOOK CHARGE ESSENTIALLY. AND, AND, AND GOING FROM A FIRST SESSION IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE RAISING THEIR HANDS TO GO TO THE BATHROOM, TO EVEN TO SPEAK, TO, TO TAKING CHARGE OF THEIR LIVES AND SAYING, NO, NO, NO, I'M TAKING, I'M, I'M TAKING CONTROL OF THIS SESSION, AND I'M SPEAKING, YOU KNOW, IN, IN AN EMPOWERED MANNER ON BEHALF OF MY COLLEAGUES AND FOR MY COLLEAGUES. UM, THAT IS THE POWER OF, OF COMMUNITY AND THE HEALING POWER THAT I THINK SAFE ALLIANCE BRINGS AND, AND, AND COLLEAGUES LIKE SERENA BRING TO THE WORK. AND WE, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, BECAUSE OF THOSE TRUSTED SPACES, WE SEE HIGHER RATES OF DISCLOSURE OF VICTIMIZATION. WE HAVE HIGHER RATES OF ACCESS TO SERVICES, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE CENTER HOLISTIC HEALING AND WE CENTER COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST. UM, SO I JUST WANNA GIVE YOUR FLOWERS OH, [01:20:01] YEAH. TO ADD. OH, THANK YOU. TO ADD DETAILS TO WHAT PIERRE WAS SHARING, UM, WE HAVE ONE CURRICULUM TITLED RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS TO PROMOTE MINDFULNESS, NERVOUS SYSTEM REGULATION AFTER EXPERIENCING STRESS DRAMA. AND THERE ARE INTERVALS IN THAT CURRICULUM WHERE WE ASK YOU TO DO AN EMOTIONAL CHECK-IN. YOU CAN HOLD UP A FINGER, ONE IF YOU'RE FEELING SAD, TWO, IF YOU'RE JUST OKAY, THREE, IF YOU'RE FEELING GREAT. AND WE WERE DOING THE INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASS, AND THIS PARTICIPANT DECIDED THAT SHE REALLY WANTED TO DO HER CHECK-IN. SO SHE GRABBED THE MARKER, DREW THE FACES ON THE BOARD, AND HAD EVERYBODY POINT TO WHICH ONES THEY WERE FEELING. SO, UM, THAT WAS A LOT OF FUN. AND TO BE TOLD, LIKE, THIS WORK IS INVALUABLE, LIKE IT'S BEEN SAID, WE HAD ANOTHER INCIDENT WHERE, UM, THERE WAS A PARTICIPANT WHO DURING A CLASS ABOUT HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS VERSUS UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS REALIZED THAT HER ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP LOOKED LIKE THE ABUSE EXAMPLES. AND SHE ASKED US TO STAY AFTER CLASS TO SPEAK TO HER, AND WE DID, AND WE VALIDATED WHAT SHE WAS EXPERIENCING, WHAT SHE WAS FEELING AND THINKING, AND WE HELPED HER CREATE A SAFETY PLAN, WHICH SHE FOLLOWED, AND SHE WAS ABLE TO GET AWAY FROM HIM. SHE WAS ABLE TO GET A RESTRAINING ORDER. WE FOLLOWED UP WITH HER A YEAR LATER TO SEE WHERE SHE WAS AT, AND SHE'S IN A NEW ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WHERE SHE FEELS MORE LOVED THAN EVER. SHE HAS A LOT OF SUPPORT AND RESOURCES, AND WE'RE REALLY PROUD THAT ACCESS TO THIS CURRICULUM HELPED IMPROVE HER SITUATION. THAT'S REALLY WONDERFUL TO HEAR. UM, YOU DID SAY THAT BY THE TIME THAT THEY KIND OF REACHED LAW ENFORCEMENT, IT'S TOO LATE. AND I'M, YOU'RE SUCH A TRUSTED RESOURCE IN THE ORGAN, I MEAN, IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, IN WORKING WITH A PD. BUT I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT, UM, HOW MUCH YOU PARTNER ON, ON THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE WITH THIS, WITH OUR POPULATION, WITH OUR COMMUNITY. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO? OKAY. UM, SO WE DO OFFER TRAINING TO DIFFERENT POLICE DISTRICTS, UM, POLICE DEPARTMENTS. I GOT THEM MIXED UP WITH THE SROS. UH, WE DO SROS AND REGULAR POLICE DEPARTMENTS, AND WE GO IN AND WE TEACH DEESCALATION TECHNIQUES. WE TEACH, UM, THE BEST WAY TO GET THROUGH TO SOMEONE THAT'S HAVING A MELTDOWN, RIGHT? WE TEACH THAT BEHAVIOR IS JUST COMMUNICATION. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THAT ANYBODY IS BAD OR TRYING TO HURT ANYBODY. THERE'S AN UNNEEDED MET, YOU KNOW, AN UNNEEDED UNMET NEED HAPPENING, AND YOU JUST NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS. UM, WE ALSO PROVIDE THEM WITH ACCESS TO OUR DIGITAL GUIDES. ALL KIDS SAFE AND ALL ADULTS SAFE. THE OFFICERS ARE TOLD THAT THEY CAN DOWNLOAD IT AND THEY CAN GO, THERE'S DIFFERENT TILES AVAILABLE. YOU CLICK ON ONE, EACH TILE REPRESENTS A DIFFERENT DISABILITY, AND YOU GET A QUICK BRIEF ON WHAT THE DISABILITY IS, THE TRAITS, HOW TO BEST WORK WITH SOMEONE WITH A DISABILITY LIKE THAT, AND EVEN HOW TO INTERVIEW THEM. SO WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE STAYS AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE. I, I WORRY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, SOME OF THE PRACTICE, THE MAINSTREAM PRACTICES THAT, UH, END UP STRIPPING FURTHER STRIPPING AWAY AGENCY FROM PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. AND, AND I THINK WE, WE KNOW THIS, UM, BE IN THE, IN THE SENSE THAT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES HAVE BEEN LEGALLY AND STRUCTURALLY STRIPPED OF THEIR AUTONOMY, OF THEIR AGENCY DECISION MAKING POWER, RIGHT? AND ASSUMED, UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST THAT THEY CAN'T SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES, MAKE DECISIONS, RIGHT? OFTENTIMES. AND SO WHEN, WHEN WE COME FROM THAT ASSUMPTION, UM, WE, WE, WE ENGAGE IN PRACTICES LIKE, WELL, WE'RE NOT GOING TO ENGAGE WITH A PERSON UNLESS WE HAVE THEIR CARE PROVIDER AT HOME. UH, WHICH IS QUITE PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE IT COULD BE THAT CARE PROVIDER WHO IS, WHO IS THE PERSON A, A ABUSE THE PERSON WITH DISABILITIES, RIGHT? UM, UH, AND WE ENGAGE IN PRACTICES, UH, LIKE, LIKE ASSUMING THAT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CAN'T HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE. AND THAT HAS PERNICIOUS IMPLICATIONS ON, ON THE KIND OF, UM, OF, OF, OF ENGAGEMENT AND SUPPORT THAT WE, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M QUITE PROUD THAT THE SAFE ALLIANCE DOES IS, IS WHEN WE SAY MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE, WE ALSO TEACH PEOPLE TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. UM, AND, AND, AND THEY'RE VERY TRICKY SITUATIONS TO NAVIGATE, ESPECIALLY WHENEVER YOU HAVE TO, WHENEVER CERTAIN, UH, IN INCIDENTS WILL TRIGGER A DISCLOSURE TO ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES, WHICH CAN BE EVEN MORE HARMFUL TO THE PERSON WITH DISABILITIES, RIGHT? SO WE, WE, AS, AS EXPERTS WHO WORK IN THIS FIELD, PARTNER VERY CLOSELY WITH PROVIDERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SHOULD TRIGGER A RESPONSE, WHAT NOT, JUST ASSUMING THAT ANY DISCLOSURE FROM A PERSON WITH DISABILITIES WILL TRIGGER A, A, A DISCLOSURE OR A REPORT, RIGHT? UH, TO THINK THROUGH THE NUANCE AND THE IMPLICATIONS, UH, OF, OF DISCLOSURE SO THAT WE CAN DO APPROPRIATE CARE. UM, SO THAT'S, THAT, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF OUR WORK. DID WE HAVE ANY, [01:25:01] OKAY. YES. COMMISSIONER SIMON. HI. UM, I'M COMMISSIONER KATIE SIMON, AND I REQUESTED FOR YOU GUYS TO COME HERE. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. THIS WAS WONDERFUL. UM, I WORK IN SEXUALITY AND SEXUAL TRAUMA AND, UH, PTSD WAS KIND OF LIKE PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY THAT EXPERIENCED SEXUAL TRAUMA EXPERIENCES. TRAUMATIC STRESS, ACUTE TRAUMATIC STRESS, UH, BUT PTSD IS EXPERIENCED BY FEWER PEOPLE, AND I THINK A LOT OF THE TIMES WE TREAT IT AS SOMETHING THAT YOU NEED TO GET A THERAPIST FOR. UM, BUT PTSD CAN BE LIFE DISRUPTING AND YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO WORK WHILE YOU HAVE IT. UM, AND PTSD IS A DISABILITY, AND I'M SORT OF WONDERING HOW THAT PLAYS INTO WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. I KNOW YOU HAD THE SLIDE WITH LIKE, WHAT PERCENT DIFFERENT PERCENTAGES OF TYPES OF DISABILITIES, UM, BUT THE POPULATION YOU'RE WORKING WITH, YOU KNOW, JUST BY THE NATURE OF IT, IS PROBABLY GOING TO DEVELOP EVEN MORE DISABILITIES. ABSOLUTELY. RIGHT? AND, AND THERE IS A PATHOLOGY OF MENTAL HEALTH, I THINK THAT IS QUITE PROBLEMATIC IN, IN THIS COUNTRY. UM, THERE IS A PATHOLOGY OF, OF TRAUMA OFTENTIMES THAT, THAT IS PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE WE, WE, WE THROW THE CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS AND, AND THE, THE, THE ONLY KIND OF INTERVENTION BECOMES, UH, A CLINICAL INTERVENTION, WHICH, TO YOUR POINT, NOT EVERYTHING RE NECESSITATES THAT TYPE OF INTERVENTION. SO I, I'D LOVE TO INVITE MY COLLEAGUE TO, TO SPEAK A, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR HOLISTIC HEALING WORK, WHICH, UM, WHICH I THINK IS CRITICAL FOR, FOR, FOR THE POPULATION WE WORK WITH. UH, BUT WE SEE, TO YOUR POINT, WE SEE ALL KINDS OF DISABILITIES. UM, I'VE WORKED WITH SURVIVORS WHO'VE, UM, WHO ARE HALF OF THEIR BODIES PARALYZED BECAUSE OF THE VICTIMIZATION THEY'VE EXPERIENCED, AND THEY REQUIRE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FROM THAT POINT ON. UM, TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, HIGH PERCENTAGE OF TBI IN SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, RIGHT? UM, D WE, WE, WE KNOW FROM NATIONAL STUDIES, UM, THAT CERTAIN SOURCE OF CANCER, CERTAIN SOURCE OF CHRONIC ILLNESSES ARE RELATED, DIRECTLY RELATED AND CAUSED BY DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE, RIGHT? SO, SO THE DATA IS THERE, UM, THE RESOURCES MIGHT NOT BE. SO IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T MIND SPEAKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HOLISTIC, WHAT WE DO, OF COURSE. UM, SO YOU SPECIFICALLY WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT HOLISTIC HEALING FROM A-P-T-S-D STANDPOINT. DO I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY? YEAH. AND, UH, PTSD AS A DISABILITY? YEAH. MM-HMM . SO, UM, I'VE HAD SEVERAL PEOPLE JOIN THE CLASS THAT DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE IDD, BUT THEY JOIN BECAUSE THEY DO PRESENT SYMPTOMS OF PTSD, AND THEY'RE LOOKING TO, UH, MANAGE THOSE AS BEST AS POSSIBLE. SO WE START OFF REALLY SLOW, LIKE PIER SAID, WE TRY TO MEET EVERYONE WHERE THEY'RE AT. SO WE BEGIN WITH VERY SIMPLE DEEP BREATHING EXERCISES. SOME YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH, LIKE BOX BREATHING, FIVE FINGER BREATHING, BLOWING UP THE CANDLE, AND WE'LL WORK OUR WAY UP TO MORE COMPLEX ITEMS LIKE CHAIR YOGA OR, UM, PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION. AND THE CONCLUSION OF THE CLASS AT THIS TIME, WE'RE CURRENTLY WRITING MORE LESSONS, IS IDENTIFYING PEOPLE IN YOUR CIRCLE THAT ARE SAFE AND CREATING SAFE PLACE COLLAGES ITEMS THAT THEY CAN HANG ON TO THAT LET THEM KNOW DURING TIMES OF CRISIS THAT SAFETY DOES EXIST, SAFETY IS POSSIBLE. UM, BUT IN TERMS OF MANAGING SYMPTOMS, WE DO A LOT OF WORK ON, UM, BASICALLY TRYING TO REDUCE THE PRESENCE OF ANXIETY, FEAR, AND SADNESS IN THE BODY. I TEACH THEM THAT A LOT OF THE TIMES ANGER AND FEAR IS JUST EXCESS ENERGY IN THE BODY. SO WE PRACTICE MOVING OUR BODIES PROMOTING A MIND BODY CONNECTION, AND IT'S REALLY WORKED OUT WELL. THEY LEARNED THESE COPING SKILLS, AND THEY'VE REPORTED USING THEM DURING TIMES OF CRISIS. BUT I WANT TO SAY THAT THE BIGGEST BENEFIT I'VE SEEN IS THE COMMUNITY BUILDING THAT HAPPENS. WE TEACH IT SAFE, THAT, UM, PEOPLE ARE HURT IN RELATIONSHIPS, AND THE MOST HEALING HAPPENS IN RELATIONSHIPS. I, I DO WANT TO WARN, UM, WELL, THE PUBLIC SPECIFICALLY, RIGHT AGAINST, UH, WHENEVER WE HEAR, OH, BOX BREATHING OR, OR KIND OF CLOSE YOUR EYES AND CENTERING EXERCISES. WE, WE, WE TAKE, I THINK THAT FOR GRANTED AS WELL, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, WE CAN JUST DO THAT. WE CAN JUST TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO DO THAT. THERE, THERE IS A WARNING THAT COMES WITH THAT, WHICH IS, IT REQUIRES A CERTAIN LEVEL OF SPECIALIZATION AND KNOWLEDGE, BECAUSE CLOSING YOUR EYES CAN, CAN TRIGGER THE PERSON INTO A SPIRAL BOX BREEDING IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY. AND HOW TO, TO ACTUALLY, UH, WALK SOMEONE THROUGH IT IN A, IN AN APPROPRIATE ENVIRONMENT CAN TRIGGER QUITE TRAUMATIC EVENTS, SUBSEQUENT EVENTS FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL. SO, SO AS WE, AS WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, TERMINOLOGY THAT IS QUITE ACCESSIBLE, LIKE BLOWING THE CANDLE OR BUG BREATHING, RIGHT? I, I DON'T WANT TO, TO HAVE THAT SIMPLISTIC TERMINOLOGY, TRIVIALIZE THE, UH, EXPERTISE THAT IT REQUIRES SOMEONE TO HAVE [01:30:01] AS MY COLLEAGUE DOES, UM, ON HOW TO INTRODUCE THAT PROPERLY TO PEOPLE WITH IDD OR PTSD OR PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA AS A RESULT OF SOME OF THIS VICTIMIZATION THAT WE SEE. THAT WAS A GOOD POINT. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP. I WANTED TO PROVIDE THE LAST LITTLE UPDATE ON MY PROJECT. WE ARE EDITING LESSONS CURRENTLY AND WRITING NEW ONES, AND I'M DOING THIS UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF ANN BOONE FROM RED OAK COPE. SHE'S A SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST AND SOMATIC EXERCISE THERAPIST, JUST IN CASE YOU WERE CURIOUS. THANK YOU. UM, I DID HAVE A QUESTION. UH, IF WE WERE TO FORM A WORKING GROUP, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE, UM, APDS VICTIM SERVICES WOULD BE INTERESTED IN, UM, EITHER JOINING OR, UM, BEING RECEPTIVE TO THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OUTCOME OF THAT WORKING GROUP. UM, YOU KNOW, FROM YOUR PRESENTATION YOU HAVE QUITE A BIT OF RESEARCH AND JUST THIS VALUABLE SOURCE OF, UM, INFORMATION AND, AND THE TRUST OF A LOT OF OUR CONSTITUENTS. AND, UM, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO WORK WITH US ON A WORKING GROUP IF WE TO FORM ONE? WE WOULD BE DELIGHTED. YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME , UH, SORRY. , UH, WE WOULD BE DELIGHTED. UH, OF COURSE. I MEAN, WE, WE, WE, UH, I'LL, I'LL JUST PREEMPT THIS BY SAYING WE WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO, TO PUT MORE RESOURCES AND MORE, MORE BRAIN POWER BEHIND THIS WORK. IT IS CRITICAL FOR US, UM, UH, AND THE TEAM RIGHT NOW IS A TEAM OF TWO. I'M TRYING TO GROW IT. I'M TRYING TO ENSURE THAT, THAT, THAT THE ORGANIZATION IS RESOURCING THIS PROPERLY. UH, BUT WHEN I CAME, I'LL BE HONEST, THIS WAS A PROGRAM THAT, THAT THE ORGANIZATION HAD CONSIDERED CLOSING. AND ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO CLOSE IT BECAUSE THE FUNDING HAD JUST CONTRACTED SO RAPIDLY THAT WORRIED ME TREMENDOUSLY. AND WE SAID, WE WILL, WE CAN'T DO THAT, RIGHT? UM, SO THAT, THAT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US. BUT YES, THE ANSWER, THE, THE SHORT ANSWER TO THE, TO THE QUESTION, IT'S ABSOLUTELY YES. SYSTEMIC ENGAGEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION IS CRITICAL FOR US. THERE'S NO SET SCHEDULE. SO WE WOULD WORK AROUND, UM, THE MEMBER, UM, THE MEMBERS OF THAT WORKING GROUP. YES. , UH, DO WE, OH, SORRY. YES, I HAVE A QUESTION. VICE CHAIR SAN MARTIN. I, I JUST HAVE A, A QUESTION ON THE, THE FUNDING, UM, ASPECT. UM, SINCE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF FUNDING FOR THE SERVICES THAT Y'ALL PROVIDE RIGHT NOW, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO MAYBE ASSIST OR MAYBE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, POSSIBLY TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO, TO MAYBE PROVIDE SOMETHING LIKE, I GUESS FUNDING WISE? I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, OR MAYBE, I MEAN, I'M JUST THROWING IT OUT THERE. I'M JUST BRAINSTORMING. UH, I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION AND ALSO APPRECIATE THAT MY ANSWER HAS, UH, IMPLICATIONS FOR , FOR, FOR HOW THIS COMMUNITY MIGHT MOVE. BUT I, I WILL, I, I'LL SAY THIS, THAT, YOU KNOW, I HAVE SPOKEN VERY, UH, PLAINLY WITH, UM, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, WITH THE MAYOR IN INDICATING, RIGHT? THE, OUR INVESTMENTS AS A CITY IN THESE SERVICES, UM, REFLECT THE VALUES THAT WE HAVE AS A COMMUNITY, RIGHT? AND, AND I SAID PLAINLY, WE DON'T PUT UP, UM, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET, THE, THE EMS BUDGET, YOU KNOW, EMERGENCY SERVICES BUDGETS. WE DON'T PUT UP FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGETS UP TO DISCRETIONARY FUNDING OR UP TO A VOTE. WE SAY, I MEAN, WE TECHNICALLY DO, BUT, BUT WE HAVE ACCEPTED AS A COMMUNITY THAT WHEN THE HOUSE IS BURNING, WE EXPECT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL COME. THAT IS A PROVINCE THAT WE'VE MADE TO EACH OTHER AS SIZED AS NEIGHBORS. WHEN SOMEBODY HAS A HEART ATTACK, WE KNOW THAT EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WILL SHOW UP THAT IT'S A PROVINCE WE HAVE MADE. UM, WHEN SOMEBODY IS EXPERIENCING CRIME, WE KNOW THE POLICE WILL BE THERE. SO WHY IS IT THAT THE SAFETY OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN BECOMES DISCRETIONARY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BUDGETS? SO FOR ME, IT'S A QUESTION OF, OF ALIGNING VALUES WITH INVESTMENTS AND ALIGNING OUR INVESTMENTS WITH THE PROMISES THAT WE MAKE TO EACH OTHER AS NEIGHBORS AND AS, AND AS AUSTINITES TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION MORE DIRECTLY, UM, I HAVE ALSO INDICATED TO THE CITY HERE, THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE PART OF CORE PUBLIC SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT? OUR SHELTER, UM, OUR SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM ADVOCACY, RIGHT? UH, SOME, SOME OF, SOME OF OUR CRISIS INTERVENTION WORK. UH, AND THAT'S BEEN A TRANSPARENT EFFORT ON OUR PART IN SAYING, WE KNOW THAT THE CITY'S EXPERIENCING BUDGET CUTS. WE KNOW THAT THE CITY'S EXPERIENCING BUDGET CONSTRAINTS. AND IF, IF I AM ADVISING THE CITY ON PRIORITIZING CERTAIN PROGRAMS, UH, THOSE WOULD BE IT. AND I HAVE SAID, AND I WILL TAKE THE MENTAL OF FUNDRAISING FOR PROGRAMS THAT IT SEEMS LIKE ARE, ARE GOVERNMENT, AND I DON'T MEAN CITY GOVERNMENT, I MEAN, GOVERNMENT AT LARGE, UM, HAS DIVESTED FROM INCLUDING, UM, PROGRAMS THAT WORK WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. IF THIS, I I THINK YOUR QUESTION POINTS TO THE LARGER QUESTION OF WHAT IS THE, UH, CIVIC DIALOGUE THAT WE WANNA HAVE AS A COMMUNITY, AND WHETHER WE BELIEVE THAT THAT SERVING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IS AT THE CENTER OF THAT PROMISE. AND IF IT IS, THEN I WOULD SAY FUND THE PROMISE. UM, BUT YOU HAVE A COMMITMENT FROM OUR BOARD AND FROM ME TO CONTINUE FUNDRAISING FOR THIS PROGRAM TO ENSURE THAT IT DOESN'T GO AWAY. AGAIN, THE PROGRAM IS ABOUT $350,000. UM, I, I, I COULD USE ANY HELP WITH THAT, UH, BUT I WON'T BE PRESCRIPTIVE IN ASKING, UM, YOU KNOW, COUNSEL TO, [01:35:01] TO, TO PASS THAT, BECAUSE I HAVE ALREADY ASKED FOR A NUMBER OF OTHER PIECES SO THAT I CAN CONCENTRATE ON FUNDRAISING FOR THIS PROGRAM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, DO WE HAVE ANY REMAINING LAST QUESTIONS? YES, COMMISSIONER, UH, CHASE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR PRESENTING. UM, UH, QUESTION I HAD IS, UM, IN YOUR TEACHING AND CURRICULUMS, UH, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING IN YOUR COURSES THAT ARE RELATED TO, UM, NAVIGATING RETALIATION, UM, AND WHETHER EITHER, UH, REPORTING OR, UM, NAVIGATING, UM, ESCAPING, UM, AN ABUSIVE SITUATION, UM, THAT YOU TEACH? THE CLOSEST WE WOULD HAVE WOULD BE UNIT FOUR OF OUR, MY RIGHTS, MY LIFE CURRICULUM. THAT ONE IS ABOUT SELF-ADVOCACY AND, UM, IT STARTS SMALL, YOU KNOW, EXPLAINING HOW TO TELL THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT YOU DON'T WANT, WHAT YOU'RE WILLING TO TOLERATE. UM, AND THEN IT EXPANDS TO HOW TO REPORT AND HOW TO GET HELP. WE, AT THIS TIME, DON'T HAVE A LESSON ON RETALIATION, UM, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO WORK ON. THANK YOU. UH, I SEE A QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER SIMON. YEAH. HI. UH, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THIS IS PUBLIC RECORD. I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO WHAT YOU DO IF SOMEBODY NEEDS TO LEAVE AN UNSAFE SITUATION AND NEEDS TO LEAVE, LIKE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT OR MEDICATIONS THAT THEY NEED TO TAKE. IS THAT PART OF WHAT YOU HELP PEOPLE WITH IS PROVIDING EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES? ABSOLUTELY. MY, MY, UM, RECOMMENDATION IS ALWAYS TO CALL OR TEXT OR CHAT OR SAVE LINE. UM, FOLKS CAN ACCESS THAT THROUGH SAVE AUSTIN.ORG, SAFE AUSTIN.ORG. UM, AND AGAIN, WE RECEIVE OVER 26,000 TOUCH POINTS A YEAR. AND THE REASON I'M, I'M SAYING REACH OUT TO OUR SAVE LINE IS THAT EVERY CASE IS TRULY DIFFERENT, RIGHT? SOME PER, SOME PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE, UH, PETS THAT THEY'RE UNWILLING TO, TO, TO LEAVE BEHIND. AND, AND I, I USE THE WORD PETS, DELIBERATE DELIBERATIVELY DELIBERATELY. UM, SOME PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE, UM, UM, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE, UM, OTHER, OTHER, OTHER SORTS OF ASSISTIVE DEVICES THAT, THAT THEY MIGHT BE, UM, THAT, THAT MAY BE DEPENDENT ON OR MEDICATIONS, RIGHT? UM, USING DISABILITY AS A, AS A FORM OF, UH, POWER AND CONTROL IS VERY TYPICAL, RIGHT? ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT, UH, USING MEDICATIONS IS VERY TYPICAL, RIGHT? ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SEE IN, UM, IN, IN COMMUNITIES WITH, UM, WHO ARE, WHO HAVE, UH, WHO ARE HIV POSITIVE IS CONTROL OF MEDICATION OR, OR SUPPRESSION OF ACCESS TO MEDICATION AS A FORM OF POWER AND CONTROL. SO OUR ADVOCATES ARE TRAINED TO ANALYZE THE, THE COMPLEXITY OF THAT SITUATION, RIGHT? UM, TO, TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN MEET THE PERSON WHERE THEY ARE, ACTIVATE SOME OF OUR EMERGENCY RESOURCES, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE ONE OF THE ONLY SHELTERS IN TEXAS THAT ACTUALLY ACCEPTS ANIMALS. UM, AND I MEAN, IN THIS CASE, PETS, I MEAN, WHICH IS, WHICH IS DISCRETIONARY TO THE SHELTER, RIGHT? UM, AND WE ARE ONE OF THE ONLY ONES IN TEXAS THAT, THAT FEW IN TEXAS THAT DOES THAT. SO, UM, SO MY ENCOURAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC RECORD WOULD BE ACCESS OUR SAFE LINE, AND, UM, OUR ADVOCATES ARE TRAINED TO LOOK AT THE TOTALITY AND THE NUANCES OF, UH, INDIVIDUAL SITUATION SAFETY PLAN, AND ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED TO, UM, TO LEAVE THAT VIOLENT RELATIONSHIP. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER LAST QUESTIONS, FINAL QUESTIONS? YES. COMMISSIONER CHASE. OH, SORRY, COMMISSIONER, UH, ARIAN, SORRY. AND THEN CHASE. HI, THIS IS COMMISSIONER ARIANO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I, I WANNA ADD ON TO THE THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION AND, UM, IT W ABILITY FESTIVAL, WE HAVE AN A, A ABILITY FESTIVAL ANNUALLY. WE STARTED LAST YEAR, AND, UM, WE'RE RECOGNIZED AS, UM, NATIONAL DISABILITY, AS A NATIONAL DISABILITY GROUP. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING THE SAME SITUATION THAT YOU'RE SEEING, WE'RE HOPING THAT NEXT YEAR WE'LL BE SUCCESSFUL ON THE FUNDING, YOU KNOW, UH, AND WE NEED TO HAVE A SAFE SPACE WITHIN, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH DISABILITY AND DIFFERENT APPROACHES WITHIN THOSE PLACES AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, FOR DISABILITY. [01:40:01] WE'D LOVE TO WORK WITH YOU ON PLANNING AND DESIGNING A SAFE SPACE FOR FOLKS WITH DISABILITY AROUND WORK. AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WORK ON THAT OCTOBER 27TH IS OUR GOAL. AND, UH, WE'D LOVE TO HAVE SOME HELP WITH YOU AND HAVE YOU THERE MAYBE TO HELP, UM, GET THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC. ABSOLUTELY. YOU'RE GONNA MAKE MY BOSS SO HAPPY . WE'LL BE, UH, DELIGHTED. WE ALSO HAVE A DEAF SHARE PROGRAM THAT WORKS, THAT SPECIALIZES IN WORKING WITH THE DEAF COMMUNITY. UM, AND, AND BOTH OF THOSE PROGRAMS ARE UNDER THE, UH, UNDER THE SAME KIND OF UMBRELLA DIRECTORY, IF YOU WILL. AND ONE, UH, A HUNDRED PERCENT YES. YEAH. AND OUR, OUR, OUR PROGRAM ISN'T DEAF SPECIFIC. IT, IT IS DISABILITIES IN GENERAL, JUST SO YOU KNOW. YES. I, I, I, I GATHER THAT, UH, I JUST WANTED TO, TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO OUR DEV SHARE PROGRAM BECAUSE THAT IS ANOTHER COMMUNITY I THINK THAT OFTENTIMES GETS, UM, GETS IGNORED AND DOES NOT HAVE APPROPRIATE ACCESS TO SERVICES. YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER CHASE? YES. UH, YES. UM, THIS IS COMMISSIONER CHASE. UM, WHEN YOU WERE, UH, EARLIER IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU WERE GIVING, UM, SOME NUMBERS AND STATISTICS, UM, ABOUT, UH, PERCENTAGES OF, UM, OF SURVIVORSHIP AND, UH, FROM ACROSS INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, UM, AND HOW IT'S, UH, DISPROPORTIONATELY, UM, UM, REPRESENTED IN, UM, IN, UH, ACROSS WOMEN AND, UH, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. UM, IN YOUR STUDIES AND, UM, STATISTICS THAT YOU HAVE, UH, DID YOU HAVE ANY DATA THAT REPRESENTS, UM, IF IT WAS FROM, UM, FROM A PERPETRATOR, FROM PERPETRATOR, UH, TO SURVIVOR OF BOTH THE PERPETRATOR AND SURVIVOR, BOTH HAVING DISABILITIES VERSUS A PERPETRATOR NOT HAVING A DISABILITY AND SURVIVOR HAVING A DISABILITY, OR VICE VERSA? AS FAR AS I'M AWARE, WE DON'T ASK ABOUT WHETHER THE PERPETRATOR ALSO IS DISABLED. UM, WE FOCUS SOLELY ON THE SURVIVOR THAT'S, WE'RE WORKING WITH, UH, I'M GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT THE NATIONAL STUDIES AGAIN. I DON'T WANT TO, UM, GIVE YOU FICTITIOUS INFORMATION. THERE IS SOME DATA ON PERPETRATION AND, UM, UH, AND THE, THE DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF ABUSERS, UM, TOWARDS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, BUT I DON'T KNOW IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. SO THAT'LL BE A FOLLOW UP THAT I CAN SEND TO THE COMMITTEE, TO THE COMMISSION. THANK YOU. THAT WAS A GOOD QUESTION. THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE ANY FINAL QUESTIONS? SEEING NONE, UH, WE'D LOVE TO THANK OUR, OUR SPEAKERS TONIGHT, JOINING US LATE ON A FRIDAY NIGHT AND, UM, FOR DOING THE, I MEAN, VERY HEARTBREAKING, BUT ALSO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE LIKE, MOMENTS OF UPLIFT IN, IN YOUR WORK, SO THAT'S, IT'S AMAZING. AND, UM, IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT WORK THAT YOU DO. SO IF WE COULD ALL THINK, UM, FOR TWO SPEAKERS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THEN WE WILL [4. Discussion on creating Budget Recommendation Workshops.] MOVE ON TO, UM, A DISCUSSION ON CREATING BUDGET RECOMMENDATION WORKSHOPS, WHICH IS ITEM THREE UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS. OH, SORRY. OH, I APOLOGIZE. IT'S, UH, ITEM NUMBER FOUR, AND, UM, ACTUALLY, I THINK I BROUGHT THIS UP AND THIS WAS REALLY ABOUT, UM, CREATING BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, IN THE TIME AND MANNER THAT, UH, THE CITY EXPECTS US TO IS, UH, SOMETIMES A BIT OF A LEARNING CURVE. SO WE WANTED TO POSSIBLY JUST, UM, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE SOME NEW COMMISSIONERS ON BOARD, CREATE A, A BIT OF A WORKSHOP, SO IF ANYBODY WANTS TO JOIN THE WORKING GROUP, UM, THERE'S, UH, SOME OF THAT INFORMATION THAT'S PASSED DOWN AND THAT CAN TAKE UP, UH, I THINK THAT CAN BE PART OF A WORKING GROUP OR THAT CAN BE PART OF A DISCUSSION ITEM IN OUR AGENDA. IS THAT CORRECT? ? UM, NUMBER FOUR, YES. SO FOR ITEM FOUR IS JUST A DISCUSSION ON WHAT A WORKING GROUP COULD LOOK LIKE, UH, FOR THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATION WORKSHOPS. AND THEN ONCE Y'ALL HAVE THAT LIKE, UH, I GUESS IRONED OUT, THEN NEXT MONTH, UH, THERE WILL BE LIKELY THE CREATION OF THAT WORKING GROUP WITH THE LIKE, SPECIFIC [01:45:01] ASK. OKAY. SO IF THERE IS ANY INTEREST IN THE FORMATION OF ONE, WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THOUGHTS AROUND THE ROOM OR IN ONLINE. OH, UM, ONE SECOND. YES, COMMISSIONER SIMON. SORRY. NO. OKAY. WAS THERE ANYONE ON OH, YES, THIS VICE CHAIR, SAM MARTIN. I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT IDEA. UM, MAYBE NOT EVERYONE KNOWS, UM, WHAT, HOW A BUDGET IS PROCESSED OR, YOU KNOW, HOW IT WORKS OR FUNDING. SO IT'S, IT'S PROBABLY LIKE A, A GREAT IDEA TO HAVE A WORKING GROUP SO EVERYBODY CAN UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS. OKAY. WOULD THERE BE ANY INTEREST IN FORMING ONE OR, UM, BEING PART OF IT? I'D LIKE TO BE A PART OF IT. OKAY. I SEE. UH, VICE CHAIR, MARTIN AND COMMISSIONER SLATE. AND COMMISSIONER, UM, UH, OH MY GOSH, SORRY, MURPHY, YOU'RE, I'M SORRY. YES, COMMISSIONER MURPHY. AND, AND I ACTUALLY HAD A QUESTION BEFORE WE MOVED ON, IF THAT'S OKAY. YES. SO THIS IS, UM, COMMISSIONER SLATE. UM, SINCE I'VE BEEN PART OF, UH, THE COMMISSION, UH, I'VE NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN THE BUDGET, UM, DISCUSSION AT ALL OR OUR RECOMMENDATIONS. IT WAS WITHIN A WORKING GROUP, AND I KNOW THAT ONCE YOU JOIN A WORKING GROUP, IT'S A LITTLE MORE FORMAL AND TO LEAVE A WORKING GROUP, IT'S A VOTE, I THINK. UM, AND SO I WAS WONDERING IF THERE'S A POSSIBILITY FOR A WORKSHOP, UM, OR JUST SOME INFORMATION BEFORE, UM, MAYBE WE CHOOSE TO JOIN A WORKING GROUP VERSUS NOT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. SURE. UM, RIGHT NOW WE ARE OPEN TO HAVING A DISCUSSION ON THE POTENTIAL OF THIS, SO WE CAN, I THINK WE CAN USE THIS TIME NOW. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, AND IF YOU DO HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, YOU CAN EMAIL, UM, ME OR, UM, I THINK NICK ABEL IS ALSO VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE, UM, PROCESS AS WELL. UM, AND I SAW COMMISSIONER ARIANA'S HAND FOR INTEREST IN YES. JOINING. OKAY. I'M INTERESTED. UM, I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA FOR THE WORKSHOP, AND IF WE, UM, WITH THE A ABILITY, UH, HOLD ON A SECOND. GO BACK. GO BACK, YEAH. YEAH, I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE THE WORKSHOP FIRST, AS COMMISSIONER SLADE WAS SAYING, UM, SO THAT WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE THE CORRECT INFORMATION BEFORE GETTING INVOLVED IN WORKING GROUP. AND ALSO, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, IF WE ARE IN WORKING ONE WORKING GROUP, WE CAN BE INVOLVED IN THE OTHER, ANOTHER WORKING GROUP. AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT WORKSHOP SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT THE RULES ARE AND POLICIES FOR BEING IN MULTIPLE WORKING GROUPS IN THE CHAIR. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY SPECIFIC LIMITS ON HOW MANY WORKING GROUPS THAT WE CAN BE PART. OH, OKAY. WELL, I WAS, UH, SAYING NO, UM, THAT THERE'S NO LIMIT. UM, I KNOW THAT I NEED TO GET OFF OF SOME WORKING GROUPS ON MY OTHER COMMISSION, SO I KNOW THAT TO BE TRUE, LIKE NOBODY'S CUT ME OFF YET. SO, UM, UH, YES, WE WOULD WELCOME, UH, THAT PERSPECTIVE AND ESPECIALLY COMING FROM THE ABILITY FESTIVAL. UH, SO, OKAY. UM, WELL, WE, WE CAN CONTINUE DISCUSSING WHAT THIS WORKSHOP MIGHT LOOK LIKE AT THIS POINT. UM, IT'S ABOUT CREATING A BUDGET WORK, UH, RECOMMENDATION WORK GROUP. SO, UM, WE CAN'T FORM THE WORK GROUP AT THIS POINT. YES. UM, BUT THERE'S INTEREST, THERE WOULD BE NO MORE THAN FIVE, UH, COMMISSIONERS THAT CAN JOIN A WORK GROUP. UM, AND OUR TIMELINE FOR THIS IS WHEN WILL BUDGETS BE DUE? UH, DUE THIS YEAR OR FOR, FOR NEXT YEAR'S MARCH. I WOULD SAY MARCH. THIS USUALLY. OKAY. SO THE REASON WHY WE WANT, WANTED TO KICK THIS OFF IS BECAUSE THERE IS A BIT OF A LEARNING CURVE ON THIS PROCESS. WE ALSO WANT TO RESEARCH CUTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE CITY ALREADY. SO, UM, AND THEN WHERE, UM, FUNDS MIGHT COME FROM. AND SO WE, THE MORE, UM, THE MORE THAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS BASED IN REALITY, GROUNDED IN REALITY OF, OF WHAT THE CUTS ARE, IT SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO GET THE NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, MORE SO I WOULD SAY LEARNING. THIS HAS BEEN, UM, EDIFYING FOR ME, BUT I THINK, UM, WOULD LOVE TO EMPOWER THIS GROUP. UM, AND SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S INTEREST, SO, UH, IF THERE'S NOTHING MORE ON THIS SUBJECT FOR NOW, UM, WE CAN ADD THAT AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM. [01:50:01] OKAY. [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ] SO THEN MOVING ON TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CREATION OF A BUDGET WORK GROUP, AND WE CAN'T VOTE ON, UM, MEMBERS YET. THAT WILL BE FOR NEXT TIME. UM, SORRY I'VE BEEN SPEAKING TOO MUCH, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ADD A, A WORK GROUP DISCUSSION OR TO VOTE ON A, UM, WORK GROUP FOR, UM, BASED ON THE TWO PRESENTATIONS WE HAD TODAY, UM, FOR RECOMMENDATIONS TO, YES. SO THAT WILL BE ANOTHER WORK GROUP THAT WE WILL VOTE ON AND, UH, FORM AND, UM, VOTE ON THE MEMBERS FOR NEXT TIME FOR, FOR THAT. UM, CHAIR, I'M JUST WANTING TO GET SOME CLARIFICATION. ARE YOU WANTING THE WORKING GROUP TO FOCUS ON, UM, VI UH, VICTIMS OF, UH, SEX CRIMES OR ASSAULTS THAT HAVE DISABILITIES? LIKE WHAT WOULD BE THE FOCUS OF THAT WORKING GROUP? UM, UM, YES. WELL, IN BOTH CASES IT SEEMED LIKE WE WANTED TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WITHIN THEIR ENTITIES. SO MAYBE THAT COULD BE THE FOCUS. YES, I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. BUT THERE ARE ALSO SOME OTHER HANDS THAT I SAW ONLINE, UH, THAT WERE RAISED. UH, COMMISSIONER SLADE, I WAS JUST SECONDING THAT, THAT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS ON OUR ACTION ITEMS, UM, TO FORM THAT WORKING GROUP. JUST, UM, TO GIVE, YES, WE'D BE LIKE GIVING GUIDANCE, BUT ALSO MAYBE JUST TO HEAR FROM MORE GROUPS AS WELL. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A WAY TO KIND OF HAVE A WORKING GROUP THAT IS SLIGHTLY LESS SPECIFIC THAN JUST PROVIDING GUIDANCE TO THESE TWO GROUPS, BUT, UM, MAYBE BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE OPEN, UM, TO JUST CONTINUING TO LOOK AT, UH, VICTIM SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH IDD. YES, THE WORK GROUP, UM, IS SUPPOSED TO DELIVER, IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A DELIVERABLE BY THE END OF, UM, ITS TIME, UM, AS A WORK GROUP. SO, UM, WE CAN DISCUSS THAT FURTHER NEXT MEETING IF WE'D LIKE. OKAY. ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? I INVITE ALL COMMISSIONERS TO, TO, UM, SUGGEST SOMETHING? YES. I, I JUST, UM, I JUST WANTED TO, UH, MAYBE NICK NABA CAN MAYBE FOLLOW UP WITH CAPITAL METRO, UM, TO SEE IF THEY RESPONDED TO SOME OF OUR QUESTIONS REGARDING TRANSPORTATION ISSUES. UM, SO THEY HAVE NOT ANSWERED THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT WE HAD A MEETING LAST FRIDAY WHERE THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF FINDING THE CORRECT PEOPLE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE PROVIDED TO THEM. UM, BUT THAT WAS, UH, I THINK THE FRIDAY BEFORE I WENT ON MY VACATION. SO THEY HAVEN'T SAID ANYTHING SINCE THEN. UH, IT'S BEEN A WEEK OR TWO WEEKS NOW. YEAH, I JUST THINK THAT, UM, CAPITAL METRO NEEDS TO SHOW UP AT OUR MEETING. IT SEEMS LIKE THEY KIND OF DELAY, DELAY, DELAY, AND WE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, JUST BRING THEM TO OUR, OUR BOARD MEETING SO WE CAN ACTUALLY LIKE, ASK QUESTIONS TO THEIR STAFF AND SEE HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THE TRANSPORTATION FOR THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN. I THINK IT, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, OR I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. I THINK THEY'VE MET WITH US IN THE LAST YEAR. IS THAT, NO. OKAY. MAYBE THAT WAS IN 2024. UM, IF I MAY TO FOLLOW UP, UH, WITH, UM, THE VICE CHAIR'S COMMENTS, UH, TWO OR THREE MONTHS AGO, CAP METRO, UH, SET UP A FORUM WITH THE DEAF COMMUNITY AND WE HAD A MEETING, I THINK THERE, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T, I, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS JUST DEAF PEOPLE IN OR THE GENERAL COMMUNITY, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S A GOOD REMINDER TO CHECK THE EMAIL WITH CAP METRO AND SEE WHAT THEIR, UH, DEAF FOCUS GROUP, UH, RESULTS WERE. THAT WOULD BE A GREAT ITEM TO ADD. ANY ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS YES, HAVE, BECAUSE I READ, UH, PAST AGENDAS, BUT I'M STILL SO RECENT. UM, DO YOU EVER, HAVE YOU EVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE WITH THE QUEER COMMUNITY, THE OVERLAP BETWEEN THE DISABLED AND QUEER COMMUNITIES? I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE. UM, I THINK JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE, UH, COMMITTEE IS LOOKING INTO MORE OF THE OVERLAP BETWEEN LIKE THE INTERSECTIONALITY BETWEEN, UH, DIFFERENT GROUPS AND THEY'LL BE DOING PRESENTATIONS. SORRY, I, I OWE YOU A JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE UPDATE. UM, PLEASE ADD THAT TO THE NEXT, UM, AGENDA ITEM. BUT, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE WE DO THAT AS MUCH HERE, NOT IN [01:55:01] THE TIME THAT I'VE BEEN HERE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD THAT AS A RECOMMENDATION? YEAH. YEAH. OKAY. ANY SUGGESTIONS FROM ONLINE? YES, COMMISSIONER SLATE. SORRY. WE JUMPED FROM, UM, TRANSPORTATION PRETTY QUICKLY, BUT I WAS GONNA JUST ADD TO THAT, THAT, UM, I HAD WANTED TO HEAR FROM, UM, THE, IT'S NOT, I GUESS THAT NEW ANYMORE. IT'S BEEN A YEAR. I THINK THAT THERE'S THE CAP METRO POLICE FORCE, UM, AND WE HAD HOPED TO HAVE SOMEONE COME OUT TO TALK TO US ABOUT THEIR TRAINING ON, SPECIFICALLY ON WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH IDD. UM, AND SO MAYBE IT'S POSSIBLE TO GET SOMEONE FROM THAT GROUP. IT'S MORE SPECIFIC KIND OF, SO I WAS WONDERING IF WE COULD FOLLOW UP ON THAT, UM, AND POTENTIALLY HAVE SOMEONE COME OUT TO TALK TO US. I THINK THAT'S THE PRESENTATION I WAS THINKING OF THAT HAPPENED MAYBE EARLIER IN 2025. SO, YEAH, I, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, THE FOLLOW UP ON THE PREVIOUS CAP METRO PRESENTATION. OKAY. UM, I DON'T SEE ANY ADDITIONAL HANDS RAISED OR INDICATION. SO IF, UH, FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER, I WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:28 PM THANK YOU VERY MUCH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.