When a domestic violence case is on the edge of turning lethal, minutes and coordination matter. Local advocates say that is exactly where a new Domestic Violence High-Risk Team is supposed to step in for San Antonio and New Braunfels.
Backed by fresh funding, the initiative will create review teams in both cities and link public-health agencies, hospitals, child-protection workers and prosecutors to coordinate safety plans for survivors identified as being in the most immediate danger. Organizers say the goal is to close the gaps where people "fall through the cracks" and to move fast on cases flagged as having the highest lethality risk.
According to KSAT, Family Violence Prevention Services secured a $50,000 grant to launch the San Antonio team, while the Crisis Center of Comal County will oversee a companion effort based in New Braunfels. KSAT reports that Texas already has several domestic-violence high-risk teams, but this local pilot is designed to widen the usual roster of partners. The state is scheduled to evaluate the pilot in August and could extend more funding if it hits performance benchmarks.
Who’s Running The Teams
Family Violence Prevention Services, led by President and CEO Marta Prada Peláez and known for operating the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, will coordinate the San Antonio review team. Family Violence Prevention Services has appointed a coordinator whose job is to reach out to survivors in high-risk situations and bring those cases to a multidisciplinary review table.
The New Braunfels team will be managed by the Crisis Center of Comal County, which provides crisis advocacy, emergency shelter and long-term case management for people experiencing domestic violence in Comal County.
How The Model Works
Domestic Violence High-Risk Teams, often shortened to DVHRTs, are a multidisciplinary, evidence-informed model that bring together advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement, health-care providers and other specialists to flag cases with the highest risk of homicide and then coordinate safety planning around them.
The Texas Council on Family Violence provides guidance and statewide reporting on DVHRTs, while regional systems such as the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council’s MEDCOM program connect 911 calls to advocacy groups and hospital liaisons. Advocates say the model is built on rapid, cross-agency review and follow-up instead of the slower, siloed responses survivors often encounter.
Local Twist And Survivor Review
Organizers say San Antonio’s team will stretch the usual playbook by adding city and county public-health departments, hospital CEOs, Child Protective Services and batterer-intervention programs to the core group of partners.
Before reports are submitted to the state, they will be reviewed by an abuse survivor who will help flag missing needs and shape recommendations, organizers told KSAT. "The beauty is the collaborative response," Marta Prada Peláez said, according to the outlet.
Where Survivors Can Get Help
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
For local wrap-around support in San Antonio, Family Violence Prevention Services lists a 24/7 crisis hotline at (210) 733-8810 on its website, and the Bexar County Family Justice Center offers legal and support services at (210) 631-0100.
In New Braunfels and across Comal County, the Crisis Center of Comal County operates a 24/7 line at 1-800-434-8013 or 830-620-4357.
Organizers say the next several months will be spent building out the network and writing standard operating procedures. If the pilot strengthens coordination and improves survivor safety, state funding could continue beyond the initial award. For now, the focus is on preventing harm and rebuilding trust between survivors and the systems that are supposed to protect them.
