Story By: Wendy Parker

Cobb District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. announces the Family Justice Center “Listening Tour” kickoff, hosted by Cobb’s FJC Site Coordinator TaNesha McAuley, and Jenny Aszman of Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

The Listening Tour will begin March 1 with the FJC’s Core Partners and service providers.

“The listening sessions will give us the opportunity to meet each of our Core Partners in small-group sessions to hear why they believe a Family Justice Center in Cobb County would be ideal and to gain perspective into how we can ensure that all of our ideas come together to best serve the needs of individuals who have been harmed by domestic or family violence or other types of interpersonal violence,” McAuley said.

Cobb was one of three counties in Georgia awarded a grant last fall through the Victims of Crime Act to implement this model, which has proven to reduce domestic violence, sexual assaults, child and elder abuse, and human trafficking. The four-year grant, worth up to $400,000, is administered through Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

The Family Justice Center initiative is one of the most inclusive and evidence-based models that brings all our partners together in one location to best meet the needs of victims and survivors of abuse.

The listening sessions will be held with Core Community Partners of the FJC, including Cobb’s Public Safety Department; the Cobb Solicitor General’s Office; liveSAFE Resources; SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center, Inc.; Kennesaw State University’s WellStar College of Health and Human Services, and others.

The Listening Tour will expand into our Cobb communities as we invite residents to be part of the planning, development, and implementation of Cobb’s FJC. Earlier this year, dozens of community members responded to the readiness assessment, providing input to tailor the FJC to meet Cobb’s specific needs. Also, a recording of the December 2020 kick-off meeting is available online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koyu5s3P090.

For more FJC updates, visit www.cobbda.com or email fjccobb@cobbcounty.org.

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