Chairman Delfino called the meeting to order at 9:10 A.M. Legislator Young motioned to approve the minutes of January 27, 1997 and was seconded by Legislator Spreckman. Seven individuals were brought in to be interviewed by the committee to confirm their appointment, by the County Executive, five to the Domestic Violence Council (DVC) and two to the Women’s Advisory Board (WAB). At the start of each individuals interview Chairman Delfino explained the process. The County Executive appoints the members of the DVC and WAB and by charter the Committee on County officers and Departments (COD) must confirm the appointment. The resolution then must go before the full board of Legislators at the next meeting, and is approved based on the recommendation of the COD Committee.

The basic questions that were asked of each individuals were, how did they get involved with the DVC/WAB, what would their contributions be and where do they see the committee going.

The first interviewee was Helene Selznick, Esq. She is on the Executive Committee of the Westchester County Bar, family division. Domestic violence was ignored for years by police, now there are mandatory arrests. There are problems with client abuse, they sometimes make up stories. People can be falsely implicated. One example of such abuse is a case where a man called someone who had a restraining order against him, just to leave a message on their machine to inform them that a mutual friend had died. The man was arrested for making the phone call. There needs to be some middle ground. There needs to be some merit, something that falls into the statute. We can’t go to extremes, police need to be educated.

Chairman Delfino asked when and where they meet.

Helene Selznick explained that they meet in Judge Scancarelli’s court room, on the first Tuesday or Thursday of each month.

Legislator Spreckman motioned to approve Helene Selznick as a member of the Domestic Violence Council, and was seconded by Legislator Young. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

Chairman Delfino asked Marion LaFranco if she is involved with Domestic Violence in Social Services.

Marion responded that it falls under the housing office. These women with no place to go are considered homeless. A battered women would go into a domestic violence shelter. There are two facilities that the County does run. They also have hotline services. The hotline is where they determine if they meet the criteria. Then social services help them get out of the situation and finds them a safe haven and sees that they receive counseling.

Legislator Young motioned to approve Marian LaFranco as a member of the Domestic Violence Council, and was seconded by Legislator Spreckman. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

Sonia Reyes stated that domestic violence is a cause that is very dear to her, she sees a need, and feels it is an honor to be on the committee. She is developing a Partners Abuse Intervention Program at Westchester Jewish Community Services. She educates and informs schools and other organizations that invite her on domestic violence. She feels her role will be to bring in a different point of view. She has been on medical and social services committees, and believes there is a need to make help more available. In New York City they have special advocates and services that she would like to see here. She likes the fact that the committee members are in all different positions so they get input from different areas.

Legislator Young motioned to approve Sonia Reyes as a member of the Domestic Violence Council, and was seconded by Legislator Spreckman. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

Chairman Delfino asked Camile Murphy how the DVC relates to the Office for Women, and what problems does she see.

Camile explained that her initial concern was, that this council may be duplicative. She does not want to see that happen. There does exist, a Coalition of Family Violence that they do receive funding for. She feels the heart of the whole council is the access to the Judges, which is something the Coalition does not have. Another difference between the Coalition and the Council is that the members of the Coalition come with knowledge and the Council members need to be educated.

Chairman Delfino asked if there is more domestic violence in urban cities.

Camile explained that Westchester is equal to New York City with statistics on domestic violence. There are more reports of domestic violence in urban cities but not necessarily more are committed.

Chairman Delfino asked if verbal abuse played a role in domestic violence.

Camile’s response was yes. However, emotional abuse is hard to prove in court. Depravation of money, food and medication are also forms of abuse.

Legislator Young motioned to approve Camille Murphy as a member of the Domestic Violence Council, and was seconded by Legislator Spreckman. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

Chairman Delfino asked Maryellen Martirano if she was representing the District Attorney’s Office on this council. Her response was yes.

Maryellen would like to see a uniform system in courts by police. She has been doing this for 14 years. We need extensive, intensive, on-going training for police. She wants to work on policies and protocols and police training. She also feels victims are not getting a fair shake in all the courts. She wants more uniformity. She thinks the judiciary committee can help with that. They need to get the word out, people are not aware enough about this crime. The issue needs special attention but you can’t through probable cause out the window. Women historically are not believed, they are questioned more. Credibility plays a big role, if she has proof or you believe her, she needs intervention.

Legislator Spreckman pointed out that people are afraid of retribution, they are afraid to speak up.

Maryellen agreed, we need a good support system for victims. Almost 50% withdraw charges. Sometimes they will still try to prosecute even with out the victim, if the police did a good job with the evidence. They need a joint response by police and social services. It would be nice to see some changes come out of this council.

Legislator Spreckman motioned to approve Maryellen Martirano, and was seconded by Legislator Young. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

Janet Walker was recommended by Evelyn Stock, President of Westchester - Putnam School Boards Association. She is trying to understand how this committee works. There is a huge range of issues and she comes away learning a lot from the group. This group really makes suggestions of issues that need to be covered. We want to enhance the life of the women in the county.

Legislator Young motioned to approve Janet Walker as a member of the Women’s Advisory Board, and was seconded by Legislator Spreckman. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

Mary Morrisey, Esq. got involved with the WAB because of the working relationship she has with Camile Murphy. Her area of expertise is health law, she does a lot of work with women and children, as a collaboration with other community organizations. She feels the new administration has been very good with protecting consumer rights. She is very familiar with managed care. The YWCA is having a program on managed care and women’s health in April. There will be a panel discussion on these issues. She hopes the WAB will be involved. She feels Westchester shows great leadership with women’s issues.

Legislator Spreckman informed Janet that she works with the Senior Citizens group and on May 9th at St. Johns they will speak out, about not being protected on different issues. She invited Janet to attend.

Legislator Spreckman motioned to approve Janet Walker as a member of the Women’s Advisory Board, and was seconded by Legislator Young. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0.

The meeting recessed at 10:22 A.M., to begin again at 10:30 in a joint meeting of Legislation and COD. See minutes of Legislation.