DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Sandra Guerra, MD, MPH
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
A briefing on the Violence Prevention Section
SUMMARY:
A briefing on the Violence Prevention Section at Metro Health expanding the role of public health approach to violence prevention
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Public health approaches to public safety and violence prevention are complementary, not duplicative, or intended to replace criminal justice approaches to respond to violence. Population-based approaches identify the shared factors that increase the risk or decrease the risk of violence for an entire neighborhood and develop policies and programs to create real safety by shifting the underlying factors that result in concentrated violence including poverty, generational violence, and disparities in educational access and attainment.
In the approved FY 21 budget, City Council approved creating a Violence Prevention section at Metro Health. The Violence Prevention section unifies existing programs and new initiatives in three areas: Domestic Violence Prevention, Child and Youth Violence Prevention, and Gun Violence Prevention and Intervention. The new section includes 16 new positions, 20 positions transferred from SAPD to Metro Health, two positions moved from within Metro Health, and four positions temporarily created through CARES Act funding for a total of fifty-nine FTE and $1.3 Million in additional funding.
The key initiatives of each area include:
Gun Violence Prevention
The new section includes expanding the existing Stand Up SA program into the Westside, securing training and technical assistance from Cure Violence International, and developing a Hospital-Based Violence Interrupter program in collaboration with BAMC and UHS Level 1 Trauma Centers.
Domestic Violence Prevention
The new section unifies the civilian staff of the SAPD Crisis Response Team (CRT) and the domestic violence prevention efforts of Metro Health by moving 20 CRT civilian staff to Metro Health. The section also includes staff to support the Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence (CCDV) efforts, including the implementation of high-risk victims, case management services for high-risk individuals identified by the CRTs, and expansion of the Love Is…media campaign.
Child and Youth Violence Prevention
The Violence Prevention section combines an upstream focus on Adverse Childhood Events, including the work of the South Texas Trauma-Informed Care Consortium, with direct service through a partnership with Communities in Schools to provide counseling to children experiencing violence in the home. The Child and Youth section also partners with SAISD to implement the Too Good for Violence program. The new budget includes expanded support for the Triple P parenting program, which is implemented through a partnership with community agencies participating in the Triple P Providers Consortium.
By combining early intervention efforts with services and programs for individuals at high risk, the new Violence Prevention Section builds on existing community programs and relationships to expand the approaches used to stop violence before it starts.
ISSUE:
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District would like the opportunity to brief the full City Council on the development of the new Violence Prevention Section, which falls within the newly expanded Community Health and Safety Division.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.