Children's Trust Fund of Texas. Council

The Council on Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention (commonly referred to as the Children's Trust Fund) was established by the Texas Legislature in 1985 as a body related to the Texas Department of Human Services (Senate Bill 371, 69th Legislature, Regular Session). It was to develop a state plan for expending funds for child abuse and neglect prevention programs, apply for all available federal and state monies, accept private contributions, and receive a portion of marriage license fees. The monies were to be redistributed by the council through a grant application process it was to develop by establishing eligibility criteria, application procedures and methods of evaluation, and funding priorities and amounts. Monies were to be fairly distributed between rural and urban areas and the council was to monitor the expenditure of grant funds and submit annual reports.

In 1991 (House Bill 961, 72nd Legislature, Regular Session) the Children's Trust Fund Council [CTF] became an independent agency, charged with implementing the procedures its earlier charge had caused it to establish. The fund continued to be supported by marriage license fees and receive grant monies from the Federal Prevention Grant appropriation from the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. CTF was able to solicit and accept contributions for its programs and was governed by the Texas Human Resources Code, Chapter 74.

Divisions of CTF were Program Services, Public Education, Business Services, and Fiscal Services, all of which worked jointly to accomplish the agency's mission to prevent abuse and neglect of children by setting policy, offering resources for community prevention programs, and providing information and education on child abuse and neglect. CTF supported parenting education for all Texans, the fostering of diverse cultural traditions that encourage the growth and development of children, cooperative research programs to identify and evaluate good parenting skills and techniques, community prevention programs, and collaboration among communities, government at all levels, educators, and business people to help all children reach their potential.

The agency offered grants to local prevention programs on a three-year cycle. The council set priorities and criteria for evaluation and selection of grant recipients. Any group, except state agencies or institutions, was able to respond to CTF's requests for proposals. Minimum local matching funds had to equal 10 percent in the first year, 20 percent in the second year, and 50 percent in the third year. The local matching fund requirement was designed to promote community support and to ensure that successful programs would continue after CTF funding ended. All programs funded by CTF were to address primary and secondary prevention rather than treatment. Grants depended on the availability of funds, were provided on a cost-reimbursement basis, and were not renewed automatically.

In fiscal year 1994, the agency established a community funding program known as Family PRIDE (Principles, Responsibility, Integrity, Discipline, and Education). PRIDE councils were established in selected sites to determine local priorities for prevention programs, review community proposals, and make funding recommendations to the CTF Council. The councils, which were planned to extend to all Texas counties, attempted to bring together local members of business, city and county government, education, health care, law enforcement, media, and religious communities. Types of programs funded included parenting education, family visitation, respite care, and children's personal safety.

The governing body of the agency was a nine-member council, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for overlapping six-year terms. The positions were non-salaried and the Governor appointed the chair. Prior to 1991 the council members were not subject to Senate confirmation. In 1993 the agency had 8.75 full-time equivalent staff positions, in 1996 and 1999 it had 7.

CTF was incorporated into the Prevention and Early Intervention Program of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in 2001 (Senate Bill 1475, 77th Legislature, Regular Session). Its funding initiatives became known as the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Trust Fund Account.

From the guide to the Records, 1985-1999, undated, (Repository Unknown)