The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission provides funding, technical assistance and training for county and local juvenile probation departments. The agency also establishes and enforces state standards, analyzes statewide data, and facilitates communication between state and local juvenile justice entities.
The agency is governed by a board of nine members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. The ...
Texas Juvenile Justice Department spokesman Jim Hurley said that Jay Kimbrough, who served as interim leader of the agency from May until this month, will be returning to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is undergoing a review of all youths in its system to better assess security threats, but advocates worry it will become a tool to recommend more youths for imprisonment in adult facilities.
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Freedom Place, outside of Houston, is Texas' first privately run safe house that provides long-term housing for American girls who are victims of sex trafficking.
Full StoryUPDATED: The Texas Juvenile Justice Department's board voted on Friday to implement new reforms aimed at reducing violence in the state's troubled youth lockups. It also named Jay Kimbrough interim executive director.
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With the closure of two previous youth agencies, lawmakers and advocates hope to see cost savings and better results out of the new Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
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Since abuse scandals rocked the Texas juvenile justice system in 2007, reforms have led to fewer youths in prison and less crime among youths, but a national report issued Tuesday indicates Texas could still do better.
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A bill to merge Texas' two state juvenile justice agencies is headed to the governor for a signature.
Full StoryTexas youths who get crossways with the law could soon find themselves under the supervision of a new state juvenile justice agency whose main mission is to keep young offenders close to home and quickly headed in a more positive direction.
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Hours after the state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would merge the state's two juvenile criminal justice agencies, a House committee passed a similar bill.
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The director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown Public Policy Institute on the factors Texas lawmakers should consider as they seek to make budget cuts while continuing the reforms they started in 2007.
The director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown Public Policy Institute on the factors Texas lawmakers should consider as they seek to make budget cuts while continuing the reforms they started in 2007.
Full StoryAbolishing the state's two existing juvenile justice agencies and creating one new department to prevent crime and treat and punish young offenders could save Texas up to $150 million, lawmakers said today.
Full StoryLawmakers, bureaucrats and criminal justice advocates all agree that the state’s trouble-ridden Texas Youth Commission ought to close down two of its correctional facilities. Like other state agencies, TYC has been asked to cut its budget for the next biennium by 10 percent, or $40 million. But no one at TYC is saying which lockups should get shuttered. “They don’t want to bite that bullet and show leadership,” says state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston.
Full StoryIn the shadow of a projected $21 billion budget shortfall, lawmakers told juvenile justice agencies that they must start budgeting like a cash-strapped family.
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After shocking abuse was uncovered at Texas Youth Commission facilities in 2007, lawmakers successfully overhauled the state juvenile justice system. Three years later, advocates worry that budget woes will halt that progress.
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A recent juvenile justice report finds drug-addicted TYC inmates who didn't participate in the agency's drug treatment program were less likely to reoffend than those who did.
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