The first day of the consultation will focus on violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. DOJ will solicit recommendations from tribal leaders on enhancing the safety of Native women and strengthening the federal response to crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

The second day will be devoted to consultation on DOJ grant funding for tribal governments. DOJ officials would like to hear feedback from tribal leaders about their experiences with the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), the new coordinated tribal grants application process utilized by the Department for Fiscal Year 2010. DOJ would also like to solicit recommendations for how the process could be improved for Fiscal Year 2011.

DOJ will be hosting a series of scoping calls with interested tribal leaders to develop the agenda for the upcoming consultation session. The first call will take place on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 4 pm EASTERN time. The call-in number is 1-888-450-5996, passcode 2179888.

Tribal leaders will receive a formal invitation to the consultation in the upcoming weeks that will include additional information about the specific agenda items for the consultation. Information about the consultation will also be available at www.tribaljusticeandsafety.gov. We look forward to seeing you in Washington in October!

If you have questions or concerns about the consultation, please contact: Lorraine Edmo, OVW Deputy Director for Tribal Affairs, lorraine.edmo@usdoj.gov, 202-307-6026.

Topic: Tribal Implications of the VAWA 2005-Firearms Amendment
Date of Webinar: Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Time: 3:30 – 5:00 EST; 12:30 – 2:00 PST

Download Presentation PDF (by Fanny Haslebacher)
Download Presentation PDF (by Rob Valente)
Download Supplemental Materials PDF (by Rob Valente)
Download Presentation Audio (68MB MP3)

August’s Webinar will focus on “Violence Against Native Women and Firearms: The Law”. The goal of the August webinar is to provide Tribal Coalitions basic information on this subject that can be utilized in training and education efforts of coalitions for their membership and within tribal communities. Although a national summit was held in 2006 on “Domestic Violence and Firearms” training on this important subject is much needed within tribal communities and for tribal justice personnel. Speakers for the August webinar include Roberta “Rob” Valente and Fanny Haslebacher.

The agenda for the webinar is as follows:

1) Protection Orders and Firearms Prohibitions presented by Fanny Haslebacher, Office on Violence Against Women, USDOJ;

2) Law Enforcement Authority to Search for, Seize, and Return Firearms presented by Rob Valente, National Network to End Domestic Violence; and,

3) Discussion of the implications of the Firearm Amendments to the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 for American Indian tribes moderated by Jacqueline Agtuca.

Rob (Roberta) Valente, J.D. is General Counsel for the National Network to End Domestic Violence. She also serves as Senior Policy Advisor to the Domestic Violence Resource Network (the consortium of HHS-funded national Resource Centers on domestic violence) on policy issues in the domestic violence field, with specialized interests in protection order enforcement, child custody issues, federal laws and interventions addressing domestic violence, and tribal issues relating to domestic violence. From 2006 to 2008, she was Assistant Director of the Family Violence Department of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Prior to that, she served as a consultant or advisor on civil legal issues regarding domestic violence for various organizations, including the Alaska Native Women’s Coalition, the National Congress of American Indians, and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Ms. Valente served as one of the lead coordinators of the legislative work to develop the Violence Against Women Act of 2005. Ms. Valente has also served as Attorney Advisor to the Office on Violence Against Women of the U.S. Department of Justice. She was the founding Director of the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence and, prior to that, worked for AYUDA, Inc., a legal services program for battered immigrants. She is the author of several articles on domestic violence issues and family law. She received her J.D. from the George Washington University School of Law in 1991, and is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and before the Federal Circuit.

Fanny L. Haslebacher is an attorney detailed to the Office on Violence Against Women to provide legal advice to the Office of the Director from the FBI’s Office of the General Counsel where she has served as an Assistant General Counsel for over 10 years. She was selected for the detail due to her expertise regarding the Gun Control Act, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), VAWA related issues such as human trafficking, immigration and the VAWA crimes such as cyberstalking, interstate violation of a protection order, and interstate domestic violence, as well as the criminal record and other information systems maintained by the FBI such as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the Interstate Identification Index (III), and the National Crime Information Center 2000 (NCIC). Ms. Haslebacher recently received a Department of Justice Public Service Award for her work with the NCIC Protection Order File from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of W.Va. Ms. Haslebacher served as the Senior Law Clerk to the Honorable Dennis R. Knapp, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. She received a BA (1975) in Chemistry and Political Science and a JD (1978) from West Virginia University.

Job Title: Grant Program Specialist
Department: Department Of Justice
Agency: Justice Offices, Boards and Divisions
Sub Agency: Justice Management Division – Offices, Boards, and Divisions
Job Announcement Number: OVW-10-375(DC)DEU
SALARY RANGE: $51,630.00 – $97,333.00 /year
OPEN PERIOD: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 to Thursday, August 12, 2010
SERIES & GRADE: GS-0301-09/12
POSITION INFORMATION: Full Time Permanent – No time limit
PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 13
DUTY LOCATIONS: 4 vacancies – Washington, DC
WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED: US citizens

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2010

Statement by the President on the Passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act

Today’s passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act is an important step to help the federal government better address the unique public safety challenges that confront tribal communities. The fact is, American Indians and Alaska Natives are victimized by violent crime at far higher rates than Americans as a whole. Native communities have seen increased gang and drug activity, with some tribes experiencing violent crime rates at more than ten times the national average. And one in three Native women will be the victim of rape in her lifetime.

The federal government’s relationship with tribal governments, its obligations under treaty and law, and our values as a nation require that we do more to improve public safety in tribal communities. And this Act will help us achieve that. It will strengthen the relationship between the federal government and tribal governments. It will improve our ability to work with tribal communities in the investigation and prosecution of crime, and it authorizes resources for tribes to fight crime more effectively. While many members helped pass this bill, I especially want to applaud Senators Dorgan, Barrasso and Kyl, and Representatives Herseth Sandlin, Kildee, Cole, Conyers, Scott, Rahall, Simpson and Pastor for their leadership on this issue. I look forward to signing the Act into law.

###

Webinar: Domestic Assault by a Habitual Offender Statute
Presenter: Leslie A. Hagen, Native American Issues Coordinator in the Executive Office For United States Attorneys
Date of Webinar: Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Time: 3:30 – 5:00 EST; 12:30 – 2:00 PST

The Federal Crime of Domestic Assault by a Habitual Offender was a VAWA 2005 Amendment. It allows federal prosecution when the offender has two prior convictions in tribal, state, or federal court. During the webinar the statute and cases charging the Habitual Offender provision by Federal prosecutors will be reviewed:

Section 909: Domestic Assault by a Habitual Offender.

Download Presentation PDF
Download Presentation Audio (in mp3 – 90MB)

Webinar: Domestic Assault by a Habitual Offender Statute
Presenter: Leslie A. Hagen, Native American Issues Coordinator in the Executive Office For United States Attorneys
Date of Webinar: Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Time: 3:30 – 5:00 EST; 12:30 – 2:00 PST

The Federal Crime of Domestic Assault by a Habitual Offender was a VAWA 2005 Amendment. It allows federal prosecution when the offender has two prior convictions in tribal, state, or federal court. During the webinar the statute and cases charging the Habitual Offender provision by Federal prosecutors will be reviewed:

Section 909: Domestic Assault by a Habitual Offender.

Download Presentation PDF
Download Presentation Audio (in MP3 – 90MB)

A 2006 murder at a Jackson County domestic violence shelter spurs lawmakers into action. Bonnie Woodring was staying at REACH when her estranged husband, Woody Woodring, walked into the shelter, then shot and killed her. After her death, Bonnie’s family sued, alleging REACH employees played a role in her death because they left a door unlocked. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2008, but still, REACH struggled to stay in operation because it spent so much money on the legal battle. A new law recently approved by the General Assembly is designed to protect shelters from being held liable if acts of violence are committed on their property. State Senator John Snow sponsored the bill after Woodring’s death. The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence advocated for it. The new law also makes it a felony for anyone with a restraining order against them to trespass on property owned by a domestic violence shelter, regardless of whether the victim is even there.

From their website:
“According to national statistics, one in three Native American women will be raped in their lifetimes. Vanguard correspondent Mariana Van Zeller travels to Rosebud reservation in South Dakota to investigate the alarmingly high incidence of rape and sexual assaults.”