In 1995 a task force identified family violence as a priority health problem in Cecil County. The task force was to develop a plan to decrease this identified health problem. Simultaneously, there was a Domestic Violence Advisory Committee for the Domestic Violence/Rape Crisis Program. In 1998 the two groups merged and became the Cecil County Family Violence Coordinating Council with the purpose of decreasing the amount of incidences of family violence by creating system for the coordinated community response and to set a community standard of zero tolerance for family violence in Cecil County.