Minutes of Public Education Work Group
(Court Funding Task Force)
Thursday, January 16, 2003

The co-chairs of the Work Group, Cheryl Bleakney and Tom Warren, met with Wendy Ferrell, the assigned staff member from AOC, as a part of the general meeting of work group chairs.

A discussion was held about the charge of our work group. A consensus was reached that a major emphasis of the early work of our group would be educating the major constituencies of the Court system about the progress of the task force and the nature of the recommendations as they were being developed. It was decided that the task of this group is technical in nature and that work group members, preferably, should have some experience in public outreach, media relations, public relations, or expertise in contact and persuasion of state leaders and opinion makers. As a result the staff was given the following tasks:

• Identify listservs, newsletters, and newsletter editors of the major constituents. The constituents are preliminarily identified as the: District and Municipal Court Judges Association, District and Municipal Court Management Association, Washington State Association of County Clerks, Superior Court Judges Association, Washington State Juvenile Court Administrators Association, Washington State Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Washington State Bar Association, Washington State Association of Counties, Association of Washington Cities, Association of Washington Superior Court Administrators, Court of Appeals (listserv), Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers.

• Follow up on the remaining appointments to the work group from the Clerks and Managers Associations. Request an appointment from the Superior Court Judges Association.

• Identify an early February date for the full work group meeting at Two Union Square in Seattle and reserve a conference room.

Based on a review of the work group charge the following were identified as the program of work of the group:

• Encourage all Task Force members, Work Group chairs, and other participants, to remember that all requests from the media for comment on the work of the Task Force shall be routed through Wendy Ferrell, the AOC public information officer, for referral to the appropriate person for response, statement or interview. We wish to speak, especially early on, with a united voice. This work group is here to help the other work groups and the Task Force, as well as disseminate and promote the recommendations of the Task Force.

• By the use of listserv’s, e-mail newsletters, and information reports we wish to keep all of our natural allies and court constituents fully informed of Task Force activity, hearings, meetings and the opportunity for input. To this extent a constituent outreach data base will be constructed. Hopefully information can be sent to these outreach entities at least monthly, if not more often.

• The public education effort of this work group will begin when significant events have occurred with the task force or work groups. We would then begin public media releases and contact with appropriate print or broadcast media contacts.

• Develop an implementation system for dissemination, approval and adoption of the Task Force final recommendations. This shall include a data sheet from all Task Force and work group members with their contacts and associations which they have influence with, and will be able to contact once the recommendations are made. We would be requesting each person provide three groups and/or associations with which they have influence.

These tasks are to be presented to the full work group at its first meeting for consideration and amplification.

Prepared by:

Judge Tom Warren, Co-Chair

1-22-2003