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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity of Seattle et al^--I . e 6 . z Toward Safety & Justice: Seattle-King County Response to Domestic Violence MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Prosecution Coordination through Co-location Project The City of Seattle through its Human Services Department, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Division enters into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") as a collaborative partner with the following agencies: King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Auburn City Attorney's Office, Federal Way City Attorney's Office, and Renton City Attorney's Office. The above mentioned agencies have come together to collaborate and to make an application for the Fiscal Year 2009 Grant to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program ("Arrest Program"). The agencies have agreed to enter into a collaborative agreement in which the City of Seattle will be the lead agency and named applicant and the other agencies will be partners in this application. The agencies desire to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding setting forth the services to be provided by the collaborative. The application prepared and approved by the collaborative is to be submitted to the Office on Violence Against Women ("OVW") on or before January 15, 2009. 1. Description of Partner Agencies City of Seattle, Human Services Department, Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Prevention Division works across all City departments to coordinate the City's response to domestic violence, and is the Arrest Program applicant. The Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Prevention Division is a lead agency on regional efforts to address victim safety and offender accountability, improve coordination across systems, and support community-based agencies as service providers. King County PYOSecuting Attorney's Office, Domestic Violence Unit, established in 2000, prosecutes misdemeanor domestic violence cases in unincorporated King County and all felony domestic violence cases in the county as well as coordinates the county's protection orders for domestic violence victims. Auburn City Attorney's Office prosecutes misdemeanar domestic violence cases in the City of Auburn, and coordinates with King County and other agencies with regard to repeat offenders. Together with the City of Auburn Police Department's Victim Support Team, the Auburn City Attorney's Office works to enhance the domestic violence services available to victims. Through this program, team members help domestic violence victims develop personal safety plans, refer victims to other resource networks, and help victims obtain protective orders. The City of Auburn also has a Domestic Violence Task Force that meets monthly. Seattle-King County 2009 Anest Program Application Memorandum of Understanding / 1 Toward Safety & Justice: Seattle-King County Response to Domestic Violence Federal Way City Attorney's Office has a history of working on domestic violence issues. In 1989 the City became involved with the Domestic Violence Community Coordinated Response Team ("CCR") for the South King County area. The CCR established domestic violence advocates/liaisons within the legal department in 1998. A full-time prosecutor dedicated strictly to domestic violence was autharized in 2006. Additionally, the City Council enacted a sentencing enhancement for strangulation during the commission of domestic violence crime, which has subsequently been adopted by the State. The City Council also enhanced sentencing for committing domestic violence in the presence of children. Renton City Attorney's Office prosecutes misdemeanor domestic violence cases and coordinates with King County and other agencies with regards to repeat offenders. The prosecutor's office works with the police department in identifying repeat offenders, assisting with outstanding warrants and witness notification. The City of Renton Police Department's Domestic Violence Victim Advocate assists in helping domestic violence victims develop a personal safety plan, refers to community based domestic violence programs and other resources, assists with protective orders, and assists the victim during the court process. The City of Renton has a Domestic Violence Task Force. The deputy prosecutors attend the Domestic Violence Task Force meetings and attend briefings on the topic of domestic violence. H. Project Summary This Memorandum of Understanding represents a collaboration to strengthen and enhance safety for victims of domestic violence by coordinating domestic violence prosecutions in King County through vigorous case development, information sharing, plea negotiations, and case prosecution. III. History of Collaboration For more than 10 years, the City of Seattle, Human Services Department, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Division has been working collaboratively with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Likewise, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has partnered with the cities of Auburn, Federal Way, and Renton. These agencies also have extensive histories of working together as well on a variety of projects related to domestic violence and other crimes in King County. One example of the collaboration between the Seattle City Attorney's Office and the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office is the prosecution co-location project which has placed a 0.5 FTE felony prosecutor in the Seattle City Attorney's Office. The co-location of a county felony prosecutor in the Seattle City Attorney's Office has proven incredibly successful at increasing coordination between the jurisdictions. The success of this project is the reason for expanding the project to three new cities in King County. The city of Auburn collaborates with King County on a number of initiatives. First, City of Auburn representatives work with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office on training for prosecution and law enforcement county-wide. These trainings promote understanding of county and municipal policies and protocols regarding domestic violence cases. An example of this was Seattle-King County 2009 Arrest Program Application Memorandum of Understanding / 2 Toward Safety & Justice: Seattle-King County Response to Domestic Violence in 2006 when the City of Auburn presented with King County at a conference on "Networking and Information-Sharing on DV cases in King County." The City of Auburn also collaborates with King County on the implementation of STOP Grant activities. A representative from the City of Auburn sits on the VAWA STOP Grant Prosecution Advisory Board, which determines county-wide STOP Grant activities related to the education of prosecutors, victim assistants and the community about domestic violence. The City of Federal Way also works collaboratively with King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. This collaboration began in 2005 and included cross training between the two jurisdictions on the issue of strangulation, passage of an assault by strangulation municipal code, and coordinated efforts to raise awareness of the issue of strangulation. The City of Federal Way was a key partner with King County on the creation and passage of the felony assault by strangulation statute in Washington. The City of Federal Way has also collaborated with King County in multiple trainings to promote understanding of each agencies policies and protocols on domestic violence. The City of Renton is the third partner agency on this project, and similarly has a long history of collaborating with King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Specifically, the City of Renton collaborates with King County on implementation of STOP Grant activities. Two representatives from Renton are members on the VAWA STOP Grant advisory board. One of the main initiatives of this advisory board has been the creation of county-wide standardized reporting forms far domestic violence cases. In addition to numerous in-kind contributions each year for STOP Grant activities, the City of Renton is also paying for the Spanish translation of the Domestic Violence Information and Resource Guide, which is currently used by 17 police agencies in King County. Through these collaborative relationships, the project partners, with City of Seattle taking the lead on writing the application, were well prepared to respond to the FY09 Arrest Grant. This project was designed to address needs in our community that the criminal justice partners have identified. IV. Development of the Application The City of Seattle's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Division together with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office took the lead in facilitating the development of the written proposal. Discussions with project partners were conducted via individual telephone calls and email. Project partners provided the following assistance in developing the application: • King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office - participated in preparatory discussions to develop the project idea; coordinated contact and discussion with three municipal city attorney's offices; provided material far the project narrative and budget; reviewed and edited drafts of the proj ect narrative and firmly committed to support the proj ect. • Auburn City Attorney's Office -participated in preparatory discussions to develop the project idea and firmly committed to support the project. • Federal Way City Attorney's Office -participated in preparatory discussions to develop the project idea and firmly committed to support the project. Seattle-King County 2009 Arrest Program Application Memorandum of Understanding / 3 Toward Safety & Justice: Seattle-King County Response to Domestic Violence • Renton City Attorney's Office -participated in preparatory discussions to develop the project idea and firmly committed to support the project. These discussions, feedback provided by the collaborators, and their support led to the development of the proposed project as reflected in the proposal narrative and agreed to in this Memorandum of Understanding. V. Roles and Responsibilities The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities: 1. Hire and supervise a half-time Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the Criminal Division to engage in filing review of domestic violence cases from the cities of Auburn, Federal Way, and Renton. This Deputy Prosecuting Attorney will be based out of the King County Regional Justice Center in south King County, and will spend one day per week at each of the three city attorney's offices. 2. Provide assistance to the three city attorney's offices for the following purposes: a. Assist and advise in the screening of domestic violence cases from the cities of Auburn, Federal Way, and Renton and, if appropriate, steer potential felony and crossover cases to the Domestic Violence unit of the King County Prosecutor's Office. Rush file felony cases where required. b. Coordinate and assist in the staffing and early plea negotiations of crossover domestic violence cases between the Auburn, Federal Way, and Renton City attorney's offices and the Domestic Violence unit of the King County Prosecutor's Office to leverage and improve case dispositions. c. Serve in the role of felony domestic violence advisor and provide case specific advice and assistance on all manner of domestic violence prosecutions. d. Advise and assist with the development and operation of high impact and serial domestic violence offender prosecution in crossover cases. e. Provide specialized domestic violence related training on felony prosecution and filing and disposition standards to attorneys in the three city attorney's offices. £ Give other unspecified domestic violence related legal assistance as required and agreed to by both agencies. 3. Convene and facilitate any meetings related to this project. 4. Attend quarterly meetings of the grant implementation team. 5. Provide data for semi-annual progress reports, as mutually agreed upon, and as required by the Department of Justice for this grant. Auburn City Attorney's Office will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities: 1. Assign a lead prosecutor to work with the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. 2. Provide adequate work space for the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in its offices in the Auburn City Hall or Auburn Justice Center to perform the functions identified above. This will include a computerized work station, telephone, and other standard office supplies, equipment, and furnishings. 3. Attend quarterly meetings of the grant implementation team. Seattle-King County 2009 Arrest Program Application Memorandum of Understanding / 4 Toward Safety & Justice: Seattle-King County Response to Domestic Violence 4. Provide data for semi-annual progress reports due to the Department of Justice for this grant. Federal Way City Attorney's Office will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities: 1. Assign a lead prosecutor to work with the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. 2. Provide adequate work space for the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in its offices in the Federal Way City Hall or Justice Center to perform the functions identified above. This will include a computerized work station, telephone, and other standard office supplies, equipment, and furnishings. 3. Attend quarterly meetings of the grant implementation team. 4. Provide data for semi-annual progress reports due to the Department of Justice for this grant. Renton City Attorney's Office will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities: 1. Assign a lead prosecutor to work with the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. 2. Provide adequate work space for the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in its offices in the Renton City Hall or Justice Center to perform the functions identified above. This will include a computerized work station, telephone, and other standard office supplies, equipment, and furnishings. 3. Attend quarterly meetings of the grant implementation team. 4. Provide data for semi-annual progress reports due to the Department of Justice for this grant. The City of Seattle, Human Services Department, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Division will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities: 1. Contract with King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for the part-time Deputy Prosecuting Attorney's salary, benefits and other expenses per the project budget; 2. Convene and facilitate the quarterly meetings of the grant implementation team; 3. Submit all required reports, records, and financial audits to the Department of Justice; 4. Provide all required copies of publications and materials produced under this grant to the Department of Justice; and 5. Negotiate any necessary extensions or amendments with the Department of Justice. The roles and responsibilities described above are contingent on City of Seattle receiving funds requested for the project described in the OVW grant application. Responsibilities under this Memorandum of Understanding would coincide with the grant period, anticipated to be October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2011. VI. Planning and Development Team Representatives of the planning and development team include: Amy Heyden, a Planner with the City of Seattle's Human Services Department; David Martin, Seniar Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Chair of the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office Domestic Violence Unit; Seattle-King County 2009 Arrest Program Application Memorandum of Understanding / 5 Toward Safety & Justice: Seattle-King County Response to Domestic Violence Daniel Heid, City Attorney, and Steven Gross, Assistant City Attorney, City of Auburn; Patricia Richardson, City Attorney, City of Federal Way; and Larry Warren, City Attorney's Office, City of Renton. These individuals will be responsible for developing and implementing the project activities as described in the project narrative. These individuals, or their appointed representative, will meet immediately following award of the grant to determine project start-up strategies and timeline, and will subsequently meet regularly to monitor project implementation. VII. Resources A. City of Seattle Human Services Department will provide a portion of salary and benefits for the grant program manager (Amy Heyden), office space, and supplies. B. King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office will provide office space, supplies, training and supervision for the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. C. Auburn City Attorney's Office will provide adequate work space, as described above. D. Federal Way City Attorney's Office will provide adequate work space, as described above. E. Renton City Attorney's Office will provide adequate work space, as described above. VIII. Commitment A. There is a firm commitment from each of the project partners to achieve the stated project goals by working together. The collaboration service area is King County. B. The partners agree to collaborate on a project to improve domestic violence victims' access to the criminal legal system through prosecution co-location pursuant to the program narrative of the grant application attached to this MOU. C. Compensation for partners' contribution to this project will be provided as outlined in the attached OVW budget detail worksheet. IX. Approval We, the undersigned, have read and agree with this MOU. Further, we have reviewed and approve the portion of the proposed budget and project pertaining to the collaborative effort described here. Alan Painter, Acting Director City of Seattle Human Services Department Date: Daniel T. Satterberg King County Prosecuting Attorney Date: Seattle-King County 2009 Arrest Program Application Memorandum of Understanding / 6 Toward Safety & Justice: Seattle-King County Response to Domestic Violence v Danie B. Heid, City Attorney City of Auburn q / Date: ~ Patricia A. Richardson, City Attorney City of Federal Way Date: Larry Warren, City Attorney City of Renton Date: Seattle-King County 2009 Arrest Program Application Memorandum of Understanding / 7