Letter from Governor Rick Perry

September 28, 2006

Dear Tool-Kit User,

Thank you for participating in this year's 2nd Annual Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week, February 5-9, 2007. As you may know, abuse is a silent epidemic that must be addressed. One third of today's teens experience some kind of abuse in their romantic relationships. Violence affects people of all races and knows no socioeconomic boundaries. Patterns of dating violence which start in adolescence increase in severity and continue into adult relationships. Violence in teen relationships can and must be prevented. During the week of February 5-9, 2007, high schools and community groups across the country will join together to raise awareness to increase safety in dating relationships for all teens.

Last year's Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week was extremely successful. The pilot reached more than 10,500 young people statewide. We hope to reach even more teenagers this year, but we need your help. Attached to this document are suggestions for youth activities that we hope you find helpful. The enclosed toolkit materials include:

A DVD ( two versions) and Video Guide
A "Call to Youth," a guide to encourage youth participation
A Center for Disease Control Guide
Teacher Guide with Classroom Activities
Handbook of Facts, Warning Signs, and Recommendations
Sexual Assault Fact Sheet
Teen Legal Rights Brochures
Posters
Evaluation form (to share best practices and tell us how to improve the tool kits)

Please share the contents of the tool kit with faculty members, community groups, and youth so that they may learn how to identify, stop and prevent teen dating violence. Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week is February 5-9, 2006, but we hope you will utilize these materials throughout the school year.

The following agencies and individuals have played an integral role in launching the Teen Dating Violence Initiative in Texas: Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division; Jitin Hingorani and Jennifer Margulies of Texas Council on Family Violence; Tim Love of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault; Bronwyn Blake of the Women's Advocacy Project; Shannon Sandrea and Randy Randolph of SafePlace; and The Center for Disease Control. The American Bar Association's Steering Committee on the Unmet Legal Needs of Children has granted the Governor's Commission for Women special permission to reproduce the enclosed tool kit materials.

If you have any questions regarding the contents of the tool kits or need additional resource information, please contact Bronwyn Blake at (512) 225-9579.

Sincerely,

Rick Perry
Governor