THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY
Karl F. Dean, Mayor
SUBJECT: Domestic Violence Executive Committee
I, Karl Dean, Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me, do hereby enter the following order:
I. Domestic Violence is a priority for our city to address in a consistent collaborative manner.
II. It is the responsibility of the Metropolitan Government to maintain such procedures that may be necessary to reduce the incidents of domestic abuse and to hold offenders accountable and protect victims and their children.
Ill. There is hereby created a Metropolitan Government Domestic Violence Executive Committee. The functions, membership, and meetings shall be as follows:
A. Composition of the Committee. The Committee shall consist of the following voting members:
1. The District Attorney General of Davidson County
2. The Director of the Metropolitan Department of Law. The Director of the Metropolitan Department of Law shall serve as chairperson of the Committee unless the Committee elects another member in this role
3. The Chief of Police
4. The Davidson County Sheriff
5. The Executive Director of the Victim Resource Center, and
6. A representative of the Mayor's office
B. Special Resource Team.
In addition to the above voting members comprising the Committee, in any particular issue wherein one or more other persons may be able to provide additional appropriate information, expertise, or guidance, the Committee may request that any of the following persons attend one or more meetings as ad hoc, non-voting members:
1. A representative from the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee
2. A member of the judiciary
3. A representative of a domestic violence shelter in Davidson County to be approved by the other committee members
4. The current chair of the Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence
5. The current chair of the Domestic Abuse Death Review Team
C. Responsibility and Authority of the Committee.
It shall be the responsibility of the Committee to identify, review, and implement recommendations, as appropriate, from the Mayor's Office of Domestic Violence Safety and Accountability Assessment. It shall also be the ongoing responsibility of the Committee to review and implement recommendations, as appropriate, from the Domestic Abuse Death Review Team (DADRT) each year. Toward that end, the duties and functions of the committee may include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Identifying areas needing improvement based on the DADRT reports
2. Making recommendations for systemic improvements to services or assistance offered to domestic abuse victims
3. Studying programs and best practices of other jurisdictions for the purpose of making
recommendations for potential adoption by the Metropolitan Government
D. Protocol of the Committee.
The following procedures shall be adopted by the Committee:
1. The chairperson will convene bi-weekly meetings of the Committee for the first year. In further years the Committee will meet no less than monthly.
2. It shall be the purpose and procedure of the Committee to analyze the report from the
DADRT with a view toward developing measures to increase victim safety and offender accountability. It shall not be the purpose of the Committee to attempt to identify liability or blame in the report offered.
3. The Committee, when deemed appropriate, is authorized to publish recommendations that may improve the quality or effectiveness of any program, service or investigative technique designed to provide service and assistance to domestic abuse victims. Such recommendations may be in writing or presented orally.
4. The Director of Law, or a designee of the Director from the Metropolitan Department of Law,
shall serve as legal advisor to the team. Ordered,
Effective, and Issued:
Karl F. Dean
Mayor
Date: May 12, 2014