In 2006, Texas Family Violence Interagency Collaborative (TFVIC) was developed to serve as a tool to build communication, to create strategies, and enhance collaboration among Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV), Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), and the Department of Family and Protective Services (CPS & APS). The ultimate goal is to improve services for family violence victims and their children. This statewide collaborative began in FY00 and developed a training curriculum, a liaison system and a Memorandum of Understanding template to be used between family violence programs and regional CPS/APS offices. TFVIC was formed in FY06 as a revitalization of this original workgroup to continue the dialogue about how we can best serve victims of family violence.

TFVIC understands when there is both domestic violence and child abuse in families often approached as separate problems, and in many cases the abused parent may lose custody. There are also unique challenges for victims of family violence who have disabilities or are elderly both in accessing services at family violence programs and within APS. These are sentiments that are also heard from many other states. To make TFVIC effective in Texas, we realize that it will take an open dialogue and strong collaborative relationships. We hope to look at practices and protocols in various regions of the state as well as those developed nationally.

On September 10 & 11, 2007, TFVIC held a cross training in Austin, TX, the Cross-Training brought together Family Violence Service Providers, APS regional liaisons, and CPS regional liaisons to begin working on improving communication and collaboration in Texas communities. Attendees participated in various training sessions and heard from various speakers. There were opportunities to share best practices, discuss situations unique to specific regions, and initiate action planning. These action plans will serve as a blueprint for each region to continue the work they started at the cross-training and improve interagency collaboration in their region.

TFVIC was pleased with the positive response we heard from all attendees, however, as with any strong collaborative we are aware that there is a great deal of work to do in the future. TFVIC will continue to meet on a regular basis and plans to develop their own action plan in the very near future. If you have any questions about TFVIC, or the issues raised at the cross-training, please do not hesitate to contact Rose Hernandez, Molly Voyles, Maggy McGiffert, or Melissa Mason at the Texas Council on Family Violence.