Harris County DA’s Domestic Violence Bureau outlines protective-order services, outreach plans to Super Neighborhood Alliance

Harris County District Attorney Mary McFadden’s Domestic Violence Bureau told the Super Neighborhood Alliance on Oct. 15 that it prosecutes felony family-violence cases, files civil protective orders at no cost and is expanding outreach so survivors can access protective orders and related services outside downtown courts.

McFadden, chief of the bureau that launched Jan. 1, 2025, said the office has “about 70” staff, roughly one-quarter of whom are attorneys, and that the unit files about 15,000 family-violence–coded cases a year, with roughly half of those treated as felonies (about 7,500 felony filings annually). She described the bureau’s work, protective-order process and the limits that often prevent survivors from getting longer-term court-ordered protection.

Why it matters: The DA’s office is a primary criminal-justice intervention for survivors in Harris County. McFadden’s presentation explained where the DA can and cannot act — such as time limits on protective orders and the need for good service addresses — and outlined the bureau’s plans to place advocates in neighborhoods to reduce logistical barriers to safety.

McFad…