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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWomens Commission - Minutes - 08/15/1994MINUTES COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN AUGUST 15, 1994 Present: Amy Beuschlein, Audrey Faulkner, Chair, Lu Fisk, JoAnn Ginal, Stephanie Lane, Sally Miles, Laima Skuja, Chris Wood Absent: Sue Cottingham, Carolyn Duff, Dana Hiatt, Stevie Honaker Doreen Kemp, Diane Lathrop, Lynne Warner, Council Liaison: Gina Janett Staff Liaison: Sharon Roulier Guest: Kate Reinisch COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Council Member Gina Janett reported on the City Manager's Office Quarterly Planning Calendar. Commission members may comment on issues if desired. Two key upcoming sessions are: . State Ballot Issues/Resolutions - September 6 . Budget Hearings - October 4 and October 18 Audrey Faulkner asked if our budget request for updating the plan will be considered in this hearing. Gina responded that shortly the City Manager will have a press conference to announce his budget and if the request is not approved, the Commission may lobby further. Gina also reported that last month the Council talked about Transfort and this fall the Transit Development Plan - TDP starts up. It looks at the next five years of transit and there should be all kinds of outreach. Stephanie Lane inquired if any further information was available or how to get involved. She is interested in finding out how parents can know more about routes and how parents can facilitate good suggestions. Gina said the best way is to call Transfort and ask to be put on mailing lists related to the TDP. Transfort is always looking for individuals to participate in looking at transit related issues in a more comprehensive way. Gina also reported that ridership is up by 70+ percent. Laima Skuja inquired about Dial -A -Ride. (In this program, seniors or individuals with disabilities can call for services). Gina reported the program has been a smash success and since ridership has been so high a budget deficit is anticipated in 1994 . Public hearings are being held on how to deal with this issue and there is currently a proposal on the table to charge for these services. The issue will be on the Council's work session next Tuesday. Gina commented that transportation is always an issue for people who are disabled or low income and this involves a significant number of women. Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes August 15, 1994 Page 2 of 5 Chris Wood announced that the following day, August 16, 1994, the Marcile N. Wood Award would be presented to the winner, Judy McKenna, at the City Council Meeting at 6:15 pm. She also announced that there would be a reception at 5:45 pm for Judy. Mayor Azari would attend and Commission members who could attend were encouraged to do so. Reenie O'Rourke, as the person who nominated Judy, will speak at the award presentation. Also at the City Council meeting, the Women's Equality Day Proclamation will be read. Again, members of this Commission are strongly encouraged to attend if possible. Laima suggested that because many Commission members weren't acquainted with Judy and the contributions leading to her nomination and selection, that some background information be shared. A copy of the nomination was circulated. Highlights on Judy McKenna's accomplishments include the following: she authors a weekly financial planning column in the money section of the Coloradoan; she started the Mildred Arnold Foundation which helps women get economically on their feet (there are about 50 women involved with this program right now); and she course teaches at CSU. Chris explained that Judy had known Marcile personally and had stated she felt honored to be in the company of Marcile and the previous award winners. PROGRAM Kate Reinisch, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains was introduced. Audrey commented that there was only one guest speaker instead of two and asked Chris to further explain the reason for this change. Chris explained that "everything fell through at 4:00 pm that afternoon for the second speaker." Chris shared that she had worked on getting someone to represent the People for Parental Involvement organization since the last meeting, involving numerous phone calls --this is the organization which is working to get the Parental Notification initiative on the ballot. She was put in contact with Leslie Hanks. To very briefly summarize the situation, Chris expressed that she was very frustrated by her attempts to confirm Leslie as a spokesperson, and that she did not feel Leslie had made a strong enough effort to finalize these arrangements. Members of the Commission briefly introduced themselves to Kate and she requested that we also indicate constituencies we may represent. commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes August 15, 1994 Page 3 of 5 [RECORDER'S NOTE: It would not be practical to attempt to report all the contents of Kate's talk or to review the contents of the film which she showed. As a member of the Commission please be aware that the entire meeting on August 15 was audio taped and is available should you wish to listen it. if you are interested, contact Sharon Roulier at 221-6818.] Following is a brief overview of the film entitled "Abortion Denied," which Kate brought to the meeting. The film relates a variety of stories of young women who attempted self -abortions because they felt they could not talk to their parents and they had no other alternative. The film also shows interviews with people involved in relevant situations and roles including, judges, medical personnel, parents and teens. It also covers statistical information relating to rates of teen pregnancies and abortions. Kate shared further examples and statistics from the Planned Parenthood organization and talked about their activities as they relate to the proposed ballot initiative on parental notification. Kate shared the concerns which Planned Parenthood has for this initiative, namely that they view it as deceptive and unnecessary, and think that it could cause further deaths or tragedies among pregnant teens. Kate also told the group about the "Protect Our Daughters" campaign which has been organized to fight the initiative, and invited them to consider participating or making a financial contribution. The Initiative is being challenged on a number of fronts. It's currently in court due to a challenge that petition signatures are not in compliance with a new law that states every petitioner needs to sign an affidavit. Also an entire sentence was left out of the affidavit for the initiative's supporters and Planned Parenthood is attempting to keep the initiative off the ballot on this technicality. Kate explained that Planned Parenthood and other pro -choice organizations are fighting this initiative through the judicial system in a variety of ways. She also stated if Planned Parenthood and other pro -choice groups are unsuccessful in defeating the initiative, they will work with the legislature to draft a law allowing teens in abusive situations or who feel they cannot tell their parents about a pregnancy to have other alternatives to by- pass parental permission without going through the court system. These laws could allow teens to talk to another responsible adult, i.e. school counselor, minister, and allow for reasonable exceptions. Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes August 15, 1994 Page 4 of 5 By way of closing comment, Audrey stated that the Commission makes an effort to become educated about issues that are of vital concern to women and appreciates being provided information upon which individual members can act as they choose. She again stated that it was regrettable they were unable to have a spokesperson from the other side of the argument, but that we may still attempt to hear from that side of the issue at a future meeting. MINUTES Minutes from the July 18, 1994 meeting were approved as written. AGENDA REVIEW Additions to the agenda: An update from HRC was provided by Lu Fisk. She announced that at the recent HRC meeting information about the new Bridges Program was presented. Participation in the program has increased--1,304 people so far this year -- 68% are addicts 78% are substance abusers. Lu reported that they got a good picture from the Housing Authority on how difficult it is to get money for housing. She also described the Citizen Liaison Program through the HRC which gives citizens, who have a problem with the police and do not like the way they are being treated, an avenue to bring the situation before the HRC to be reviewed. She stated this program is seldom used. OLD BUSINESS o Survey from Women's Bureau of U.S. Department of Labor Audrey reported on an unfinished agenda item from the last meeting- -the survey from Women's Bureau of U.S. Department of Labor and the Denver Women's Commission. The results of this survey will be shared with the President and Congress. Although it is not a scientific sample or study, it is a way to speak up on women's issues. Audrey asked if there was anything the members wanted to do as a group or if they would be contented to fill it out individually. All agreed it would be acceptable to fill out the survey individually. Audrey encouraged individual members who are interested to complete the survey, identify themselves as members of the Fort Collins Commission and mail it to the Denver Women's Commission promptly. Laima added that the survey is getting lots of attention and that several organizations were distributing the survey to women and even some women's magazines were running it as a tear -out. Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes August 15, 1994 Page 5 of 5 o Brainstorming of Specifications/Structure of Study Audrey introduced the discussion for updating the task force study. She stated that members have done some general talking about it, and now by way of pro -active planning, members might brainstorm some questions needed to be answered and decisions needed to be made about how to do the study, what it should cover, who will be involved, and what the goals for the study will be. [See attached addendum to the minutes for more detailed notes of this discussion.] ADJOURN There being no further business, meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Ll ADDENDUM TO COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN, MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 15, 1994 Notes From Brainstorming Session on The Upcoming Study To Be Conducted By The Commission On The Status Of Women Thanks to Stephanie for scribing. Began by considering... What Do We Want To Study, To Accomplish With Our Study? Who Is The Audience For Our Completed Study? In What Ways and Through What Channels Will We Distribute It? (It was suggested that we may want to use a questionnaire after completing the study to learn who would like to receive it.) Next we brainstormed the following list of possible topics/issues on which to focus (it was suggested that we also include recommendations at the end of each issue) Economic Parity Who's Working What City Services Women Use or Need How Many Female Heads of Households Are Awaiting Housing What Is Current Cost Of Housing? Women Who Are Dependent Upon Legal Help (divorce, abuse, child support) Health Care Child Care Domestic Violence What Is The Access For Women to Capital? (How are banks distributing money?) Issues Relating to Elderly Women (economic, abuse, employment) Personal Safety (highlight what is available, i.e. CSU escorts, transportation, etc.) Issues Relating to College Women (safety, economic, health, curriculum) Childhood Educational Discrimination Positive Aspects of Women's Situations and Positive Programs (Any model programs such as Project Self-sufficiency and the Mildred Arnold Foundation.) The conversation then turned more in the direction of process for conducting the study and resources for obtaining information... Possibility of Using Existing Agencies and Other Sources of Existing information May Want To Provide Information For Women On Enhancement Resources, i.e. scholarships and fellowships Could Compare Women With Men Consider The Ways In Which University Students Affect Issues Such As Jobs, Pay, and Housing Do?/How Do? City Government's Encouragement and Major Corporations Obtain Statistics on City Boards and Commissions - Men's Data and Women's Data Obtain Statistics on Levels of Education In The Community At Large and Or Women In The Community Are Women Limiting Themselves Presentation Of The Study -- Include a number of quotes Highlight Some Successful Women In Our Community Learn Where Women Are Working In local Corporations -- What exactly are their positions? -- Is the "Glass Ceiling" real? Do We Want Other Contributing Partners? -- (Their work/investment in the study. Possible partners include CSU, Poudre Valley Hospital, City of Fort Collins, Service Organizations.) Should We Prepare An Executive Summary For People In Power -- For Community Leaders? Use Storytelling To "Grab" Our Audience -- To Have An Impact By Making The Our Message Personal and Vivid, Memorable.