Statewide Family Justice Conference Brings Resources to Guilford County

Guilford County is preparing to welcome practitioners, advocates and policymakers to a two-day statewide conference focused on improving services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence while advancing systems-level accountability for offenders. The 7th Annual North Carolina Family Justice Center & Collaborative Communities Conference will take place Nov. 5–6 at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center and is co-hosted by the Guilford County Family Justice Center and Safe Alliance of Mecklenburg County. WellCare is the presenting sponsor.

Organizers expect more than 400 attendees representing law enforcement, legal services, healthcare providers, social workers, victim advocates, and community-based organizations. The conference brings together professionals who operate or partner with Family Justice Centers, multi-agency hubs designed to coordinate wraparound services for survivors, and others working on cross-sector responses to violence and trauma.

For Guilford County, the gathering is both a service-development opportunity and a community investment. Local providers will gain access to training, best practices and networks used statewide to streamline referrals, reduce duplicated services, and improve survivor access to safety, healthcare and legal remedies. The expected influx of attendees also represents a modest economic boost for Greensboro-area hotels, restaurants and small businesses over the conference weekend.

Public health implications are central to the conference agenda. Coordinated survivor services directly affect physical and mental health outcomes, reduce barriers to care, and help address long-term consequences of trauma. Bringing healthcare payers and providers into the conversation, signaled by a presenting sponsor from the managed care sector, underscores the growing recognition that preventing and responding to interpersonal violence is integral to broader health policy and population health strategies.

The conference also emphasizes offender accountability, a critical component of community safety and equity. Cross-disciplinary dialogue aims to strengthen collaboration between criminal justice actors, social services, and advocacy groups so that survivors’ needs are met while systems work to prevent repeat harm. For marginalized communities in Guilford County, better-coordinated responses can help reduce disparities in access to protective resources and legal remedies.

This year’s statewide meeting continues a pattern of building local capacity through peer learning and policy discussion. While the conference is not a direct service event for survivors, its downstream effects can reshape how frontline organizations operate: improving intake processes, expanding culturally competent services, and informing advocacy for funding and policy changes at local and state levels.

As Guilford County hosts colleagues from across North Carolina, the conference offers a timely opportunity to translate statewide knowledge into local action, strengthening services for survivors, enhancing public health responses to violence, and advancing more equitable systems for the county’s most vulnerable residents.