D.V.Minority Services Meeting Minutes

February 26, 2002

Present: Oudy Acosta Perez, Johanna Hansen Keller, Dianne Juhl, Martin Knott, Ruth Loihle, Tim Lopez, Benny Myers, Sue Schultz, Joyce E. Showalter Figueroa, John Wise.

Meeting Called To Order by Dianne Juhl @ 2:13 PM.

Summary of Topics Discussed

  • Dianne Juhl stated that some of the same members present for this meeting had also been present at the Kitsap County Domestic Violence Task Force (K.C.D.V.T.F.) meeting held earlier. She said that they had met with the new board members. She also stated that the K.C.D.V.T.F. Board Of Directors would like representation from the Minority Services Group. She also stated that she has submitted an application for a representative to sit on the K.C.D.V.T.F. Board Of Directors, but that the first people who submitted it got the slot. Oudy Acosta Perez interjected that Dianne Juhl has been kind enough to volunteer to be the interim liaison for our group until she can mentor a replacement. Dianne Juhl stated that she is still tagging the application through the process.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez said that the K.C.D.V.T.F. theme for the upcoming summit meeting being held October 01 - 02, or 08 - 09 was going to be on cultural diversity, and they were looking for ideas of presenting entertainment to choose from various minorities. Oudy Acosta Perez said that she was not sure what the K.C.D.V.T.F. was looking for, if it was culture, music, or performing arts. She also stated the need for new local/non-local minority speakers, since current participants have already heard for the most part the topics addressed. She also mentioned obtaining out-of-state minority speakers who would bring new topics/ideas with them. Ruth Loihle said that we really did not need to go out of state because we have speakers available in various Eastern Washington towns. Dianne Juhl mentioned that maybe we should be contacting Wilma Man Killer, Tribal Chief or Alexie Sherman, as possible Native American minority speakers. Martin Knott said that he thought that the K.C.D.V.T.F. program committee members were looking more for "cultures - present in our neighbors". Dianne Juhl stated that we have the opportunity to define minorities broadly; classes, heterosexisms, etc. Oudy Acosta Perez said that the K.C.D.V.T.F. Board of Directors are a group of individuals from various parts of Kitsap County, but that they are currently comprised of law enforcement, judicial members, and victim advocates. Ramalina Steiner and Martha Vorhees members of K.C.D.V.T.F., and co-facilitators of a chemical dependency/domestic violence support group for victims.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez talked about the lack of communication between the chemical dependency programs, and the domestic violence programs and need for increased communication.
  • John Wise said that within the next couple of years that West Sound Treatment Center will be handling both areas so this would no longer be an issue. Dianne Juhl stated that timing is right, and that there needs to be "wrapped around" services available.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez stated that Joe Barrios has secured funding for his halfway house at his agency in Shelton. Thursday and Friday The Right Track offering alcohol/drug treatment on a "sliding scale fee" in Bremerton via the Neighborhood Christian Center and El Centro de la Familia.
  • Johanna Hansen Keller stated that Women, Infant and Children (WIC) and Kitsap Community Resources (K.C.R.) will be providing services at El Centro de la Familia in the near future with the assistance of a Spanish-speaking worker.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez said that Port Orchard Police Department has recently hired a Vietnamese officer who speaks fluent Vietnamese, and he will start in April 2002. The Vietnamese population in this area does not appear to be great but Law Enforcement of any foreign language is a huge step towards diversity and better service to our community and our victims.
  • Kitsap County Sheriff's Deputy Benny Myers stated that Kitsap County Sheriff's Department has also recently hired a Spanish-speaking officer (Deputy Rojas). He also stated that on March 21st he would be involved in a career day activity at Sedgwick Junior High School. Heather Wright, Oudy Acosta Perez, and Jennifer Forbes will be assisting him, and he also invited the members to attend and/or participate.
  • Ruth Loihle said that Ridgetop Junior High School E.S.D., the Youth Commission, and A.P.E.L.T. had a function over the weekend, and that they were surprised with the turnout.
  • Ruth Loihle said that she responded to the Belfair W.I.C. program's newspaper ad for training their staff (1) one day a week. After speaking with them, she said that it would probably be better if they just hired a Hispanic person fluent in the Spanish language. They informed her that due to their budget it would not be possible. She advised them that there were many Hispanics within the community who would be willing to assist their needs.
  • Johanna Hansen Keller stated that the Kitsap County Public Clinic has to pay for interpreters - that it is not the case for medical services. John Wise stated that he has heard that the first budgetary cut has been for interpreter use, which puts him in a dilemma. This is a binder because Defendant's cannot afford to pay for an interpreter and neither can his/most agencies in our county. Oudy Acosta Perez reported that Ed Fuentes, Certified Interpreter recently stated a bill currently proposed would eliminate the requirement for any and/or all-medical or legal interpreter. Services and monies will be lost; the only interpreter service not being affected at this time is for sign language.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez also stated that locally it is extremely difficult to get psychological/sexual evaluations and/or services secured for minorities. She said that she knows of only (1) one agency that accommodates that need (Co-Hear located in Bellevue)
  • Oudy Acosta Perez mentioned an incident that occurred between Port Orchard Police Department, and a victim where the victim was not assisted because there was no translator available (the suspect was Spanish speaking), the victim was referred to Superior Court to request a Protection Order; an order was issued for her child but not for her.
  • Johanna Hansen Keller stated that El Centro de la Familia is trying to expand its interpreter capacities by having K.C.R. provide an interpreter/translator (2) two to (3) three days a week. She said that there are a lot of needy families in the area with various dialects and/or educational levels that they are trying to reach, and that they can all communicate with each other when they try. Ruth Loihle said that she has heard within the education field that they are directing/sending Hispanics to El Centro de la Familia. Johanna Hansen Keller also stated that they are attempting to teach English, but that the Guatemalans are having some difficult with it because it is not compatible with their language. She said that plans are being made for next year with E.S.O.L. if they get money.
  • Dianne Juhl said that the National Women's Hispanic Group/Cleo might be able to assist us in getting a speaker. The Pacific Islander's Group does "tours" with their speaker, and these benefit our community.
  • Dianne Juhl said that there is an intersection between domestic violence issues, and economic issues.
    * 2/3 are elderly women
    * 70% of these are in the poverty level
    *Comparison of wages between men and women
    *Men make $1.00
    *Anglo Women make only 74%
    *Black Women make only 68%
    *Hispanic Women make only 56%
  • Oudy Acosta Perez said that different things happen to victims between minorities concerning domestic violence issues. Hispanics encourage family re-unification at the cost of the victim. It all depends on the population, and the countries level of consciousness in regard to domestic violence. Benny Myers stated that Pacific Islander's family turns their back on the victim.
  • Tim Lopez said that Bremerton Police Department is concerned, and wants to get involved with the Hispanic community. They want to be able to provide victims with the proper information in their language. Oudy Acosta Perez stated that most of the pamphlet has been translated and a copy of our Safety Plan has been given to Martin Knott for the Departments use. Tim Lopez said that he was unaware that the Domestic Violence pamphlet had been translated into Spanish.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez said that the Domestic Violence pamphlet has too much information, and due to the various education/literacy level that it would be better if they could include graphics/pictures to get the point across (some Hispanics only have a basic elementary education so they do not read or write the language, and that translation has to be broken down to the level of spoken language because they have limited Spanish). As soon as money is available, there are plans of completing this process, and the pamphlets would be set up the same way as the English version - for sale to outside agencies.
  • Tim Lopez said that his Department would be willing to pay for their own, and that cost was not an issue because there is such a heavy burden on swing shift for domestic violence calls. He said that it is also difficult to get individuals to court because they need interpreters. He further stated that a listing of Spanish and other language on-call interpreters would be helpful for his Department, and that he is working with the Sexual Assault Unit (S.A.U.) to prepare a listing. Oudy Acosta Perez stated that she had previously spoken with Sheriff Boyer about this problem (since she has translated for the Department in the past), and was advised that his department calls Harrison Hospital's Language Bank for their translations. Tim Lopez stated that Harrison Hospital's Language Bank is pretty much useless, and that he would still like to follow up on this. In the past, his Department has relied on family members to translate the facts of what has happened. In the past Prosecutor's office has previously accepted law enforcement lack of state-certified interpreters for probable cause for their police reports. Anyone available to translate/interpret has been utilized to gather data and complete reports. However, the Prosecutor's offices by law need to use a state-certified interpreter for Court/legal proceedings.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez stated that the victim has no one to translate information to - either at the time of the incident and/or at the Court hearings. Benny Meyers stated that part of the reason that minorities are not calling in subsequent domestic violence incident is because they have seen in the past that nothing has happened - they could not tell their side of what transpired.
  • Tim Lopez said that because of the increased Hispanic community, he would be willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that there is an interpreter available for his Department. He said that he had no problem hiring or sub-contracted individuals to translate Spanish on-call basis (with a pager), or as the need arises. Oudy Acosta Perez stated that the current rate for a state-certified translator is $40.00 per hour, two-hours pay minimum and travel/ mileage Tim Lopez stated that he has been advised that there is an individual at Kitsap County Sexual Assault (K.C.S.A.) who has offered to be on-call to translate Spanish for his Department. Joyce Showalter Figueroa said that this would be Jody Stewart, and Oudy Acosta Perez said that it would be a good idea for anyone seeking that position to be tested/questioned to verify his or her level of language understanding. Also that persons hired should attend YWCA Victims Services 24-hour Training to increase knowledge of victims need and sign to look out for in the suspects and victims behavior. "We are aware that an interpreter is there to only repeat but with this knowledge via YWCA training interpreters will execute caution in the way they address the victim/suspect. Initial contact its very important in acquiring data for law-enforcement".
  • Ruth Loihle stated that she would be willing to be on-call to translate for law enforcement. She said that a Ruth Westergaard is working on a grant to get translators for the local schools, medical, and law enforcement agencies. Oudy Acosta Perez stated that it would also be a good idea for those planning in providing interpreters services to get acquainted with the population at El Centro de la Familia. This will give them an idea of the population and level of Spanish language currently used.
  • Ruth Loihle said that the Hispanic family congregation is currently meeting at St. Gabriel's church from 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM the last Wednesday of the month.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez said that the Literacy group in Bremerton is teaching Spanish, and E.S.L.
  • John Wise said that alcohol and drugs are highly related with domestic violence incidents.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez stated that West Sound Treatment Center is always willing to help defendants/victims in need of chemical dependency treatment, and wanted to publicly thank him/West Sound Treatment Center staff for their efforts.
  • Benny Meyers said that he and Tim Young are available for Japanese translation.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez said that Spanish-speaking defendants now have better understanding, more respect for law enforcement, and are becoming more compliant due to language compatibility.
  • Oudy Acosta Perez said that grants are available for alcohol/drug, and mental health treatment in Spanish at Sea Mar Residential Treatment Center in Tacoma on a case-by-case basis. Please contact Rosi or Perla at (253) 627-2250. Prior to calling please be sure that individuals requesting services have current chemical dependency evaluation and TB testing completed prior to calling for bed-date.

Decisions Reached

  • Oudy Acosta Perez stated that ADVAC meetings are currently being held every other month for (2) two hours, and they are free for anyone to come in to. The upcoming Minority Services Meetings which are located in the first floor conference room of the Public Works Building in the first floor conference room are listed below:
    * April 19, 2002, 2002 @ 2:00 PM
    * June 21, 2002 @ 2:00 PM
    * August 16, 2002 @ 2:00 PM
    *October 18, 2002 @ 2:00 PM
    * December 20, 2002 @ 2:00 PM
  • Oudy Acosta Perez stated that she has invited Judge Doctor to come and speak to the individuals that are appear at El Centro de la Familia about judicial matters. These individuals have also begun to trust the professionals currently at El Centro de la Familia by meeting them one-on-one.
  • The upcoming Minority Services Meetings which are located in the first floor conference room of the Public Works Building are listed below:
    * May 21, 2002, 2002 @ 2:00 PM
    * August 27, 2002 @ 2:00 PM
    * November 11, 2002 @ 2:00 PM

    Action Items

    1. Oudy Acosta Perez sent an open invitation to both Bremerton Police Department, and to Kitsap County Sheriff's Department to appear at El Centro de la Familia on a Monday from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm so that she could introduce them. Then they could speak to the Hispanic population present about what happens when law enforcement has been called into a situation. Tim Lopez suggested that possibly Cen-Com might also want to participate in the meeting also.

    Meeting adjourned.

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