Tulsa County officials finally broke ground Friday on the new downtown Family Justice Center.
Voters approved the facility in 2014, but it’s been delayed as officials whittled down estimated costs and sent the project back out for bid.
The new building, located at Archer Street and Elwood Avenue, will replace a deteriorating one at 315 S Gilcrease Museum Road. It will also be bigger. District Court Juvenile Division Chief Judge Doris Fransein said the extra space is needed for more than just breathing room.
"You have children and families who are going through adoption proceedings next to families who are relinquishing their parental rights. It’s very difficult to separate those who have domestic violence protective orders against each other," Fransein said. "Our court clerks do not have sufficient space for our records, so they’re all piled on the floors."
Architects will also design spaces to be soothing during court processes that can be traumatic.
County Commissioner Karen Keith said the new building will have enough space to have social services families need in-house.
"Everybody will be together, working together for the best outcomes for our kids, and that’s going to be the beauty of this building," Keith said. "And it’s going to be close so that attorneys who are working with the kids will — you know, from courthouse to courthouse, it’s going to be really close, so it’s going to be convenient."
Director Justin Jones said the new family justice center will help the Tulsa County Juvenile Bureau do more to help youths coming into the system.
"We’ve added more classrooms for those that need to continue their education on this site when they’re doing a stay in our detention facility, … and it allows us to do a lot more intervention and diversion at the front end," Jones said.
The new Tulsa County Family Justice Center will also be the home of the Tulsa Area Community Intervention Center, a program that accepts juvenile arrests 24 hours a day and tries to find the root problems behind delinquency.
Tulsa County awarded a $28.8 million dollar contract for the Family Justice Center earlier this month and plans to cap total costs at $41 million.
