Minnesota DPS, has adopted a new rule which will affect all new residents to the state. First time applicants for a MN driver's license, permit and identification card can not longer use an out of state driver's license as the main document to prove identity. This rule became effective 7/8/02. This is another measure taken by the department to ensure that people who receive MN issued licenses are entitled to get them and that they are authorized to reside in the US.

Individuals with a current MN license, permit, or state ID with a picture will not have new requirements for obtaining renewal or a duplicate ID. The rule will affect battered women coming from other states and immigrant battered women. The new rule can be viewed at www.comm.media.state.mn.us. Click on the State Register button and go to 7/8/ edition. To view information on this rule and how it is being implemented go to: www.mndriveinfo.org.

Juvenile Court Proceeding Now Open

Since 1998, twelve Minnesota counties have had open juvenile protection proceedings. These counties were part of a pilot project to open up child protection proceedings to the public. The counties that have had open hearings are: Chisago, Clay, Goodhue, Houston, Hennepin, LeSeur, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake, St. Louis (Virginia court only), Stearns and Watonwan.

Generally, information from the juvenile protection proceedings is considered public. There are a number of exceptions including victim statements, tapes of child testimony regarding abuse/neglect, photos that identify children, records that identify where a child is living, etc. The judge is given the power to deem any information as non-public but is to do so only in exceptional circumstances.

Juvenile court hearings and records are now open to the public in all counties. The Minnesota Supreme Court has issued a rule that expands the pilot project to all Minnesota counties. The new rule does not apply to juvenile delinquency proceedings.

What does this mean for advocates? If you were in a county where advocates were excluded from juvenile protection hearings, you should now be able to attend. Any person can attend hearings and the documents are considered public record. If you are working with a battered woman who is involved with a juvenile court CHIPS (child in need of protective services) case, she should know that the hearing is public.

When the pilot was started in 1998, people were concerned with the privacy of children and families involved in juvenile protection cases. There was a fear that information would be printed in local papers that could be damaging to children. These fears were not realized. Media and the public in general have not made it a general practice to attend these proceedings. Information that has been distributed has not identified the children. Advocates in counties with open hearings have found it easier to work with battered women and to advocate in the juvenile court arena.

BWLAP is working with several battered women's programs that serve native communities to create healthcare based advocacy for native women and their families. Our project is funded by the Minnesota Department of Health. We are working to create partnerships with healthcare professionals in rural Minnesota. As you know, providing advocacy in rural communities presents unique challenges. We are working with healthcare providers and administrators to create more opportunities for intervention with battered native women in a health care setting. We are looking at clinics, public health nurses, hospitals, satellite offices, wherever battered women are coming in contact with healthcare providers.

Working on this grant has given us the opportunity to learn more about the healthcare industry's effort to address domestic violence. The second Wednesday of October is the annual "Healthcares about Domestic Violence Day."

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women, resulting in 4 million battered women each year and 4,000 murders.
22-35% of women seeking care in Emergency Departments and 23% of women seeking routine prenatal care are victims of DV.
Pregnant or recently pregnant women are more likely to be the victims of homicide than to die from any other cause.

There are a lot of opportunities for partnership with healthcare providers. Ask your local healthcare organization to put out materials on DV. Ask them if they would like to attend your DV month activities or co-sponsor an event on October 9th, for the Health Cares About Domestic Violence Day. The Family Violence Prevention Fund website also has information about Health cares About DV Day as well as an organizing packet. Web address endabuse.org.

Healthcare Resource Center on Domestic Violence Phone: 1-888-792-2873. For more information about BWLAP's MDH grant, contact Tamara Buffalo.

Legal Services for Native American Victims of Domestic Abuse

Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center (MIWRC) has hired an attorney to start a new program, funded by the Violence Against Women's Act, to provide free civil legal services to Native victims and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. The services could include legal representation in matters of divorce, custody, jurisdiction, housing, Indian Child Welfare Act, protection orders and other common civil legal issues.

Abused Indian women frequently become entangled in both tribal courts and state courts, complicating already delicate matters. It is common for a native abuser living in the Twin Cities to approach the Tribal Court on his reservation regarding custody matters, even though the victim and children have little or no contact with his reservation. It is one more way for the abuser to exercise power and control over the victim. The attorney with MIWRC will appear in both State and Tribal Courts for victims, if necessary. The program will work with residents of the Twin City area in Twin City and Tribal Courts, as well as residents of out state areas, who have a legal action in a court in the Twin City area.

Maureen White Eagle, the attorney working in the legal services program, has 20 years of experience in family law and other related legal matters. She is available for direct assistance to clients or for questions and assistance by other programs.

MIWRC is a non-profit social and educational service center located in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. The Center provides service to Indian women throughout the Twin City Area. Founded in 1984, MIWRC provides a wide range of programs for Indian women and their children; including chemical dependency treatment, family services, child care, housing assistance, counseling, library and informational services, child advocacy, parenting training, sexual assault advocacy, Indian culture as well as the Legal Services Program. MIWRC is located at 2300 15th Ave. South, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Legal Services direct phone line is 612-728-2033.

News from the Mentorship Project

Jan Maloney continues to be on disability leave so the Native American Mentorship Project is being managed by Tamara Buffalo and Liz Richards.

The Native American Mentorship newsletter

The Native American Mentorship Project has started a monthly newsletter for programs serving native communities. It is a way for programs to share information and to find out what is happening with the mentorship project. If you are not receiving it and would like to, please contact us and we will put you on our mailing list. The first issue was just sent out.

Native Advocates Networking Meeting.

The August Native Advocates networking meeting was held at Nett Lake hosted by Wendy Morrison's Bois Forte Family Violence Program. Due to a clerical error the meeting started off late but as soon as folks showed up we had a well attended and informative meeting.

Mary Parkhurst brought a video made by Red Lake young women which was very entertaining and well done. The video was about date rape and the lives of three young native women who were friends.

Other items discussed at the meeting included GALs training and information for Native communities. Training for executives and managers of battered women's programs and organizing the statewide tribal coalition on domestic violence. The next native advocacy networking meeting will be at the Mille Lacs Women's Project in November. The date and time to be announced.

BWLAP does not provide direct legal representation however, the position requires providing by phone and in writing legal consultation to battered women, advocates, attorneys, judges, and law enforcement concerning family, criminal law & juvenile issues. Work includes but is not limited to: assisting pro se litigants with preparation of litigation materials; conduct legal research; training attorneys, advocates, judges, law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders on legal issues affecting battered women and their children, attending policy meetings, coordinating project volunteers and law clerks, producing written materials for training manuals, publications, technical assistance packets.

BWLAP functions under philosophies of anti-oppression work, tri-level development, community leadership, and development of underrepresented communities as a means to improve the conditions of battered women and their children.

Specific job qualifications include:

*5 years life and/or work experience providing advocacy to battered women and their children

*Higher Education not required but a plus.

*3 years work and/or demonstrated life experience organizing and/or advocating within underrepresented communities (i.e. communities of color, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender people, migrant workers, immigrants and refugees, women used in prostitution, vulnerable adults, differently abled, etc.)

*Minnesota State attorney license or ability to secure a Minnesota attorney license

*Demonstrated writing abilities

*Minimum of 10 public speaking, presentation or training experiences.

*Computer skills

* Knowledge of other language (s) is a plus

*Willingness to learn new tasks, bring about new ideas.

For a full job description or to get more information on the position and hiring process, contact BWLAP. We are looking to receive applications by Monday October 14, 2002 but we will accept resumes and the position will remain open until filled.

Announcements

09/17/02

Documentary "Rape is" by Margaret Reiner on the consequences of rape and examines what makes this a human rights violation. Presented by Breaking Free, from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, @ 770 University Ave, St. Paul. RSVP @ 651-645-6557.

09/21/02

Mujeres Unidas will host the 3rd Annual Latina Leadership Conference at St. Francis de Sales 601, 15th Avenue N. Moorhead, MN. Child care will be provided on site. Topics will include : Professionalism, The History of Mexicans in the Red River Valley. Registration is due 9/15. Call or fax: 218-236-9884.

9/26 & 9/27 2002

BWLAP will conduct the last two days of training on new laws. The training will be held in Montevideo, at the Community Bible Church, hosted by Women's Rural Advocacy Program. Call BWLAP for more info.

10/2 - 10/4 2002

The MN Coalition for the Homeless, the National Coalition for the Homeless, and agencies & individuals from Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, MN, MO, MT, NB, ND, OH, PA, SD, WI, and WY are organizing the conference "Creating Community to Bring America Home." This will take place October 2-4, 2002, @ the Radisson Hotel South & Plaza Tower, Bloomington, MN. Contact the MCH at 612-870-7073.

10/07/02

Day of Unity, at the State of MN Capitol Steps, from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm. For information call Breaking Free @ 651-645-6557.

10/11/02

Immigration Update, sponsored by Southern MN Regional Legal Services Coalition @ William Mitchell College of Law, #319. Call to request the registration forms and for applicable fees. Training is from 9 am—2:15. Contact Ann Conroy at 651-228-9105 x 117.

10/16/02

Hedda Nussbaum, dv survivor will be hosted by Women's Services Office and Community Violence Prevention Institute of Metropolitan State University and the MN Corporate Citizenship Initiative. Call Maura Lynch @ 651-772-7781.

11/15/02
BWLAP Advisory Group. Training on Paternity issues (how to establish paternity, ROP, etc.) Call Eva at 612-343-0791. Location to be announced by the end of September.

11/15/02

Housing Minnesota is sponsoring a MN Housing Convention for all. State wide convention on affordable housing in MN. To register call 651-649-1710 or email: erausch@mhponline.org.

McLeod Alliance for Victims of Domestic Violence has a new address: PO Box 393 Hutchinson, MN 55350. The crisis/Hutchinson office number will be the same, 1-800 934-0851 or 234-7933. Call them for their street address.

HomeLine– Tenant advocacy in MN, services are Free. Metro line: 612-728-5767. Greater MN Toll free hotline: 1-866-866-3546. Www.homelinemn.org. office hours: 9 am—6 pm (M-Th) and 9 am.—3 pm Fridays.

The Dep't of Children, Families & Learning's (CFL) Division of Early Childhood & Family Support has implemented a Multilingual Phone referral

OFP Case Law Summary

This is a summary of all Minnesota appeal court cases on Orders For Protection and Harassment Restraining Orders. It is updated each year. This year's summary is now available. It covers court decisions through August 2002. BWLAP sells the summary for cost at $10.00.

Agents for Change Manual Revised edition.

The revised Agents for Change manual is now available. If you have paid and ordered it, we will mail it to you. If you would like to order it, please call our office. The manual is 262 pages and cost is $75 plus $3.00 for shipping.

New Laws Materials

If you were not able to attend the trainings and would like the summaries, please call our office and we will mail you the materials.

Houston County:

Children's Support Groups— call Kathy or Carolyn at 507-894-2676.

Ramsey County Sexual Offense Services , Rape Crisis Center needs volunteer counselors. Please volunteer. Training begins in October. Call : 651-643-3022

The Sunshine Lady Foundation , has a scholarship project that funds education for women survivors of domestic violence who want to return to school, whether part or full time. Email : Sunlady1@bellsoil.net or call 910-397-7742 or ask for information by sending a fax: 910 397-0023.

Safe Journey Program Needs Volunteers!!

SafeJourney, a service of North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, needs volunteer advocates to work with victims of domestic abuse. If you are a good listener and have little extra time and want to help end abuse against women and in children, please call Suzy at 763-520 26 39 by Sept. 20th. Training provided.

Zabat Awed:

My name is Zabat Awed. I am excited to let you know that I have recently joined BWLAP as a Program Manager. I hope that with my extensive knowledge and cultural uniqueness I might provide excellent services and support to the community. Please do not hesitate to call the office and ask for the new kid on the block at BWLAP.

Gloria Fressia

Gloria has been hired as the newest Legal Resources Program Manager at our office. Gloria is an attorney from Uruguay; she has been working on issues of immigration and domestic violence as a volunteer in the Latino community. Gloria will start at the end of September.
Please feel free to call our new staff.

Michelle Paquin will no longer be at BWLAP as of October 1st. Michelle will be moving with her family up north and will be pursuing other endeavors. We want to thank Michelle for the many years of service at BWLAP, and we wish her the best.

Feel free to leave messages for her at our office, or send her mail, we will forward this to her.

The staff at BWALP would like to thank all the agencies which have hosted our New Laws Trainings this year.

So far we have had our trainings at Lanesboro -hosted by Fillmore Family Resources; Tower –hosted by Bois Forte Human Services; Detroit Lakes –hosted by Lakes Crisis Center. The upcoming next three trainings for September will be in Hutchinson –hosted by McCleod Alliance for Victims of DV, Bloomington –hosted by Cornerstone and Montevideo—hosted by Women's Rural Advocacy Program

All of the hosting agencies' staff have been terrific, and we would thank you for your assistance and also for all the work you do in this field. THANKS.

Send your news to us
If your agency has any updates, up-coming trainings, or any other listings that you want other agencies and advocates to know about, please call, email, or fax Eva Aguilar.

Phone: 612-343-0791 Fax:: 612-343-0786 Or email at Eva@bwlap.org. Your updates will be included. Please let us know if your agency's addresses or other is incorrect.