Envisioning Freedom
from Family Violence

The Texas Council on Family Violence was established as a nonprofit membership statewide organization on April 8, 1978, and officially incorporated on December 27, 1978.

Nine representatives from local domestic violence shelters—Debby Tucker (Austin), Catherine Chambers (Corpus Christi), Jane White (Dallas), Muffie Tatum (Denton), Diana Luna (El Paso), Lynn Bendslev (Fort Worth), Toby Myers (Houston), Ruthe Winegarten (San Antonio), and Myrt Taylor (Waco)—along with the vision and leadership from Debby Tucker resolved to form a statewide organization to provide a unified statewide presence for domestic violence survivors and service providers. On April 8, 1978, six of these women officially established the TCFV. This group coordinated its efforts with community service partners and political office holders to structure a non-hierarchical TCFV board. The group selected Toby Myers, a survivor of family violence and advocate with the Houston Area Women’s Center, as the first TCFV board representative. The Texas Secretary of State signed and officially certified the Articles of Incorporation.

TCFV opened its first office and hired four staff from January 1982-1984.

Funding for TCFV came from a three-year challenge grant from the Levi Strauss Foundation, which was matched with donations from the Haas Foundation and The Trull Foundation. In addition, funding was supported by membership dues from family violence service providers, community partners, and individual members who believed in the TCFV’s mission.

In 1982, Eve McArthur and Debby Tucker from Austin Center for Battered Women (SafePlace) were the first staff hired to open the office. Melissa J Eddy, a private practitioner and founding TCFV board member from 1978 to 1984, became the third staffer in 1984 hired as the Program Associate. Melissa held a variety of positions until her tenure ended in 1992. Janice Wood was later hired as the first administrative staff in 1984.

From the beginning, TCFV planned to approach the Texas legislature to ask for law changes and gain financial support for prevention and intervention.

In 1979, TCFV worked alongside Senator Chet Brooks of Houston/Galveston to establish a pilot funding program through the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS) that appropriated $200,000 to the initial nine agencies.

In 1981, Senator Brooks and El Paso Representative Mary Polk followed TCFV’s recommendations and sponsored a bill that established the Family Violence Program in the TDHS. The Texas Legislature increased funding to $1 million, which made it possible to support more than 30 programs. Since then, every subsequent legislative session has continued to increase funding and the number of programs receiving state support!

In 1981, TCFV also pushed for criminal sanctions, making violating a protective order worthy of a Class A misdemeanor.

In January of 1982, a three-year challenge grant from the Levi Strauss Foundation made a staffed office for TCFV a reality. It was matched with donations from the Haas Foundation, The Trull Foundation and dues from programs and members who believed in the organization’s mission. Eve McArthur and Debby Tucker, both from the Austin Center, became the first official staff.

TCFV toured every shelter and family violence program in the state over the course of its first year and was contracted by the TDHS to provide significant technical assistance and support for local programs. TCFV also wrote manuals such as A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: Administering a Family Violence Shelter.

The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, the Beginning of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and the passage of the Violence Against Women Act.

When the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) passed in 1984, TCFV set aside a percentage of what Congress appropriated to fund state-level work and coordination. Before the creation of the set-aside funding for state coalitions in FVPSA, only half of the states had established an office to perform state-level work and coordination. By the time TCFV came together to form the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), almost every state had an office for their coalition.

In 1989, TCFV advocated for the establishment of the Battering Intervention and Prevention Project (BIPP) and secured an initial allocation of $400,000 to fund 14 programs working with men committing violence against family and household members. This was one of the first — if not the first — state-funded civilian programs for intervention with offenders. National organizations and stakeholders such as Men Stopping Violence, Emerge and Dr. Edward Gondolf advised TCFV in the development of the program standards.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed in 1994, after the NNEDV worked closely with Joe Biden, Charles Schumer, and Representatives Patricia Schroeder and Jack Brooks to write the legislation.

The original national hotline, operated by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, closed when funding ran out. TCFV stepped up to reestablish it, working with Senator Edward Kennedy to draft legislation that promised federal funding for the hotline. In February 1996, TCFV opened the National Domestic Violence Hotline.