FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2003
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
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OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS
(202) 307-0703
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FACT SHEET
THE PRESIDENT’S FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER INITIATIVE
Understanding the Issue: In many communities, victims of domestic
violence seek help in a fragmented, disjointed system of separate agencies
offering related but uncoordinated services. Victims often must travel to
several different places to get help, telling their stories many times to
different people. In the end, victims get frustrated exacerbating the trauma
and may never actually receive the critical services they need.
The President’s Family Justice Center Initiative will address this problem by
providing comprehensive services for domestic violence victims at one
location, including medical care, counseling, law enforcement assistance,
social services, employment assistance, and housing assistance. Through an
interagency effort led by the Justice Department, the Administration will
partner with local communities to help them create the centers. Above all, the
backbone of the centers will be the local community through the dedicated
efforts of community leaders, nonprofit agencies, corporate partners,
government agencies, and caring individuals.
Issue: Domestic Violence services are often provided in a fragmented,
uncoordinated way.
Solution: The Justice Department, in coordination with other agencies, will
help communities create Family Justice Centers so that comprehensive services
can be provided to victims and their dependents.
- The Family Justice Centers will provide medical care, counseling, law
enforcement, social services, employment assistance, and housing assistance
together in one location.
- The premise is simple: If all services are located in one place, victims will
only have to come to one place to get the necessary help. Geographically
co-located services will create efficiencies for service providers, empower
victims, and help law enforcement professionals hold the abusers accountable
for their criminal conduct.
- The President’s Family Justice Initiative will provide the resources to help a
wide variety of communities create 12 Family Justice Centers nationwide.
- The Justice Department, in close cooperation with the Departments of
Agriculture, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban
Development, and Labor will coordinate services and provide training to help
communities create the Centers.
- Coordinate the participation of local non-profits, faith-based programs, and
volunteers.
- The Justice Department will award $20 million in grants in Fiscal Year 2004 to
help 12 communities plan and develop the Centers.
Services that the Centers may provide include:
- medical care, including on-site or off-site primary physical care, mental
health counseling for victims and dependents, and sexual assault forensic
evidence collection;
- law enforcement and legal assistance services, including on-site help to get
protective orders signed and enforced, to investigate and prosecute offenders,
and provide witness assistance and court-based victim advocates;
- state-of-the-art information sharing and case management systems;
- social services, including federal and state welfare assistance for parents
and children;
- employment assistance, including employment and career counseling and training
through local One Stop Employment Centers or other local services;
- substance abuse treatment;
- child-related needs such as parenting classes, teen pregnancy services,
supervised visitation and safe exchange programs, services for child witnesses
of domestic violence, assistance for relocating children into new schools,
truancy programs, and youth mentoring programs;
- housing and transportation assistance to cover immediate needs and help with
long-term housing solutions; and
- chaplaincy or faith-based counseling programs providing victims and their
families with non-sectarian spiritual guidance.
The President’s Family Justice Center Initiative will be available on October
15, 2003 on the Office of Justice Programs Website,
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm.
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm.>
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