San Diego Family Justice Center (FJC)

Scientific Rating:
NR
Not able to be Rated
See scale of 1-5
Child Welfare Relevance Level:
Medium

See descriptions of 3 levels

Brief Description

The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The San Diego Family Justice Center (FJC) program has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of: Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence: Services for Women and their Children, but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given a Scientific Rating.

In October 2002, the FJC was launched as a public safety initiative by the City of San Diego under the leadership of the City Attorney's Office and the San Diego Police Department. The FJC is a "one-stop" help center that provides the majority of services needed by victims of family violence. Under one roof, 25 agencies have come together to provide medical, legal, and social services to victims of domestic violence, elder abuse, and child abuse. Since opening, the FJC has effectively engaged law enforcement, prosecutors, medical professionals, clergy, social service workers, volunteers, hospitals, and shelters to provide comprehensive services to approximately 23,000 victims of family violence and their children.

Essential Components

  • Advocacy
  • Childcare
  • Clothing
  • Counseling
  • Court support
  • Deaf/hard-of-hearing assistance
  • Emergency housing*
  • Food
  • Forensic documentation of injuries
  • Housing for pets*
  • Internet access
  • Law enforcement
  • Legal assistance
  • Locksmith services
  • Medical services
  • Military assistance
  • Phones (cell phones, phones on site, and phone cards)
  • Restraining orders
  • Support groups
  • Safety planning
  • Spiritual support
  • Transportation
  • Victim compensation

*Provided offsite by referral

Child Component

San Diego Family Justice Center (FJC) was designed with a child component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

  • Exposure to domestic violence, physical and/or sexual abuse.

Age range: 0 – 17

Developmental Delays:

This program was not developed for children with developmental delays, and has not been tested for children with developmental delays.

Parent / Caregiver Component

San Diego Family Justice Center (FJC) was designed with a parent/caregiver component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

  • Experienced domestic violence.

Group Format

San Diego Family Justice Center (FJC) was not designed to be conducted in a group setting, and has not been tested for use in a group setting.

Delivery Setting

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

  • Community Agency

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

San Diego Family Justice Center (FJC) does not have materials available in a language other than English.

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

This list of four items:

  1. Community support from local government, nonprofits, and domestic violence community.
  2. Space for co-location for on-site partners.
  3. Dedicated staff to oversee project.
  4. Dedicated staff from following list of potential on-site partners, for example these are the San Diego partners:
    • Adult Protective Services
    • California Western School of Law
    • Camp HOPE
    • Center for Community Solutions, Legal Clinic
    • Crime Victims Fund
    • Kaiser Permanente
    • Military Liaison
    • Office of the City Attorney: Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Elder Abuse Units
    • Office of the San Diego Family Justice Center
    • President's Family Justice Center Initiative, CTAP
    • Rady Children's Hospital, Chadwick Center for Children and Families
    • San Diego County District Attorney's Office, Family Protection Deputy
    • San Diego Deaf Mental Health Services
    • San Diego Domestic Violence Council
    • San Diego Family Justice Center Foundation
    • San Diego Fire Department, Chaplain's Program
    • San Diego Police Department, Domestic Violence Unit
    • San Diego Police Department, Elder Abuse Investigations Unit
    • San Diego Probation Department
    • San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, Legal & Immigrations Services
    • San Diego Youth and Community Services (Action Network on Human Trafficking)
    • Sharp Healthcare, Forensic Medical Unit
    • Teen Court
    • Traveler's Aid
    • UCSD School of Medicine
    • Victim/Witness Program

Minimum Provider Qualifications

Expertise and experience in the field of family violence. A team of professionals such as law enforcement, attorneys, social workers, advocates, medical, counselors, chaplains, etc. who are willing to co-locate, collaborate, and provide coordinated services.

Education and Training Resources

There is a manual that describes how to implement this program, and there is training available for this program.

Training Contact:
Training is obtained:
  • On-site
  • Regional
  • National
  • International
Number of days/hours:

A two-hour Monthly Orientation is offered at the FJC. The Annual International Family Justice Center Conference is held for 3 days every April. Additional training is available on request.

Additional Resources:

There currently are additional qualified resources for training:

  • Casey Gwinn, JD, Volunteer CEO
    San Diego Family Justice Center Foundation
    casey@sdfjc.org

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

This program has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for a scientific rating of 1 – 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.

Child Welfare Outcomes: Not Specified

Currently, there are no published, peer-reviewed research studies for San Diego Family Justice Center (FJC).

References

Show references...

Carney, A. (2004). The San Diego Family Justice Center: A year of experience and intervention, Forensic Nurse, May/June.

Gwinn, C. (2002). The business case for a family justice center (Opinion), San Diego Business Journal, September.

Gwinn, C., & Strack, G. (2006). Hope for hurting families: Creating Family Justice Centers across America, Volcano, CA: Volcano Press.

Zimmerman, E. (2006). Where broken families find hope & justice, San Diego Magazine, September.

Contact Information

Agency/Affiliation: San Diego Family Justice Cent
Website: www.sandiegofamilyjusticecenter.org
Phone: (619) 533-6010
Fax: (619) 533-6049

Date Reviewed: July 2010 (originally reviewed in March 2007)