Pilot program for domestic violence gets county’s approval

The Sheriff’s Office opted to partner with CORA, a local nonprofit providing support services for domestic abuse survivors, which will provide full-time bilingual counselors to work with select law enforcement agencies. Once officers respond to a domestic violence call, they will assess the premise for safety and immediately reach out to one of the designated CORA employees. The counselor would then be the main point of contact and help connect affected individuals with key support services.

“A lot of times when we encounter victims, what they tell us is it’s a traumatic incident. They fear lots of different things but really the safety for themselves and their children. Some of the barriers could be language barriers, it could be immigration status, it could be housing, it could be financial,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said. “And for someone who may not speak English as a first language, the challenges of the court system are intimidating and challenging.”

Corpus discussed the difficulty in devising a replicable model, stating the only comparable programs to build off of were in Santa Barbara, Canada and Australia, further highlighting the need for such services.

The program would also implement more immediacy during these crises, which CORA CEO Dr. Karen Ferguson said is critical for success.

“Our ability to get in with the family and provide that victim service is so much more improved when we have that phone referral where the law officer is standing there and actually says, ‘Would you be willing to talk with CORA?’ and we immediately engage,” Ferguson said. “We believe that taking this one step further and bringing that in-person connection will improve even more the ability to really provide and connect families.”

The pilot will be implemented in three jurisdictions, likely North Fair Oaks, San Mateo and Daly City, the latter of which has one of the highest rates of domestic violence rates in the county, with an average of 1.7 related incidents per day. San Mateo also has a high rate at 1.4 daily incidents, and the county received over 1,700 domestic violence-related calls for service in 2022.

Ferguson also noted the pilot will boost the efficacy of a similar CORA program that helps provide mental health services when children reside in a home where domestic violence has occurred.

County Supervisor Noelia Corzo, who largely spearheaded initial efforts, gave her stamp of approval during the meeting.

“I also want to note that this resolution includes developing the pilot based on survivor input, and I think survivor-centered implementation is really crucial,” she said. “I’m grateful that many of our police departments, because of the existing co-responder model, know how this will work and function and so it will be a much-welcomed new pilot.”

The adopted resolution authorizes a two-year pilot that will not exceed $1 million in funding.