Texas Loves Children, Inc. (TLC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve case outcomes for abused and neglected children by enhancing the quality of legal services they receive. The most important decisions about an abused or neglected child's future are made in court. TLC exists to help ensure that those decisions are the best possible for the child.

History

Texas Loves Children, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, was founded by Barbara Elias-Perciful in 1995 to provide specialized training about child abuse issues to Dallas judges and attorneys. Barbara had been practicing business litigation at the Dallas firm Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, L.L.P., when she took a pro bono court appointment to represent an abused child. The heartbreaking situation—a 12-year-old girl who had been methodically sexually abused by her father for years—was made even more desperate when Barbara saw the lack of tools, research, and expertise readily available to assist judges and attorneys handling these cases. Shortly thereafter, Barbara left the law firm and opened a private practice devoted exclusively to representing abused children. She then established Texas Loves Children, Inc. (TLC) to provide highly specialized training to the legal community on complex child abuse issues, subjects not typically covered in law school. For the last 14 years, TLC has sponsored high-quality training seminars on critical legal, medical, and mental health issues for judges, attorneys, CPS workers, CASA volunteers, and law enforcement personnel.

In May 2004, Texas Loves Children launched the Texas Lawyers for Children website program — an interactive legal resource and communication center designed to further extend the availability of training and information. In November 2007, the Texas Supreme Court’s Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families selected TLC’s website program as one of its Texas Court Improvement Program projects for improving the court system’s handling of child abuse cases. During 2008, TLC replicated its website model for California’s Administrative Office of the Courts, which launched its online legal resource center in December 2008. This collaboration marked a momentous leap in realizing TLC’s goal of creating a national network of online centers that work together to help children by sharing information and best practices.

Texas Loves Children is confident that with the continued involvement and support of the community, its vision will be achieved—that abused children nationwide are protected from further harm.


Mission Texas Loves Children, Inc. (TLC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve case outcomes for abused and neglected children by enhancing the quality of legal services they receive. The most important decisions about an abused or neglected child's future are made in court. TLC exists to help ensure that those decisions are the best possible for the child. Click here to view a brochure on how TLC helps abused and neglected children. History Texas Loves Children, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, was founded by Barbara Elias-Perciful in 1995 to provide specialized training about child abuse issues to Dallas judges and attorneys. Barbara had been practicing business litigation at the Dallas firm Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, L.L.P., when she took a pro bono court appointment to represent an abused child. The heartbreaking situation—a 12-year-old girl who had been methodically sexually abused by her father for years—was made even more desperate when Barbara saw the lack of tools, research, and expertise readily available to assist judges and attorneys handling these cases. Shortly thereafter, Barbara left the law firm and opened a private practice devoted exclusively to representing abused children. She then established Texas Loves Children, Inc. (TLC) to provide highly specialized training to the legal community on complex child abuse issues, subjects not typically covered in law school. For the last 14 years, TLC has sponsored high-quality training seminars on critical legal, medical, and mental health issues for judges, attorneys, CPS workers, CASA volunteers, and law enforcement personnel. In May 2004, Texas Loves Children launched the Texas Lawyers for Children website program — an interactive legal resource and communication center designed to further extend the availability of training and information. In November 2007, the Texas Supreme Court’s Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families selected TLC’s website program as one of its Texas Court Improvement Program projects for improving the court system’s handling of child abuse cases. During 2008, TLC replicated its website model for California’s Administrative Office of the Courts, which launched its online legal resource center in December 2008. This collaboration marked a momentous leap in realizing TLC’s goal of creating a national network of online centers that work together to help children by sharing information and best practices. Texas Loves Children is confident that with the continued involvement and support of the community, its vision will be achieved—that abused children nationwide are protected from further harm.	Mission & History Advisory Council Board of Trustees Leadership Team Contact Us
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©Copyright 2009, Texas Loves Children, Inc....The children depicted here were not taken from actual child abuse cases. Graphic design by Michael Garrett.

Mission

History