ATCFV Task Force

The Austin/Travis County Family Violence Task Force (FVTF) was created in 1989 by the concerned members of the community in an effort to improve the criminal justice system’s response to family violence by increasing communication among advocates, law enforcement and prosecution. At that time, an in-house study was done by the Austin Police Department, which confirmed that many families in our community rely on the criminal justice system for help. Over the past 26 years, we have found that increased communication among partner agencies is imperative to the families we serve. This coordinated community response has resulted in numerous initiatives, most notably a specialized family violence court established in 1999, and has expanded to include many other community partners. The FVTF is a voluntary community endeavor, which meets monthly, and is open to anyone interested in the prevention of family violence. Today the Task Force helps identify and implement improvements in system response to domestic violence and sexual assault through education and policy development.