Community Court
Downtown Austin Community Court (DACC) is a problem-solving court established in 1999 and was the first community court in Texas and the seventh in the United States. The mission of DACC is to empower people to thrive by providing impartial justice and compassionate community-based services.
Downtown Austin Community Court Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report
DACC Homeless Services
Intensive Case Management and voluntary walk-in services are available for individuals experiencing homelessness. Appointments are not necessary to access walk-in services, which can include (but are not limited to):
- Assistance with identification and vital documents to include the scheduling of DPS appointments
- Assistance with applying for reinstatement or renewal of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits
- Linkages to medical, mental health and substance use treatment services
- Linkages to a Medical Access Program (MAP) Mobile Eligibility Specialist
- Assistance with applications for unemployment benefits
- Linkages to employment services
- Assistance with community resource navigation
- Linkages to Coordinated Assessment providers
- Coordination and linkages to other social service providers
- Assistance with court docket searches for upcoming Community Court legal cases and information on warrants (Individuals will not be arrested for outstanding citations or warrants when voluntarily appearing at DACC)
- Referrals as appropriate to help a defendant complete judicial requirements
- Assistance with storage of vital documents
- Use of DACC’s telephone
- Assistance with storage of personal belongings at Violet KeepSafe storage program
- Use of DACC’s mailing address
DACC Community Service (CS) Program:
DACC’s CS Unit enables defendants from the Downtown Austin Community Court and Austin Municipal Court to meet community service hour requirements through graffiti abatement, right of way maintenance, public space management through safe space, underpass, and restoration cleaning, and other municipal purpose jobs.
CS Crews deploy from DACC’s building located at 505 Barton Springs Road, First Floor at 7:30am, seven days a week, and complete work each day at 2:30pm. Defendants from the Downtown Austin Community Court or Austin Municipal Court needing to complete community service hours may show up at 505 Barton Springs Road, First Floor by 7:30am, no advance appointment is necessary.
In order to participate on a CS Crew, an ID or Driver’s license is required and all participants must wear full-length pants and closed toed shoes. It is also recommended that participants bring a sack lunch. For more information about the CS Program, please call 512-974-4879.
Violet KeepSafe Storage (VKS) Program:
VKS was launched by Austin Resource Recovery in 2020, and DACC took over operation of the program in 2021. The VKS Program provides individuals experiencing homelessness a safe and secure place to store their belongings, including vital documents, family memories, clothing, bedding, and more.
Any individual experiencing homelessness may access storage through VKS at no cost to program participants. VKS is operational seven days a week, from 7:00am-7:00pm (closed daily from 11a.m. - 1p.m.). Individuals interested in accessing VKS services can call 512-974-1294, or may bring the items they want to store to VKS and sign up in person. The VKS program is in the former Municipal Court building, located at 700 E. 7th Street.
DACC Court Services:
Please reference the date and time of your required court appearance, which is provided on the citation issued to you. If you failed to appear for a court date or would like to resolve a warrant, you may walk in and see the Judge Monday through Friday between 9:30am-11:15am or between 1:30pm-3:45pm.
DACC is a safe haven court; individuals will not be arrested for outstanding cases or warrants when voluntarily appearing at DACC.
Virtual Dockets
If you live more than 25 miles from Austin, we offer online virtual hearings every Wednesday at 9:30am and 1:30pm. If you would like to handle your case without seeing a judge and prosecutor virtually, we also offer an option to handle your case through electronic correspondence. For more information, or to submit a request for an online hearing or correspondence packet, please email comcourt@austintexas.gov and include your case or citation number in your request. DACC Virtual Court Services Guidelines.
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