SAN ANTONIO — The past few years have brought high-profile child-abuse cases spotlighting the issue in the San Antonio area. Now the city may receive a "crisis nursery," which would relieve families in times of stress.
City leaders say the idea could save children from abuse, or even death.
"What we've seen is that families who find themselves in some sort of crisis often will perpetrate child neglect or child abuse," said District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez.
Pelaez says there are many factors that contribute to child abuse, including substance abuse or domestic violence.
"It's not a standalone problem," he said. "The idea behind a crisis nursery is that you provide very low-barrier, temporary nursery services to moms and dads who require an immediate place to drop off their kids while they deal with their own crisis."
In addition to providing a safe harbor for children, the nursery would also help with access to resources and education. Pelaez says there's currently nothing like this in San Antonio—a place where a mother could drop off her child when dad's been drinking.
"I hate saying this, but oftentimes domestic violence victims know that that one night is going to be particularly difficult compared to others. So this crisis nursery would be available, around the clock,for moms experiencing something like that," said Pelaez.
District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia says that with so many domestic violence cases in the city, council members conducted a study of the impacts on women and girls.
"We have a whole lot of data, basically, that shows that there's a need for specifically children to have a safe place to go," said Rocha Garcia.
She said she hopes this proposal will unite domestic violence and child welfare experts to find a solution.
"This is initially just a conversation starter. How do we get to that place, where we can help out children who we know are vulnerable?"
Both Pelaez and Rocha Garcia say they hope to find a location that's easily accessible to parents.
"We know that other cities have had success with this. My goal here is to research what those other cities have done that have led them to that success and adopt best practices from around the county," said Pelaez.
There would be no cost to parents dropping off their children during a crisis.
Rocha Garcia says there would first need to be a feasibility study to determine how to fund a crisis nursery; that could include partnerships with other local organizations.