The grants to support families in the justice system program (referred to as the justice for families program) was authorized in the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013 to improve the…

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded $700,000 to the Saint Francis Foundation on October 1, 2025, under the Justice Systems Response to Families Program (CFDA 16.021) to provide supervised visitation and safe exchange services, co-located legal advocacy, and legal information and referral services to families affected by domestic violence in San Mateo County, California.

The Foundation will deliver supervised visitation and safe exchange for approximately 90 families; co-locate legal advocacy staff at the San Mateo Courthouse to provide legal assistance and advocacy to approximately 600 self-represented litigants at Domestic Violence Prevention Act calendar hearings; and operate a legal information and referral hotline responding to approximately 600 calls from families with a history of domestic violence in San Mateo County. The program also serves to improve the civil and criminal justice system's response to families affected by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and child sexual abuse allegations through court-based programs, training for court system personnel, civil legal services, and juvenile court resources.

Rally Family Visitation Services of UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital, Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA), and the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo partner in service delivery. The performance period runs through September 30, 2028, with place of performance in San Francisco, California.

The grants to support families in the justice system program (referred to as the justice for families program) was authorized in the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013 to improve the response of the civil and criminal justice system to families with a history of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, or in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse. The program supports the following activities for improving the capacity of courts and communities to respond to families affected by the targeted crimes: court-based and court-related programs; supervised visitation and safe exchange by and between parents; training for people who work with families in the court system; civil legal services; and the provision of resources in juvenile court matters. Projects supported by the justice for families program are those that focus on keeping victims and their children safe from further abuse and holding offenders accountable. Through this new justice for families project, the saint francis foundation (foundation) and rally family visitation services of ucsf health saint francis hospital (rally), in partnership with community overcoming violence (cora) and the superior court of california, county of SAN mateo (court), willprovidesupervised visitation and safe exchange for approximately 90 families; CO-locate the legal advocacy staff to provide legal assistance and advocacy to approximately 600 self-represent litigants at the domestic violence prevention act (dvpa) calendars in SAN mateo courthouse; and respond to approximately 600 calls to the legal line to provide legal information and referrals on criminal and family law matters for families with a history of domestic violence in SAN mateo county, california.