TJJD News & Announcements

EDINBURG, Texas – Even when not at work, for Evins Regional Juvenile Center (ERJC) JCO Eric Aleman, the call for duty is usually close to him. In July, Aleman was enjoying his day off from work at South Padre Island appreciating the nice breezy weather with family and friends when he spotted a swimmer in distress who had gone out too far from the shoreline. Without hesitation, he did what he does naturally -- help out when he is summoned. He quickly grabbed a inflated toy ring from a beachgoer and went in after the troubled swimmer. When he finally reached the swimmer, he noticed that there was more than one person on the verge of succumbing to the depth and waves of the sea. Quickly he was able to get the two swimmers to hold onto the inflated ring, while two surfers approached and assisted them. “Mr. Aleman is one of seven JCOs that were just certified last November as lifeguards,” said ERJC Recreation Specialist Jose Castellanos. Castellanos went on to say that the lifeguard t

Parole Officer Van Foster was the August 2017 recipient of the TJJD Employee Excellence Award. Van began his employment with the agency in September of 1995 as a Program Administrator and is currently a Parole Officer III. Executive Director David Reilly said, “We want to publicly thank Van for his commitment, dedication, initiative, and excellence to the agency. We encourage all of you to express your appreciation to him, as well.” What enticed you to become a Parole Officer? I knew becoming a parole officer would allow me to be involved in shaping the lives of children and families in their communities of origin. What drives you to do a good job? I want all children to know that there are people in this world that really have their best interest at heart. I want the youth I serve to be successfully reintegrated into their families and communities so that the children have opportunities to create a new path. If I tie youth and families to community resources, opportunities for

BROWNWOOD, Texas – The three-hour blood drive was a huge success with 15 donors and 19 units of blood collected for the United Blood Services. Sean Richey with the United Blood Services stated, “We are very pleased with how giving everybody is and how smoothly the drives run at Ron Jackson.” Debra Mathis of the Texas Community Farmers Market displayed fresh and dried fruits, trees, plants, vegetables, and jellies. Rebecca Morelock from Bake Artisan Goods offered artisan bread and more. Krista Behler of Crossed Oaks Design exhibited handmade signs. Aaron and Lark Terry, owners of Arrows and Oaks, offered goat milk soaps and lotions. And Cricket Wireless provided a variety of phone plans and accessories. The vendors said that it was more successful than they expected and that  they would love to come out and bring more vendors for the October blood drive. The Pairing Achievement with Service (PAWS) program demonstrated the TJJD youths' training abilities and the dogs’ learned s

EL PASO, Texas – Through collaborative efforts in 2011, between the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) and the Office of Acquired Brain Injury (OABI), the El Paso County Juvenile Probation Department began the process of identifying justice-involved youth who may have sustained or acquired a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The El Paso County Juvenile Probation Department has established protocol to screen eligible clients for brain injury. The Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire (BISQ) is used to identify youth who have suffered a brain injury and note if there were any residual effects of the injury on the child’s physical abilities, cognition and/or emotional or behavioral states. The grant TJJD secured allowed the El Paso County Juvenile Probation Department to develop a partnership with Dr. Wayne Gordon of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and supported Injury Control Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York. Through this collabo

GIDDINGS, Texas – Incentives have exploded at Giddings State School and the events just keep coming. The PBIS incentive team at Giddings State School have taken incentive programs to new heights and the youth have enjoyed a summer packed with fun. Events included a field day in which students were able to play water games and enjoy healthy snacks, a water kickball game complete with slip-n-slides and inflatable pools, and even the opportunity to ride newly purchased bicycles around campus. Along with these great opportunities, the PBIS incentive team renovated a dorm specifically for incentive use. With a boardwalk theme, bright colors, games, and relaxation stations, youth meeting criteria are able to spend leisure time with friends enjoying their day. In addition, even more is on the way. With a new dorm of the month program, students will be allowed access to themed Lego sets such as the NASA Apollo Saturn V spaceship or the Silent Mary pirate ship to build at their dorm.

This is a message from Shirley Stephens as she steps down as Team Lead for the G3 Juvenile Prison Ministry at McFadden Ranch. She will continue to mentor and help at special events. “In 2013 I got a horseshoe and a cross from Connie Redford (retired Community and Family Relations Coordinator for North Texas/Tarrant County/Fort Worth) for volunteering. The end of that year Anne Ashton gave me the keys to the ranch when I took her place over G3 volunteers. Tonight , last Monday, 7/24/2017, the Council gave me roses in a boot to remember the ranch. These are some of my treasures!"

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – TJJD hosted its annual Regional Training Officer (RTO) meeting in partnership with the Correctional Management Institute of Texas August 1-3, 2017, at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Regional trainers from around the state came together for this collaborative opportunity. (The primary goal of the workgroup meeting was to ensure the current content of the Juvenile Probation Officer Basic and Juvenile Supervision Officer Basic curricula are updated, relevant, applicable and written in a way that can be consistently delivered statewide to officers.) The RTO workgroup also welcomed several new members to the group. In preparation for this workgroup meeting, TJJD solicited input via its annual training survey for suggested changes to the curricula, and additional training resources that may be needed within the field. In addition to the survey results, other areas of discussion included: accomplishments from FY 2017; review of the JSO pilot exam questions

GAINESVILLE, Texas – It’s hard to believe it has already been a year since PAWS (Pairing Achievement With Service) came to the Gainesville campus. The program, in place since June 2016, has done very well by both human and dog standards. Many dogs have been adopted, with one going on to do therapy work in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. PAWS also recently acquired a service dog in training from Service Dogs Inc. that will soon go to formal training at their Dripping Springs facility and be paired with a client in need. Youth from the Gainesville facility did an incredible job building the one and only PAWS Dog Park for the program. Youth, along with the help and supervision of welding teachers Denver Foster and Dennis Westerlin, and Carl Motley, Director of Security, constructed, welded, and painted the dog park structure. “It was really a lot of hard work… and hot!” stated one youth who contributed his welding skills to the project. Members from the Gainesville Student Support Counc

GIDDINGS, Texas – On July 22, Giddings State School welcomed the Bill Glass Ministry team with the Behind the Walls event. The ministry event consisted of Behind the Walls team members who won the youth over with their inspiring life stories and extra special props. Speakers included a football player who is currently in the running to be a walk-on for the Green Bay Packers showing amazing strength and a racecar from the film Talladega Night s. Students saw the Talladega Nights racecar perform "burnouts" in front of the gym. The ministry team shared their stories of overcoming adversity through their own personal stories of struggle and finding faith. Their personal stories inspired both youth and staff alike and provided a beacon of hope and optimism for the future of our youth.

On July 12, TJJD’s Education Division hosted its 4th Annual Spelling Bee. The winner of the Spelling Bee was student H. P. from MRTC, second place was F. M. from Evins, and third place went to J. T. at Ron Jackson. Students from across the state competed in on-campus spelling bees and the top three winners from each of TJJD’s six campuses won an opportunity to compete in the District-wide Spelling Bee. The Spelling Bee was conducted out of Central Office via the Polycom system. The pronouncer for the Bee was Lori Thorp, the professional development coordinator. The judges were Kimbla Newsom, Lane Cartwright, and Dr. Marie Welsch. The official scorekeeper was Efrain Resendez. Congratulations to our Spelling Bee Champion! Below are some benefits of a spelling bee. Competitive Spirit Spelling bees allow individuals to compete in a supportive environment. The brain activity and excitement that goes with a spelling bee is just as stimulating as a physical competition, which means

GAINESVILLE, Texas – High School youth from the Denton Police Youth Summer Program, along with four Denton Police Officers, enjoyed a tour of the Gainesville State School in July. The School Resource Officers hand select students from the assigned campuses. There are middle school, high school, and girls programs that have been operating since 2010. Officer Keith Adams who coordinates the tours each year states, “I am involved because I want to continue to help make positive changes in kids’ lives. There is no greater feeling than to be in the position to open up a kid’s imagination, keep them out of harm’s way, and steer them in the right direction.” While on campus, youth see what a dorm looks like, hear from young residents, tour the security unit, and see campus life. When asked why he chooses to bring youth to the Gainesville State School, Officer Adams replied, “I felt that the facility would provide the kids with the opportunity to see what the inside of a confined facili