Lynn Rosenthal was recently chosen as White House Advisor on Violence Against Women by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Rosenthal has been a champion in the movement against domestic and sexual violence for three decades and played a key advocacy role in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. She currently serves as the Executive Director for the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence and and is a previous Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence and of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Rosenthal will advise President Obama and Biden, and work with government agencies including Justice, State, and Health to ensure that violence against women is addressed and the perpetrators are held accountable. Biden has said that creating the advisor position will allow the White House to revive its focus on domestic violence issues.

September 1 -2, 2009

The Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) Annual New Workers’ Institute (NWI) is a training opportunity for professionals working with victims of family violence to gather information about current trends and methods of working with victims and new initiatives; share ideas and network with victim advocates, program coordinators and other professionals working in closely related systems for the purpose of increasing victim safety. The conference convenes professionals from across Texas and is the only conference in the state with this focus.

NWI is a two-day training for professionals new to the family violence field across Texas including victim advocates, program coordinators and other professionals working in closely related systems for the purpose of increasing victim safety.
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  H-E-B, San Antonio has been recognized for generous contributions to domestic violence agencies by Senator Jane Nelson on behalf of the Senate of the State of Texas. The company has donated $100,000 in a special grant which included $25,000 for the National Domestic Violence Hotline and $75,000 for shelter programs in communities served by H-E-B. The Texas Council on Family Violence will distribute the community funds. This is a significan donation due to the recent increase in the demand for services for victims of family violence in Texas. H-E-B has stepped up in a time of great need for the domestic violence community and continues to uphold its reputation as a community driven company dedicated to serving those in need. Pictured from left are Leslie Lockett, representing H-E-B, Senator Jane Nelson and Sheryl Cates, CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) and the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV). For more information about these generous contributions, click here. If you would like to view the Bill, click here.

Family violence providers throughout Texas are taking measures to decrease the risk of spreading swine flu. Due to our population density, emergency shelters are susceptible to the spread of illness. There has been an enormous amount of media coverage regarding the swine flu and the potential for it to spread rapidly. The United States Government has declared a public health emergency in response to an intensifying outbreak in the U.S. and internationally caused by a new influenza virus of swine origin. On April 29, 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 5. A Phase 5 alert is a “strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.”

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) response goals are to reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public address the challenges posed by this emergency. The CDC is issuing and updating interim guidance daily in response to the rapidly evolving situation. For accurate and current online information visit the CDC’s website.

In an effort to provide your program with accurate current information, the Texas Council on Family Violence contacted the Swine Flu Incident Command Center and the Texas Department of State Health Services for best practices advice for residential and nonresidential family violence programs. Continue Reading »