Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael Callagy, County Manager
Subject: Adopt a resolution Establishing a Stand-Alone San Mateo County Domestic Violence Death Review Team
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution establishing a stand-alone San Mateo County Domestic Violence Death Review Team, specifying the responsibilities and membership thereof, and standing rules for its governance.
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BACKGROUND:
Under California Penal Code (“CPC”) section 11163.3, a county may establish an interagency domestic violence death review team (DVDRT) to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing domestic violence deaths, including homicides and suicides, and facilitating communication among the various agencies involved in domestic violence cases.
DVDRTs have been used successfully in other counties in the State to ensure that incidents of domestic violence and abuse are recognized and that agency involvement is reviewed to develop recommendations for policies and protocols for community prevention and intervention initiatives to reduce and eradicate the incidence of domestic violence.
Consistent with CPC section 11163.3, information shared in DVDRT meetings is confidential and not subject to disclosure to or discovery by a third party, but recommendations and summary data may be disclosed at the discretion of the majority of members of a DVDRT.
Among other things, DVDRTs typically develop and submit annual reports to their Boards of Supervisors, which include recommendations for effective intervention and prevention strategies to address problems, gaps or shortcomings identified by the DVDRTs in their review of domestic violence related deaths in their respective counties.
DISCUSSION
Since 1998, the County’s DVDRT has been operating as a standing subcommittee of the County’s Domestic Violence Council. The purpose of this Resolution is to change the structure of the County’s DVDRT so that it operates instead as a stand-alone interagency body subject to robust confidentiality provisions as set forth in CPC section 11163.3. Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Death Review Team underwent a similar restructuring in 2015.
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the resolution as to form.
VISION ALIGNMENT
Approval of this Resolution contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 of a healthy community and a collaborative community by creating a knowledgeable interagency body that can review domestic violence deaths confidentially and then develop recommendations for policies and procedures to decrease and eliminate the incidence of domestic violence in the County.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the County.