Organizations that advocate for juvenile justice reforms are calling for an independent investigation of violence at Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities on the heels of a Texas Tribune report that the rate of confirmed youth-on-youth assaults there has tripled since 2007.

In a letter to Debbie Unruh, the ombudsman of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, Texas Appleseed and other groups said the statistics reported in the Tribune confirm anecdotal reports they have received in recent years from youths they work with at the state's six secure facilities. They submitted a formal complaint and asked Unruh to launch an investigation ...

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