Children's Trust Fund of Texas Council:

An Inventory of Records at the Texas State Archives, 1985-1999, undated

Agency History

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.

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Scope and Contents of the Records

Records comprise correspondence, agenda, minutes, printed materials, memoranda, press releases, copies of legislative records, publications, reports, drafts, statistics, organizational charts, photographs, and an audiocassette that document the Children's Trust Fund of Texas Council from 1985 to 1999 and undated. The meeting files discuss the agency's legislative appropriation requests, welfare reform implications, proposed legislation, funding program renewals and new contracts, the Family PRIDE (Principles, Responsibility, Integrity, Discipline, and Education) program, investment options, fundraising campaigns, management control audits, grantee seminars, and other administrative matters. Correspondence and related materials passed between the agency, the executive director and other Texas state agencies, legislators, private and public organizations, various federal programs, and the general public. Publication development files contain final, loose drafts and copies of what ultimately became the agency's publications. Subjects addressed by the records include, among others, child abuse and neglect prevention, various administrative issues, funding alliances, proposed legislation relating to children and family services, the Texas Commission on Children and Youth, child fatalities, and Shaken Baby Syndrome. One large binder of assorted materials documents the early history of the Children's Trust Fund.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions including, but not limited to, home addresses and telephone numbers of board members (V.T.C.A. Texas Government Code 552.117), an archivist must review these records before they can be accessed for research. The records may be requested for research under the provisions of the Public Information Act (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Chapter 552). The researcher may request an interview with an archivist or submit a request by mail, fax, or email including enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the archivist to accurately identify and locate the information requested. If our review reveals information that may be excepted by the Public Information Act, we are obligated to seek an open records decision from the Attorney General on whether the records can be released. The Public Information Act allows the Archives ten working days after receiving a request to make this determination. The Attorney General has 45 working days to render a decision. Alternately, the Archives can inform you of the nature of the potentially excepted information and if you agree, that information can be redacted or removed and you can access the remainder of the records.

Restrictions on Use

Please contact the Archive's Preservation Officer to listen to the audiocassette.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Records, Children's Trust Fund of Texas Council. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1998/232, 2002/111, 2003/096

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Legislative Reference Library on an unknown date and by the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services on March 26, 2002 and January 8, 2003.

Processing Information

Nancy Enneking, April 2002, March 2003

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Detailed Description of the Records

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