Oklahoma City Family Justice Center, Inc., dba Palomar

We envision an Oklahoma City that is free from violence, where safety and security is felt. Palomar integrates innovative services among collaborative providers to:

• Work together to interrupt the cycle of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, child abuse and elder abuse;
• Provide long-term support for victims and their children to heal from trauma;
• Hold offenders accountable;
• Empower survivors to thrive.

OKCFJC is one of the most exciting, lifesaving initiatives in the history of Oklahoma City. Palomar: Oklahoma City’s Family Justice Center is the co-location of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals from 38 agencies who work together, under one roof, to provide coordinated services to victims of family violence and their children. OKCFJC brings together police officers, prosecutors, civil legal services, health care providers, community based advocates, social services and several other agencies to provide wrap around care for these hurting families, in one location. This approach has been identified as a best practice by the United States Department of Justice in reducing violence, increasing offender accountability and breaking generational cycles of violence.

Palomar has become the most comprehensive, integrated multidisciplinary response for crime victims in Oklahoma City. Palomar has a tremendous goal: to unify all of the possible services a victim may need and make them easily accessible by housing them in one convenient location. In domestic violence, this coordinated response can make the difference between life and death for victims and their children. Integrating services is an innovative best practice approach to respond to our community’s needs and is in the best interest of victims. Further, agencies can save money and increase effectiveness of service delivery to victims and their children by locating services under one roof instead of expecting victims to travel from agency to agency to get needed services.

After years of thorough research, strategic planning, design, and development of the Family Justice Center model, the doors officially opened to clients on February 2, 2017. In the first month of being opened, Palomar served 78 clients who had 221 visits. By December of 2017, that number had grown to 167 clients per month with 592 visits. In 2021, despite the COVID-19 Pandemic, 4,340 unduplicated clients received life-saving and trauma-informed victim services at Palomar! Palomar had 13,761 client visits, demonstrating that despite a pandemic, clients continue to return multiple times for services.

We attribute this growth to ongoing improvements in community awareness of Palomar's presence and continued outreach efforts through social media, traditional media, and speaking engagements by Palomar staff members, board members, and VOICES committee members who advocate on behalf of victims and Palomar. Recent data shows that Palomar has helped clients from 95 zip codes across Oklahoma.