MEETING TIME AND LOCATION
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Wesley United Methodist Church
800 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, IA 50316-4304
Brown Bag Lunch
ATTACHMENT: Please review the two linked articles below and be prepared to select one to be submitted. They are proposed letters to the editor / op-ed articles for the Register. The article entitled “Moms Should Not Give Birth in Chains”, dated November 10, 2014, is a recent revision of the article entitled “What Will It Take To Pass Legislation to Limit Shackling of Pregnant Women Prisoners?” The “What Will It Take…” article was submitted to Rox Laird of the D.M. Register editorial staff last April. He suggested waiting until fall to submit it. Terry Walker has been unable to reach him this fall.
Moms Should Not Give Birth in Chains
What Will It Take To Pass Legislation to Limit Shackling of Pregnant Women Prisoners?
MISSION STATEMENT
To bring together and inform individuals and groups concerned about women in the Iowa correctional system and to act on their behalf.
INTRODUCTIONS and ANNOUNCEMENTS
REPORTS:
ICIW Report – Warden Patti Wachtendorf or ICIW Representative
Fresh Start – Peggy Urtz
Treasurer – Rosemary Jungmann
PROGRAM/FOCUS:
We welcome two speakers from Disability Rights Iowa to our November meeting: Jane Hudson, Executive Director and Investigations Team Leader and Jayna Grauerholz, Adult and Investigations Staff Attorney.
Jane studied Psychology and Law at Kalamazoo University and then attended law school at the University of Toledo. While in law school, she was on law review and moot court, externed for a federal judge, worked at the Toledo Legal Aid Society, and was a law clerk at Lewis and Roca in Phoenix, Arizona. After law school she returned to Lewis and Roca as an associate doing pro bono work for the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, now the Arizona Center for Disability Law. She joined the Center as an attorney and the Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office in Phoenix, focusing on employment law. Just before joining Disability Rights IOWA Jane was a Senior Staff Attorney with the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) for more than ten years. One issue she focused on was the reduction of restraint and seclusion.
Jayna received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grand View University majoring in Criminal Justice and Human Services, minoring in Sociology and Psychology. Jayna received her doctorate of jurisprudence from Ohio Northern University and was admitted to the State Bar of Iowa in 2012. Before becoming a staff attorney at Disability Rights Iowa, Jayna interned in both a Public Defender’s Office and a County Attorney’s Office. She has also worked as a Direct Care Provider for individuals with disabilities. Jayna aims to ensure freedom from discrimination and respectful treatment for individuals with disabilities
Jane would like us to bring any questions we may have concerning their work with women with disabilities and mental illness, especially those that may be at ICIW.
RECAP OF OCTOBER 21, 2014 MEETING:
It was our pleasure to welcome Bonnie Campbell to our October meeting. Currently Campbell’s legal practice focuses on providing crisis management counseling to businesses confronted with highly visible legal matters as they attempt to deal with the public, the media and an array of government agencies.
She told us the Violence Against Women Act took years to pass and needs to be reauthorized every five years. In 2012 Grassley and the Tea Party were against it. This Act forces politicians to look at the most important issues – safety in our homes and on the streets. The Parole Board asks incarcerated women who come before them, “Why didn’t you leave?” But leaving doesn’t mean they will be safe. The Parole Board needs training on why women can’t leave. Not only the Parole Board but law enforcement officers also need the training. Hospital Emergency Room personnel regularly screen for domestic violence, because 25-30% of women experience violence.
Thank you, Bonnie, for your enlightening presentation!
UPCOMING MEETINGS & PRESENTERS:
Our December presenters will be Kay Oliver and Jim Pemble sharing the story of Camp Hope, the summer camp for children of incarcerated parents.