FAIRFIELD — Solano County is assessing the operations and services provided by the Family Justice Center.
That is the essence of a
letter to be sent to Solano County Superior Court Judge Donna Stashyn in
response to a grand jury report that was critical of the center and recommended
the operation by moved under the authority of the Department of Health and Social
Services.
The Board of Supervisors
on Tuesday, as part of its consent agenda, will consider approving the letter
and its required response to the grand jury report, as well as responses from
the District Attorney’s Office and Health and Social Services.
The District Attorney’s
Office had already filed its response, and as adamant as the grand jury had
been in its findings, equally adamant was District Attorney Krishna Abrams and
center Director Angel Aguilar in their disagreements with the findings in the
report.
The 2020-21 Solano County
civil grand jury concluded that the Solano Family Justice Center “is not
meeting” its mission, and stated the center “is not performing as a (one-stop shop)
for victims, adding stress to an already stressful situation.”
The supervisors, during
the budget hearing June 24, moved the center’s budget under the purview of the
County Administrator’s Office while an assessment of “the center and the
services it provides” is completed.
“A consultant with
appropriate expertise will perform this comprehensive assessment to measure
overall organizational effectiveness, service delivery efficiency, day-to-day
operations success, and operational sustainability,” the proposed letter to the
grand jury states.
“It is expected the
consultants’ findings and recommendations would be presented to the Board of
Supervisors by the end of . . . 2021,” the letter states.
The letter also addresses
each of the specific findings in the grand jury report and mostly mirrors those
filed by the District Attorney’s Office.
The Family Justice Center
“has always worked to ensure the essential services are rendered, such as
domestic violence advocacy, court accompaniment, restraining orders, crisis
intervention, safety planning and basic needs assistance,” the response from
Abrams and Aguilar states.
The Department of Health
and Social Services is on record opposing the shift of the center under its
authority.
Gerald Huber, director of
Health and Social Services, indicated in his letter to the grand jury that the
department is in a position to help the center with “areas of respective staff
on such areas as trauma-informed care and related training which would benefit
families seeking various aspects of assistance.”
The grand jury report
stated the current environment “is not consistent with trauma-informed care,
affecting the quality of services provided to victims.”
Solano County Daily
Republic
By Todd R. Hansen
August 22, 2021
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