§ 19-13-74.Funding
Chapter 13. Family Violence · Article 5. Family Justice Centers · Last amended 2026 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-13-74
Plain-English Summary
This section deals with money for Georgia’s Family Justice Centers. It took effect July 1, 2026.
Subsection (a) makes the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council — the “council” defined in § 19-13-71 — the state’s funding hub for the centers. The council is authorized to administer gifts, donations and grants, enter into contracts, and distribute funds appropriated by the General Assembly or received from federal sources to establish and support Family Justice Centers. That ties to the legislature’s stated intent in § 19-13-70 to use federal and state victim service funding streams.
Subsection (b) makes clear that council money isn’t the only source. A center may accept funds from independent sources, including private donations, foundation grants, federal funding, local appropriations and other lawful revenue. An independently funded center that is established as a Family Justice Center under Georgia law stays subject to the article’s oversight, confidentiality and reporting requirements — unless it does not receive state funding. Read as written, that last clause exempts a center that takes no state money from those requirements. How that exception works alongside the confidentiality and records rules in §§ 19-13-76 and 19-13-78, and the performance reports in § 19-13-75, is a question the courts or the council may eventually need to answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who funds Family Justice Centers in Georgia?
The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council is authorized to administer gifts, donations and grants, enter contracts, and distribute money appropriated by the General Assembly or received from federal sources to establish and support Family Justice Centers. Centers may also accept money from independent sources, such as private donations and local appropriations.
Can a Family Justice Center accept private donations?
Yes. Nothing in the article stops a center from accepting independent funds, including private donations, foundation grants, federal funding, local appropriations or other lawful revenue streams. An independently funded center established as a Family Justice Center under Georgia law that also receives state funding stays subject to the article’s oversight, confidentiality and reporting requirements.
Does a privately funded Family Justice Center have to follow the state rules?
It depends on state funding. An independently funded center established as a Family Justice Center under Georgia law remains subject to the article’s oversight, confidentiality and reporting requirements, unless it does not receive state funding. As written, a center with no state money falls outside those requirements.
Can local governments fund a Family Justice Center?
Yes. The section lists local appropriations among the independent sources a center may accept, alongside private donations, foundation grants, federal funding and other lawful revenue. Under § 19-13-72, a county, a municipality or a combination of them may also establish a center in partnership with one or more nonprofits.
What federal money can Family Justice Centers use?
The council may distribute funds received from federal sources. Section 19-13-70 names the Victims of Crime Act, the Violence Against Women Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act as federal streams the legislature intends to use for creating, expanding and sustaining centers. A center may also accept federal funding directly.
Amendment History
Laws 2026, Act 719, § 1, eff. July 1, 2026.