He is credited as a pioneer of the Family Justice Center concept, under which multiple agencies work together under one roof to provide services to victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
[3] His approach was adopted by jurisdictions across the United States and he became a frequent lecturer for the National District Attorney's Association.
Nevertheless, Gwinn, working with fellow prosecutor Gael Strack, began adding on-site partner agencies in the San Diego City Attorney's Office in 1990.
[8] As City Attorney he led the creation in 2002 of the multi-agency San Diego Family Justice Center serving victims of domestic violence and their children.
[10] He named Assistant City Attorney Gael Strack to be the first Family Justice Center Director.
[8] He argued that children who witnessed domestic violence are more likely to be violent in the future, and goes on to say, "once we increase hope, we can change the trajectory of their lives".
"[4] In 2003, his work was on the Oprah Winfrey Show rapidly expanding knowledge of the Family Justice Center framework for helping adult and child victims of abuse.
[15] Gwinn and Gael Strack have been recognized for identifying the relationship between domestic violence, trauma-exposed children, and strangulation of women.
[21] In 2015, he published a book, Cheering for the Children, in which he contends that childhood trauma is the number one public health issue in the country.