Victims of Violence, How a Trauma Center and Family Justice Center Can Provide Continued Care After Initial...

Intentional injuries are the second leading cause of death in the U.S. between the ages of 1 and 44. Each traumatic event is approached best with a multiagency and multidisciplinary approach. Family Justice Centers (FJCs) are structured as one-stop centers for victims of all forms of violence to provide services.

The purpose of this study is to describe trauma patients evaluated in an FJC and determine the effect of the referrals on injury-related hospital recidivism.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study of traumatically injured patients that were evaluated in an adult level II trauma center for 3 years and were referred to Ventura County's FJC.

There were 415 trauma admissions for intentional injuries, which accounted for 10.4% of the total trauma-related hospital admissions. Of these patients, 203 (49%) were evaluated in Ventura County's FJC. The remaining 212 (51%) had an open judicial case, thus, were not processed through the FJC due to conflict of interest. The mechanisms of injuries of patients that were evaluated at the FJC (N = 203) were mostly assaults (83%). Majority of the patients were of the Hispanic race (70%), males (69%), English speaking (77%), and aged 18-59 (84%). 573 individual services were provided to these patients. The patients evaluated through the FJC (N = 203) had zero recidivism, while those with open cases had a 1% recidivism rate (P = NS).

By collaborating with FJCs, trauma center outcomes contribute to a pathway for healing and may prevent future acts of intentional injuries.