LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath presented a motion Tuesday, co-authored by Board Chair Hilda Solis, calling for “bold action” to help victims of domestic violence and stalking navigate the county’s restraining order system and obtain court-ordered protection.
Horvath presented the motion on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at a meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The board is scheduled to consider it at its Nov. 10 meeting.
Horvath said the motion was inspired by recent reporting on the challenges victims face in obtaining and enforcing restraining orders. That reporting identified at least 63 women killed in Los Angeles County in 2024 and 2025 in cases involving a former partner or close relative who was arrested in or charged with their murder.
The motion would direct county departments to report on what they are doing now, what they plan to improve and what additional money they would need. It also asks for new funding, a Sheriff’s Department presentation and plans for peer navigators and emergency beds.
Seven agencies would be asked to report
If the board approves the motion, it would require reports from the county’s chief executive, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the departments of Public Health, Mental Health, Consumer and Business Affairs, Public Social Services and Homeless Services.
Each report would assess current efforts, improvement plans and additional funding needs related to the restraining order system. The motion spreads that work across agencies because the system depends on several of them.
The Office of Violence Prevention, part of the Department of Public Health, has said that coordinating among the many agencies responsible for the system has been one of the obstacles to improvements.
Nine self-help legal centers would be fully funded
The motion calls for allocating millions of dollars annually to fully fund nine county-run self-help legal centers that assist people navigating the restraining order process.
The Department of Consumer and Business Affairs publishes a biannual workload report on the county’s self-help legal access centers, the centers the motion would fund. The department is among those the motion would ask to report on current efforts and funding needs.
The motion does not specify the exact annual amount in the information available Thursday.
Sheriff’s Department would present its plans
The motion would require the Sheriff’s Department to give the board a presentation on how the agency plans to improve its handling of restraining orders.
The department is also one of the agencies that would be required to submit a written report on current efforts, improvement plans and additional funding needs.
The motion would also officially identify “Gender-Based Violence and Intimate Partner Violence” as a priority for the Board of Supervisors.
Peer navigators and emergency beds included
The Office of Violence Prevention would be required to develop a plan for a “peer navigator model” to guide survivors through the restraining order system.
The Department of Homeless Services and Housing would be asked for an assessment of the additional resources needed to provide emergency beds for all people fleeing intimate partner violence.
Together, the two items address parts of the process that fall outside the courtroom: help moving through the paperwork and a place to stay while seeking protection.
Reporting cited by Horvath found 63 women killed
The reporting Horvath cited found that the 63 women killed in 2024 and 2025 accounted for more than 40% of the 156 women killed in Los Angeles County during that period. At least 10 of those women had filed for restraining orders.
According to that reporting, judges had granted permanent protection to four of those women, and three were killed days after filing.
The reporting also found that county courts received nearly 15,000 domestic violence restraining order petitions in 2025 and dismissed 57% because of procedural delays by the petitioner. It put the statewide dismissal rate for the last fiscal year at 29%.
Horvath said the story “spoke to the process of domestic violence restraining orders and the work done and not being done across the county to support survivors in need of this critical support.”
2024 recommendations remain mostly unimplemented
In July 2024, the Office of Violence Prevention issued a report with 13 recommendations for reducing domestic violence homicides by improving access to restraining orders. Most of those recommendations have not been implemented.
The office said the delay resulted from insufficient funding and challenges coordinating among the many agencies responsible for the county’s restraining order system.
The office leads the county’s gender-based violence prevention work, according to a statement from Horvath’s office on a July 23, 2024, Board of Supervisors vote. On that date, the board approved a motion by Horvath, then board chair, adopting an expanded definition of gender-based violence that goes beyond domestic violence.
The statement said the office coordinates with the Domestic Violence Council, the Office of Women’s Health, the Sexual Assault Council and the LGBTQ+ Commission. It said two staff positions were created in the adopted budget to support the work.
Horvath’s office said at the time that Los Angeles County was “moving from a framework of intervention to one of proactive prevention to address the root causes of gender-based violence in our communities.”
How domestic violence restraining orders work in California
The California Judicial Council says on its domestic violence page that “civil domestic violence restraining orders (DVROs) are one of the most common restraining orders issued in California.”
The council also publishes a Domestic Violence Restraining Order bench guide for judges, court staff and providers.
The county’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month page, dated Oct. 6, says domestic violence restraining orders help keep victims and their children safe by restricting contact and removing guns.
The same page says Los Angeles County “reaffirms its commitment to protecting survivors, preventing violence, and breaking the cycles of violence and instability.” It says the county established the Office of Violence Prevention and the Domestic Violence Council.
Horvath says the county must lead
Horvath said the board “must take every step possible to better support and protect our survivors.” She said domestic violence restraining orders protect survivors.
“The county,” she added, “must step up and lead in this space.”
Solis, who chairs the board, is the motion’s co-author. The board is scheduled to consider the measure on Nov. 10.
Resources for survivors
The county’s awareness month page lists two hotlines available 24 hours a day: the national hotline at 1 (800) 799-SAFE (7233) and the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 978-3600.
Board to consider the motion Nov. 10
The motion remains a proposal. The reports, funding commitments, Sheriff’s Department presentation, peer navigator plan and emergency bed assessment would take effect only if the Board of Supervisors approves it.
The board’s next step is its Nov. 10 meeting, where supervisors are scheduled to consider the measure.
