Articles of Governance for the Detention Watch Network
by Detention Watch Network
June 23, 2008
Articles of Governance for the Detention Watch Network
Introduction
DWN is a network of individuals and organizations working in support of immigrants in detention who believe that by working together, we can change the US immigration detention system so that all who come to our shores receive fair and humane treatment. Our members and supporters include organizations providing legal, health, spiritual care, peer support and other social services to those in immigration detention and their families, and organizations and individuals advocating on behalf of those in immigration detention.
DWN accomplishes its mission through committees of members with the support of one permanent assigned staff coordinator and interns as available.
For the next 3 years, DWN will not seek to become a separate 501c3, although this should be revisited in the second year of this strategic plan.
I. Membership
DWN will broaden and diversify its membership by intentionally reaching out to a diverse pool of organizations and individuals interested in changing the immigration detention system. In its outreach efforts, DWN will communicate its mission, principles, values, activities and structure to diverse organizations and individuals that service (understood broadly), represent and advocate for immigrants in detention and their families, organizations advocating on behalf of people in immigration detention.
A. Defining Membership
Membership will be open to organizations and individuals who meet the following criteria:
1. Agree with mission principles, and values of the network (see business plan for specifics);
2. Agree to publicly identify your membership in DWN, when appropriate;
3. Agree to respect the diverse views and opinions within the membership and to seek respectful means for communicating concerns and resolving conflict;
4. Pay dues as established by the Steering Committee;
5. Are willing to be active on at least one committee of the network or otherwise actively support the work of the network; and
6. Organizations or individuals who are involved in the following:
a. providing services (defined broadly) to immigrants in detention, their families or former detainees;
b. advocating, providing public education or providing other information on immigration detention issues; or
c. concerned with immigration detention issues and supportive of systemic change.
7. Membership is not open to government employees or media representatives.
B. Membership Procedures
1. Anyone wishing to join DWN will complete a membership application which certifies that they meet the criteria above, provides general information about the member, their immigration related activities, and in what ways they hope to contribute to DWN.
2. Potential members who complete the application that articulates how they meet the DWN membership criteria will be approved as provisional members. There will be a review period of 30 days during which the staff coordinator, the Nominating and Membership subcommittee or a member of the Steering Committee may raise questions about the application.
3. If no questions are raised during this review period, the provisional member is accepted as a full member of DWN.
4. When a question has been raised about a provisional member, the provisional member will be invited to discuss the questions with Steering Committee members. At the end of this conversation, if the Steering Committee does not believe that the provisional member meets the membership criteria, then they will vote to rescind membership. This requires a simple majority vote of the Steering Committee.
5. The Nominating and Membership Subcommittee may also recommend that a member be revoked from the network based on not meeting one of the membership criteria (i.e. not paying dues or being active on a committee). Revoking membership requires a 2/3rd vote by the Steering Committee.
C. Member Benefits
DWN membership is a unique opportunity to meet, learn from and collaborate with others who also care about the plight of immigrants in the U.S. detention and deportation system.
Networking: Through our annual conference, regional gatherings, network strategy calls, and network committees, members are able to connect with other organizations and individuals working on detention and deportation issues around the country. Members share best practices, brainstorm strategies, develop long-term projects, and coordinate collective action.
Information-Sharing: On the DWN list serve, website, and events calendar, members share information and resources and promote activities. DWN also sends a monthly member bulletin as well as regular email updates and alerts to members, regarding network and member advocacy, public education, and coalition building activities.
Coordination: DWN offers support and coordination for members’ public awareness and advocacy campaigns, connecting members doing similar work in various regions, sharing media opportunities, and managing logistics. DWN works in coalition with other groups to develop messaging, share legislative updates, and coordinate legislative analysis and Congressional visits. DWN facilitates network-wide strategy sessions to develop long-term plan for coordinated action. DWN facilitates action teams on member-identified goals including alternatives to detention, detention conditions and raids response.
Platforms and Exposure: Network staff regularly provides background information and member referrals to the media. In addition, members have the opportunity to submit a detention and enforcement-related article for DWN’s monthly contribution to New America Media’s “Immigration Matters” Column, a syndicated column that is picked up by hundreds of ethnic press around the country. Network members and staff participate in panels, workshops and community presentations around the country.
Support for a National (and International) Voice on Detention: DWN works intentionally to build relationships with new allies, strengthen current relationships, and work in coalition with other groups focused on detention and deportation issues. It works to inject detention and deportation perspectives into the larger immigration debate and educate the media, public and policy makers about this hidden system. DWN conducts extensive outreach with local, regional and national groups. DWN supports organizing by directly affected community members. DWN is the regional co-coordinator of the International Detention Network, sharing US detention issues with this international coalition dedicated to reform the system worldwide
D. Member Rights
Members through their participation in member committees perform much of the work of the organization. They are responsible for drafting budgets and work plans within the broad objectives laid out by the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee has fiscal responsibility and so must approve budgets. Member organizations can not change DWN’s mission and values.
E. Member Dues
Members will be required to pay dues to be an active part of DWN. The Steering Committee of DWN, in consultation with the members of DWN, shall establish a dues structure.
II. DWN Supporters
DWN seeks a broad and inclusive membership in order to encourage a diversity of members. The Network will also solicit financial support from interested organizations and individuals outside the membership. DWN will seek to gather basic contact information about these supporters and engage them in the network’s activities when appropriate.
III. Governance: The Steering Committee
A. Defining the Steering Committee
DWN will be governed by a Steering Committee of between 9-15 organizational members of DWN. In order to ensure that the Steering Committee contains the perspective of key stakeholders, the Nominating and Membership Subcommittee shall seek representatives from the following types of organizations to serve on the Steering Committee:
o Legal service providers active in detention centers
o Social, health and spiritual care service providers active in detention centers
o Support and organizing groups for families of detainees
o Immigration advocacy organizations
o National organizations with stated interest in immigration detention issues
Please note that Steering Committee members are not expected to speak for or on-behalf of these groups of organizations; instead they are expected to bring this perspective to the Steering Committee.
Other considerations for Steering Committee members include ethnic and geographic diversity, a deep understanding of immigration detention issues, and skills or experience including but not limited to immigration law, awareness campaigns, media work, administrative advocacy, legislative advocacy, communications, and fundraising.
In order to be considered as a Steering Committee representative, the member must be an organizational member (not an individual member) in good standing (i.e. paid dues and be active on at least one committee).
B. Nominating the Steering Committee
A Nominating and Membership Subcommittee (a subcommittee made up of steering committee members) is responsible for identifying and recruiting members for the steering committee as well as for reviewing members’ applications. Steering Committee nominations must be approved by a ¾ majority of the existing Steering Committee.
C. Responsibilities and Authority of the Steering Committee
o The Steering Committee will set the agenda for the network, including developing and adopting strategic plans, fundraising, and providing leadership to committees (i.e. chair or co-chair committees).
o The staff coordinator will report to the Steering Committee. Any other staffing resources report to the staff coordinator.
o Steering Committee members will seek a MOU from their organization that outlines their responsibilities, their organizational commitment to DWN and DWN’s commitments to them.
o All funds collected in the name of DWN will be available to the Steering Committee for distribution. The organization fiscally hosting DWN may require a fee for administrative management.
o The organization hosting DWN will have a separate MOU that details its responsibilities, financial and in-kind contributions to DWN, administrative charges to DWN, accounting procedures for DWN funds and financial controls.
o The Steering Committee will approve member committee budgets and assist in raising funds for the network.
o Minutes from Steering Committee meetings will be available to DWN members.
o The Steering Committee will also have a small budget to help support member participation in Steering Committee activities. The intention is to enable the Steering Committee to assist smaller organizations that want to participate on the Steering Committee but which can not support member travel to meetings or other expenses.
D. Steering Committee Terms
Steering Committee members’ terms will be 3 years and will be staggered so that 1/3 of the Steering Committee turns over every year. Steering Committee members may serve two consecutive terms before they must step down for one year. Members may be nominated again after one year off of the Steering Committee.
E. Quorum and votes
A quorum of steering committee members must be present to take binding votes. A quorum represents fifty percent of the Steering Committee.
Unless otherwise defined in the articles of governance, a simple majority vote is required to show board support or approval.
In order for the Steering Committee to act, a quorum must be established unless someone makes a motion either in person or electronically that a particular action may be voted on electronically and a majority of the full Steering Committee responds favorably within 3 business days. The motion will carry at the point where the majority of the full Steering Committee has voted favorably. Dual voting is allowed (ie. A member may simultaneously vote on the motion to vote electronically and the underlying motion).
F. Steering Committee Positions
The Steering Committee may establish any officer positions it believes are necessary to carry out its work. These positions will include at least the following positions: Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, representative of the fiscal sponsor, and chair of the nominating and membership subcommittee. In some cases, it may be appropriate for the fiscal sponsor’s representative to be recused from decision-making with regard to issues related to negotiations between DWN and the fiscal sponsor.
The agenda will be set by the Chair and staff coordinator. The Chair will also call Steering Committee meetings (not to be less than 3 times a year). The Secretary will record minutes of the meetings and the Treasurer will be responsible for reporting on the financial position of the network.
G. Steering Committee Subcommittees
The Steering Committee may establish any subcommittees that it deems necessary in order to fulfill its functions. It will include at least the Nominating and Membership Subcommittee and the Finance committee.
IV. Member Committees/Working Groups
The heart of DWN is its members and the work of the network is carried out by its members with the support and coordination of staff.
A. Forming Committees
Any member of the DWN can suggest the formation of a member committee or working group. The Steering Committee must approve the formation of member committees/working groups and will provide broad objectives/charges for the committees/working groups based on the DWN’s current strategic direction.
B. Who Can Serve on Committees/Working Groups
Members of the DWN can serve on committees.
C. Committee Chairs and Staff Support
Member Committees must be chaired or co-chaired by a Steering Committee member and supported by the staff. Working Groups must be led by an active DWN member and have regular communication with the staff.
D. Rights and Responsibilities of Member Committees/Working Groups
o Member committees determine the activities that they will undertake within the broad objectives laid out by the Steering Committee when they are formed.
o Member committees develop general budgets for their work which will be submitted to the Steering Committee for approval. These budgets might include items such as covering the costs for committee members to attend conferences and make presentations to other organizations, publish documents or distribute information. These budgets can be used to help defray the costs of committee members doing DWN focused work.
o Member committees will also identify potential resources for their work and will assist the Steering Committee and staff coordinator in raising funds.
E. Member Committees
The Network will carry out its strategic priorities of advocacy, public awareness and network building through a combination of committees and task-oriented working groups. A Mission/Vision Advisory Committee, composed of steering committee members and active DWN members, will assist the membership, steering committee and staff to implement the Network’s ongoing objectives, strategies and activities. It will regularly assess the current landscape, highlight new opportunities/threats and identify the committees/working groups needed to respond.
DWN members will actively participate in planning the national Network conference through the designation of a conference committee as well as consultation from other active committees/working groups.
