Colorado Coalition for Girls
Meeting Notes, June 23, 2008

1. Welcome!
   Attendees: Alison Macklin (Planned Parenthood), Tara Calvin Reynolds (Highlands Behavioral Health), Abby Hansen (Project Safeguard), Jacy Montoya (COLOR), Kimberly Lavender (COAPPP), Lisa Pasko (DU), Donna Hagman (18th Judicial District), Valerie Argullo–Perez (18th Judicial District), Claudia Gonzales (Safehouse Denver), and Kimberly Bolding–Perry (WRA)
2. Workgroup Updates
   Research: Last two meetings have been cancelled so progress has slowed a bit. However, an intern has been hired and will start where Arcie left off.
   Juvenile Justice: Lisa Pasko has officially taken over for Susan Colling as Chair of this committee. June’s meeting was cancelled but July is still on. Currently they are working on identifying providers in the JJ system in order to survey them on their practices and experiences. Additionally they are looking for additional arenas to present their findings besides the CCG Conference.
   Advocacy: The Girl Scouts has offered to print 7000 brochures for the workgroups about girls in advocacy. In the future, the workgroup would like to create a Youth Advisory Committee as a way to get girls involved. The group has a need for general outreach materials (will need to get them brochures). Even further in the future, the workgroup would like to have space for the girls to participate in the Annual Conference (a possible “girls track”), to interview girls to see what their needs are to spark advocacy ideas, and to create a curriculum for civic engagement for girls.
   Outreach: Kimberly BP. Has been meeting with members in CO Springs and they are interested in doing more advocacy work. They will be encouraged to join the Advocacy Workgroup.
3. Financial Update: Carol B. has been working hard on some grants that will be submitted shortly. Both the Gill Foundation and Women’s Foundation would like to sponsor our Conference in the fall. Once more funding has been secured, someone will be hired to plan the logistics for the conference.
4. Conference
   1. November 14, 2008
      Decisions made:
      1. The Conference will be a full day, 1–day event.
      2. Attendees will be surveyed prior to the Conference to determine who is interested in attending what session. This will help us to determine if and how many sessions would need to be repeated (offered in morning session and afternoon session).
      3. There will be a call for organizational sponsorship. Sponsorship rates will be the same as last year with greater name placement, etc. for larger sponsorships (i.e. Women’s Foundation and Gill Foundation).
      4. If funding is available, scholarships will be offered with the goal of encouraging outlying CO member’s attendance. Scholarships would pay for hotels/travel.
      5. There will be three focus areas based on the three active workgroups: Advocacy, Girls in Juvenile Justice, and Research. It will be the responsibility of the workgroups to plan these sessions (i.e. determine topics and locate presenters). Workgroup Chairs will need to communicate with one another in order to make sure the topics do not overlap and other Steering Committee members are available to assist where necessary. This will also create a great forum for recruiting additional members to join workgroups.
      6. The theme for the Conference is either “Engaging girls in academics and community” or “Engaging girls inside and outside the classroom”
      7. Some initial thoughts on sessions are:
         1. Girls in Juvenile Justice:
            1. Existing girl programs in Juvenile Justice
            2. Factors contributing to girls in JJ (including sex abuse and domestic violence)
            3. Subscribing to CO specific standards
            4. Attitudes of professionals working with girls
         2. Advocacy:
            1. Youth presentation, how youth can be active using youth from COLOR, Latina Initiative, Girl Scouts
            2. Youth/adult partnerships – what they are and why they work
            3. Upcoming issues for the CO legislative session in 2009 – potential bills and ways to get involved
         3. Research:
            1. Gender identity and socialization
            2. Developmental development
            3. Mental health and dual diagnosis
            4. Holistic care
      8. There will be two “keynote” speakers. One to start the day and one during lunch. Each speaker will tentatively be asked to speak for 30 minutes. This time is negotiable. One identified speaker is Maria Guajardo from the Denver Office for Children’s Education. She will speak on the importance of keeping girls engaged in education. Jacy Montoya will contact her and see if she is available. Additional speaker ideas include: Janet Lopez Deputy Director of the p–20 Council, Justice Regina Walters, Justice Chauche, and Mary Lou Makepeace of the Gill Foundation.
      9. Alison will be looking into venues to hold the Conference next week.
5. Other :
   CCG was invited by the Women’s Foundation to participate in a brainstorm and open discussion about girls and the dropout rate in CO. The Women’s Foundation (WF) has dedicated some money to researching the dropout rate in CO and factors influencing girls. This work is already underway in conjunction with the Governor’s P–20 Council (examining the state of education in CO from Preschool through graduate school). Based on the research collected by WF, and through community input, the WF will be giving money/resources/support towards alleviating the differences.
6. Steering Committee Meeting Dates
   1. Meetings are on the 4th Monday at 12:30pm
   2. Dates for the next several meetings are as follows:
      1. July 28, 2008
      2. August 25, 2008
      3. September 22, 2008
      4. October 27, 2008
      5. November 24, 2008
      6. December 22, 2008
   3. We will adjust dates and times as needed!

Mission: To eliminate cultural, social and legal barriers that marginalize girls.
Vision: Creating opportunities for every girl to reach her full potential.