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TCYC History
In the beginning:
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1980: |
The concept of a collaboration of youth serving agencies was developed by volunteers from the Junior League of Fort Worth. Concurrently, Tarrant County's League of Women Voters decided that youth issues would be their focus of study and concern and identified the need for more comprehensive and collaborative services to youth. These two efforts came together to form the Tarrant County Youth Collaboration. |
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1981: |
The Junior League of Fort Worth, National Council of Jewish Women, Parenting Guidance Center (now The Parenting Center), City of Fort Worth, Junior League of Arlington, Camp Fire USA First Texas Council, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth reached a collaborative agreement by board resolution to incorporate as a separate non-profit organization. The goal was, and remains today, to work together for Tarrant County children and youth. |
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1982: |
Participating agencies had grown from 9 to 41 and the Board hired an Executive Director. Lena Pope Home provided office space for TCYC, and, soon, the first Family Fun Day was held. As agency staffs became better acquainted with each other through TCYC activities, trust began to build, inter-agency communication improved and a more cooperative attitude began to develop in the youth social service community. |
By 1996:
TCYC lead a number of collaborative community projects such as: child-care on a school campus for teen parents, gang prevention programs, a substance abuse resource center, day treatment for students with psychological and behavioral problems, and county-wide conferences for youth and families. In its second decade of operation, TCYC increasingly focused on local and state public policy affecting children and advocating for those policies that better supported children and youth.
In the past several years:
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1999: |
TCYC, in partnership with United Way, launched the Time For Kids Initiative to promote the Search Institute developmental asset approach throughout the community. Also in 1999, in collaboration with the Tarrant County CPS Board, the Amon G. Carter Foundation and then State Senator Mike Moncrief, TCYC began an extensive study of child neglect with 50-60 stakeholders. This group of stakeholders became the Neglect Hurts Task Force. |
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2001: |
TCYC issued Neglect Hurts: A Call to Action (pdf), calling on the community to address childhood neglect and abuse through a range of report recommendations.
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2002: |
TCYC received a grant from the Amon G. Carter Foundation to fund NETCARE (pdf), a community-based alternative response system designed to ensure that no Tarrant County child referred to CPS would fall through the cracks.
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2002-2003: |
TCYC lead the Tarrant County contingent of the Texas CHIP Coalition, a collaboration focused on ensuring that the State of Texas properly funded the Childrens Health Insurance Program.
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2004-2005: |
TCYC focused on serving as the voice for Tarrant County Children and Youth Social Capital Development, through the input from a Social Development Task Force and a Youth Initiatives Task Force.
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2006-2007: |
TCYC defined ten specific core focus areas that fall into two categories centered around building social capital for children and youth: building neighborhood (Arlington Child Care Council, Children's Neighborhood Network, Building Connections-Building Community, Middle School Strategic Intervention Project, enhance Tarrant County elementary school social development through programs like Dancing Classrooms North Texas) and youth engagement (Youth Inititatives Task Force, Youth Social Entrepreneurship).
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TCYC Board Presidents
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Years: |
Name: |
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1980 |
Candy Rehfeldt |
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1981 |
Ramon Guajardo |
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1981-1983 |
Bill West |
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1983-1985 |
Ramon Guajardo |
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1985-1987 |
Joan Campbell |
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1987-1989 |
Don Kromer |
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1989-1991 |
Zem Neill |
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1991-1993 |
Marty Leonard |
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1993-1996 |
Rosie Mauk |
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1996-1997 |
Mary Lee Hafley |
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1997-1998 |
Ted Blevins |
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1998-1999 |
Carey Cockerell |
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1999-2000 |
Elaine Klos |
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2000-2002 |
Ellen Jones |
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2002-2005
2006-2008
Current |
Cathy Hirt
Konnie Darrow
Judy Ramos
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