Prevention and Intervention

District Attorney's Office Commitment to Ending Abuse

The District Attorney's Office is a founding member of the long-standing and highly successful Contra Costa County Alliance to End Abuse (formerly "The Zero Tolerance Initiative" and now generally referred to as "The Alliance.") For more information, visit the Alliance's website.

The DA's Office & ZTI/The Alliance

The primary objectives of the Zero Tolerance Initiative/Alliance are victim safety and offender accountability.

As a member of The Alliance, the District Attorney's Office coordinates the prosecution of misdemeanor DV cases, vertically prosecute felony DV cases, participates in the operation of the Family Justice Centers and co-locate Deputy District Attorneys there as feasible, participates in the development of countywide DV risk assessment protocols, and adopts protocols in department policies and practices as applicable, participates in the DV law enforcement training team, participates in the development of recommendations on countywide alignment of policies, practices and protocols for DV first responders, assists in strengthening structure and activities of the anti-human trafficking coalition and participates in other coordinated efforts as needed.

The Felony DV Unit Supervisor is a member of the County's ZTI/Alliance Core Advisory Team which administers all ZTI/Alliance programs and reports directly to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.

One of the most significant projects of ZTI/The Alliance is Domestic Violence Court. The most recent iteration of DV Court launched in July of 2017 and is supervised by the Hon. Judge Canepa in Dept. 35. ZTI/The Alliance also provides funding for two probation officers and a portion of a Public Defender (as well as a portion of a DDA) to staff and manage the program. FJC provides project coordination as an in-kind contribution.

DV Court is mandatory for all misdemeanor and felony offenders who are at moderate to high risk of DV re-offense as determined by a score of 6 or higher on the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment Tool (ODARA). The DA's Office completes the ODARA form at the time of filing so that the file and charging documents can be stamped by the Clerk to indicate that defendant is a mandatory participant in the program. Per Judge Canepa, all offenders whose crime occurred in the presence of a minor child/children are also required to participate in DV Court.

Collaboration with the Family Justice Centers

A cornerstone of collaboration among Alliance partners has been the co-location of services among public and private agencies through the County's Family Justice Centers. West County opened its FJC in Richmond in 2011. Central County FJC opened in Concord in 2015. Planning for a new East County FJC is well underway, with a location recently approved near the new BART station in Antioch.

FJC is managed by a self-sustaining 501(c)(3) non-profit entity called the Family Justice Alliance (FJA). The FJA Board reports to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and is responsible for coordinating fundraising/grant writing efforts to support and expand services for victims of interpersonal violence within our community. The Board of Directors is made up of institutional and private seats as approved by the Board of Supervisors. The District Attorney's Office occupies one of the institutional seats.

List of Services Available at FJC

Family Justice Centers are located in multiple areas in Contra Costa County, services include:

  • Aging & Adult Services
  • Antioch Unified School District
  • Bay Area Legal Aid
  • Children and Family Services
  • Community Health for Asian Americans
  • Community Violence Solutions
  • Contra Costa County Superior Court
  • District Attorney's Office, including Victim Witness Advocates
  • Employment and Human Services Department
  • Familias Unidas
  • Family Justice Alliance
  • First 5 Contra Costa
  • Health Services Department
  • Monument Crisis Center
  • Police Departments
  • Probation Department
  • Public Defender's Office
  • Rainbow Community Center
  • STAND!
  • We Care Services for Children
  • Youth Intervention Network