What's happening
City Council members passed a resolution June 5 expressing their "strong support" for the establishment of an Austin-Travis County Family Justice Center, or FJC. The centers operate under a national model designed to offer a range of wraparound services to victims of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault, child and elder abuse, and trafficking.
"Our goals are to expand access to resources and justice, continue to foster and strengthen community partnerships, reduce the burden on survivors, and overall, make our communities safer," Travis County Attorney Delia Garza's office said of the local FJC plan.
Garza has been working to bring the concept to Central Texas for years, and council member José Velásquez—the city resolution's author—said he wanted to see Austin commit to the effort.
“[Garza] knows how important fighting against domestic violence is for me, and ensuring that survivors have less hurdles to be able to report, to be able to feel comfortable while reporting. And so she brought this idea and brought us into the conversation," he said in an interview. “It amazes me sometimes that the level of collaboration between the county and the city is definitely not where it should be. So when we were mapping this out a little bit, I [said] ‘Let’s see where the city can come in and collaborate with the county on this, and we can make the county a safer space for everybody.'”
With the resolution's passage, the city and county will enter into a formal agreement to establish the local FJC, which will be housed downtown in the county's Ned Granger Administrative Building at 314 W. 11th St., Austin.
A new government and community working group will also be helping to manage the project's development, funding and oversight. City Manager T.C. Broadnax was directed to report on funding four FJC staff positions and other support through Austin's annual budgeting process starting in July.
The approach
The Family Justice Center concept is more than two decades old and started with the launch of a facility in San Diego in the early 2000s. A 90% drop in domestic violence homicides has been reported across San Diego city and county since its FJC opened. Today, dozens of centers are operating nationally including several in Texas.
In May, Travis County commissioners approved a $60,000 contract with Alliance for HOPE International to provide Garza's office with "training, technical support, and ongoing technical assistance" for the new justice center. The survivor-focused nonprofit has previously reported on the impact of justice centers across the country.
The Austin-Travis County FJC is meant to bring several relevant agencies together under one roof, minimize burdens on survivors, improve partnerships between relevant local organizations, and raise awareness and "provide a more comprehensive and effective response" to domestic and sexual violence overall, according to Garza's office.
So far, county officials have toured San Diego's FJC as well as centers in New Orleans, and Bexar and Tarrant counties in Texas. Formal strategic planning work began in April and regular working group meetings kicked off last month, according to Garza's office. Velásquez said dozens of stakeholders participated in local FJC planning so far.
"This national organization ... they came in, and they set up this framework in Fort Worth which is one of their most successful models ... and this is what they do. They go around the country and help stand these places up, essentially posit the idea and see who’s willing to pick up the ball and run with it," he said. "[Garza] has been leading on this, it’s been an idea of hers for a while and she wanted to partner with us. And we’re ready to rock and roll."
Some context
Thousands of domestic violence cases are moving through county courts today. The county attorney's office screened more than 2,700 applicants for protective orders last year alone and identified hundreds of people at high risk of serious injury. In 2023, the county saw six partner homicides, according to Velásquez's measure.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously reported one in four women and one in 26 men nationally experience sexual violence in their lifetimes, and one in three women and one in six men experience stalking.
Once it's open, Velásquez said he hopes the Austin-Travis County FJC can serve as a "one-stop-shop" for violence victims that can improve on current law enforcement and justice processes.
"One of the biggest hurdles to reporting is when folks have to tell their story 15 times. It can get taxing; I’m speaking from conversations that we’ve had with people and with our advocates," he said. "Just finding a safe space for folks to be able to tell their story one time, in an environment that is conducive to the safety and comfort of survivors is really our main focus."
