About

The Contra Costa Alliance to End Abuse is an initiative of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors which strives to affect systems change in an effort to reduce interpersonal violence in our communities by fostering the development and implementation of collaborative, coordinated and integrated services, supports, interventions and prevention activities.

Core Values

Responsibility

We commit to movement. We commit to moving into action, engagement and healthy struggle.

Community

We commit to honoring community voice.

Wholeness

We commit to support individuals as their whole selves. We commit to self care, humor and growth.

Transparency

We commit to respectful, authentic and vulnerable engagement.

Equity

We commit to breaking barriers to past, present and future access to resources and opportunities.

 

Policy Priorities

Prevention

We commit to putting prevention work front and center. We commit to leveraging resources, funding and building capacity to support prevention work. We know and acknowledge that to prevent interpersonal violence, one must also look at, and work to prevent, other forms of violence.

Risk Assessment

We commit to lifting up best practices around differentiating risk for both those who have survived interpersonal violence and those who have caused harm. We commit to support and build capacity Countywide in using risk assessment tools like the Lethality Assessment Protocol. We will work to highlight the importance of strangulation and stalking when assessing for risk.

Whole Person Care

We are committed to treating all people as whole and complex individuals. We support efforts that address and promote long-term healing on multiple levels.

Our History

In 1999, the multiple agencies (government, community service providers and twenty-one law enforcement jurisdictions) involved in the domestic violence system were not coordinated. Efforts were disjointed and the complex issues and diverse approaches, policies, and systems led to fragmented interventions with limited success.

Recognizing the need for a different strategy, in February 2000 the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors adopted a policy of “Zero Tolerance for Domestic Violence” and directed the County Administrator to convene a meeting of leaders (County and community) responsible for domestic and family violence and elder abuse prevention, intervention, prosecution and remediation.
In October 2000, over 50 local experts from across the County participated in a full-day “Zero Tolerance” workshop to identify and prioritize system improvements. The group identified broad strategic directions for the new system:

  • Coordinate domestic and family violence and elder abuse intervention

  • Establish multidisciplinary teams to monitor perpetrators and serve victims and their families

In 2001, Senator Torlakson authored SB 425, which declared Contra Costa County the first Zero Tolerance for Domestic Violence County in the State of California. It authorized a pilot program in the County to facilitate governmental oversight and coordination of domestic violence, family violence and elder abuse prevention, intervention, and prosecution. The funding provided was a modest increase in marriage license fees and certified copies of marriage and birth certificates and death and fetal death records. This bill has been replaced in 2006 with Senate Bill 968, which establishes indefinite funding for continued governmental oversight and coordination of violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution. Decades later, this work has evolved into the Contra Costa Alliance to End Abuse, continuing the work that began years ago, fostering systems change through a coordinated and collaborative approach.