Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady, Jr. announced that the Family Justice Center initiative will be named the Cobb Family Advocacy Center (FAC). 

The DA’s office distributed the following press release with more information:

January 14, 2022 – Cobb District Attorney Flynn D. Broady, Jr is excited to announce the official naming of the Family Justice Center initiative as The Cobb Family Advocacy Center (FAC).  Cobb County was one of three Georgia counties to be awarded a 4-year Victims of Crimes Act (VOCA) grant through the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) to implement a Family Justice Center in 2020.  As a public safety model, this multi-disciplinary and multi-agency initiative responds to the critical needs of victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, child, and elder abuse.  As such, part of the process for identifying a name for the Family Justice Center involved getting input from survivors of domestic and family violence and from Cobb community partners.  The question asked, “What should a Family Justice Center embody?” This process by far wasn’t an easy feat.  Collectively, it was agreed that this public safety model would be a resource that advocates for victims and survivors of domestic and family violence. 

Naming of The Cobb Family Advocacy Center is one of many achievements that the project has accomplished.  In 2021, our partners successfully completed the Study Tour with the Family Justice Center Alliance Technical Assistance Team (FJCA) which involved a group of FJC experts conducting community forums and in-depth stakeholder meetings to hear from our Cobb community on their readiness for a Family Justice Center.  In addition to achieving this vital goal, the project called for onboarding business partnerships to support the sustainability efforts of the FJC.  The District Attorney’s Office was successful in establishing a relationship with the Georgia Power Foundation and was awarded $135,000 to assist with strategic planning and project implementation for the Cobb Family Advocacy Center in December 2022.

The  FAC’s Executive Council will focus on implementing  key recommendations outlined in the 2021 Study Tour Report which can be found on our website at www.cobbda.com.  With participation from core partners and community stakeholders, the Executive Council will host a formal strategic planning session in April 2022.

Background

In 2018, the office of  then-District Attorney Joyette Holmes announced “her office and its partners have been awarded a four-year grant worth up to $400,000 to create a Family Justice Center, where victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse can receive services in a single location.”

The partners listed in the public information release include LiveSAFE Resources, SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center, Inc., the Cobb  County Government, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office and Police Department, the Solicitor General’s Office, and Legal Aid of Cobb County.

The partners have representatives in the new center to provide services to serve victims under one roof.

After defeating Holmes in the 2020 election, DA Broady Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady announced that TaNesha McAuley was selected to lead the Family Justice Center.