City Expanding Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention Services
Published on September 21, 2023
City of San Antonio Expanding Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention Services through Nearly $34 Million Funding Allocation
SAN ANTONIO (September 21, 2023) – As part of the Fiscal Year 2024 Adopted Budget, the City of San Antonio is investing nearly $34 million to prevent and intervene in domestic violence situations. The funding is part of the City’s multi-agency commitment to improve the way local agencies prevent and respond to domestic violence through the Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence (CCDV).
“The City of San Antonio is directly funding the strategies the Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence has laid out to enhance the way our community serves victims and survivors of domestic violence,” said María Villagómez, Deputy City Manager and Co-Chair of the CCDV. “These resources will help us connect more people to services, educate the community about what they can do to prevent and stop domestic violence and build a person-centered approach to treatment and support.”
On September 14, 2023, the San Antonio City Council approved the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which includes $31.9 million in City funds with a combination of $1.9 million in federal and state funds and grants to: implement a communication strategy to increase awareness of domestic violence and available resources, provide treatment, support, and services that are focused on the person’s needs, expand capacity to provide legal services to those impacted by domestic violence and implement the Danger Assessment for Law Enforcement across the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), which is an assessment tool that creates a score to quickly and accurately identify people at risk for severe harm related to domestic violence.
Many City departments engage in domestic violence interventions, services and support with the following funds:
- SAPD ($23.7 million) – support personnel costs for Special Victims Unit and Crisis Response Team, as well as other law enforcement personnel and victim services.
- Metropolitan Health District ($7.9 million) - support domestic violence crisis advocacy and case management services, CCDV efforts, and needs from domestic violence victims.
- Department of Human Services ($1.3 million) - provide childcare services along with external funding to community partners to provide more support services to victims.
- City Attorney’s Office ($516,258) - provide legal and support services for domestic violence victims.
- Municipal Court ($306,185) - provide judicial and court services for domestic violence victims.
Many other City departments, such as San Antonio Fire (SAFD), Neighborhood and Housing Services (NHSD), and Animal Care Services (ACS), provide support services through their existing programs. For example, SAFD’s Arson Investigators collaborate with Metro Health and SAPD when fires may be associated with domestic violence. Additionally, ACS partners with Metro Health to support pet care needs for people fleeing domestic violence.
For anyone experiencing domestic violence, please call 2-1-1 or 210-227-4357 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).