TJJD News & Announcements

PHOTO: Staff in the Austin Education Division office served as moderators and judges for youth participating in 2nd Annual Spelling Bee.  Youth from all TJJD facilities participated via video conference. When we are faced with words like “Obviate,” “Efficacy,” and “Quixotic,” we will often rely on the spell-check option to ensure we don’t make a mistake.  But 20 TJJD students didn’t have spell-check to depend on.  They were part of the 2nd Annual Agency-Wide Spelling Bee sponsored by the TJJD Education Department. Each campus, including the Phoenix unit, was given a list of more than 1,200 spelling words from the Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary that were broken down into four tiers to study for their chance at the finals.  Each campus was responsible for holding the preliminary rounds of the Spelling Bee to determine their top three spellers that would compete in the finals. Excitement filled the room as all of the facilities faced off for the finals!...

What led you to your career in juvenile justice? I worked as an Adult Probation Officer in Smith County, Texas and found working with Adults was not my thing. I worked in the private sector, made some money, but was not happy. Twenty three years ago I decided to make a career change and applied for a Juvenile Probation Officer position in El Paso County and have been here ever since. The best Professional decision I have made in my career! What types of facilities do you operate? We currently operate a 62 bed Detention Facility and a 40 bed Post Adjudication facility, AKA: Challenge Academy! What programs do you feel have proven most successful? In researching  data from the front to the back end of our system, these are our noted successes. Our DP180 diversion supervision program has been able to divert 54% of our departments total referrals, with a 10% recidivism rate. Our Post Adjudication - Challenge Academy had a 68% recidivism rate five years ago. With our Challe...

With campaigning for the presidency underway and an election in the near future, Willoughby Halfway House youth went on a history field trip to visit The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. The Museum features an interactive Decision Points Theater where visitors make real-time crisis decisions similar to those made by President Bush.  The museum also features important artifacts, such as a piece of the World Trade Center and a full-scale replica of the Oval Office complete with a Resolute Desk, which the youth got to sit behind. The museum offers a new and revealing look into the decisions and events of the Bush Presidency and houses approximately 43,000 gifts given to the President and First Lady by people from around the world.  According to Willoughby Halfway House Assistant Superintendent Felicia Reynolds, “This was a great opportunity for the youth to learn about the role of the president and they expressed that coming to the museum was a moment they wo...

TJJD hosted its annual Regional Training Officer (RTO) meeting in partnership with the Correctional Management Institute of Texas August 3-6, 2015 at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.  This year, approximately 16 RTOs from around the state came together for this collaborative opportunity.  The primary goal of this workgroup meeting is to ensure the content contained the current Juvenile Probation Officer Basic and Juvenile Supervision Officer Basic curricula is updated, relevant, applicable and written in a way so it can be consistently delivered statewide to officers.  With the end of the 84th Texas Legislative session, it was also necessary to determine whether or not any legislative changes needed to be made to the Basic curricula. In preparation for this workgroup meeting, TJJD solicited input via a survey for suggested changes to the curricula from participants attending TJJD’s Training Coordinators’ Conference that was held in June as well as sending t...

Beach to Bay Clean-up Each year in Corpus Christi in the month of May, the city is about one thing…”Beach to Bay.” The Corpus Christi Community Resource Council for Texas Youth and the staff and youth at York Halfway House participated in this exciting event.  The annual city wide event Beach to Bay Marathon Rally Race brings over 20,000 runners and onlookers to the Shoreline of Corpus Christi Bay.   The York house volunteers, Ministry of the Third Cross, staff, and youth have been assisting the Corpus Christi Road Runners with this annual event for as long as anyone can remember at the facility.  Our assistance this year brought in $1,800 to the volunteer council for the benefit of the youth at York house.  Thanks to all that participated to make this annual fundraiser a great success.

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department presented the President’s Volunteer Service Awards to 184 of the agency’s most active volunteers. The awards are given in recognition of 100 or more service hours during a twelve month time period. This year’s award recipients collectively contributed a total of 33,894 hours of service to our youth. Six volunteers earned the Gold Medal award by each contributing more than 500 hours. Twenty-six volunteers earned the Silver Medal award by each contributing between 250 and 500 hours of service. The remaining award recipients earned the Bronze Level award for contributing between 100 and 249 hours of service. Each volunteer will receive a letter and a personalized certificate from President Barack Obama recognizing their distinguished service. The President’s Volunteer Service Award is the premier volunteer awards program, encouraging United States citizens through presidential recognition to live a life of service. The President’s Council on Servi...

Schaeffer Halfway House JCO VI Willie Barraza and a team of youth worked during the month of July on a project to repair broken water lines and the sprinkler system that provides irrigation to the landscape. Overall this project cost about $400 to complete and saved the State about $2,000 in labor. In addition to the monetary savings, the project was a learning experience combining technical knowledge, manual labor, and team work to render success.

Seven Texas Juvenile Justice Department administrators were recently selected as Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) Fellows by the Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy in Washington, D.C.  The eight are TJJD Board Member and 386th District Juvenile Court Judge Laura Parker, Director of Secure Facility Operations Thomas Adamski, Chief of Staff Chelsea Buchholtz, Director of Treatment Services Madeleine Byrne, General Counsel Jill Mata, Director of Youth Placement and Program Development Rebecca Walters, and Senior Director of Probation and Community Services James Williams. Members of the TJJD team attended the Youth in Custody Certificate Program hosted by the CJJR in July 2015 and were admitted to the CJJR Fellows Network in October 2015.  While in Washington, D.C., the team presented its proposed “Capstone Project.”  This project, which CJJR approved, seeks to improve the flexibility of youth scheduling and improve treatment services for yo...

The Student Support Council for the Gainesville State School held their annual “Celebrity Wait” with a stellar roster of waiters this past June.  Celebrity waiters included State Representative Drew Springer, City Manager Barry Sullivan, Sheriff Terry Gilbert, Celebrated Author Fred Funk, and FOX News Announcer John Gibson.  Many other popular Cooke county residents such as Dr. Glen Sears, United Way Executive Director Angie Hare , Abigail’s Arms Director of Outreach Kelly Fiore-Watson, Entrepreneur Darrel Rundus, and State School Superintendent Paul Bartush helped raise over $2,400.00.  Sheriff Gilbert won the award for most tips raised with $500.00 earned.  The entertaining evening was held at Sernas in Gainesville. The money will be used to purchase clothing, toiletries, and bags for youth; bus tickets for family members to visit youth; scholarships for college, graduation supplies, sports banquets, incentives for youth who show progress in the program, meals ...

This summer, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department was joined by 19 county juvenile probation departments, Hays Consolidated School District, and the City of Kyle in celebrating Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), the signature campaign of Youth Service America. GYSD is the largest service event in the world that activates and celebrates the millions of children and youth who find their voice, take action, and have an impact on vital issues. Youth in the juvenile justice system took this opportunity to showcase their ability to give back and make restitution to their local communities. A total of 48 facilities and organizations engaged more than 4,400 youth in completing 99 service-learning projects. Youth all across Texas contributed more than 13,000 hours of service during the month of April and impacted the lives of an estimated 20,000 citizens. The State Volunteer Resource Council for Texas Youth received $3,000 for planning and supplies from Youth Service America and the Texas ...

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is pleased to announce that Jessica Cabrera was selected as the new Superintendent of the Evins Regional Juvenile Center, located in the lower Rio Grande Valley.  Born and raised in the Valley, Ms. Cabrera is no stranger to the area or the Evins facility as she has worked in the juvenile justice system for over 15 years.  A native of Weslaco, Texas, Ms. Cabrera earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Corrections and Executive Leadership and Management respectively. Working as a probation officer for Hidalgo County’s Mario Ramirez Juvenile Justice Center, she  recalls telling the youth at the detention center to straighten up or they could end up at the Evins facility.  “Even though I never toured Evins back then, we were just a few miles down the road,” she said, referring to the last stop for juvenile offenders. Her first impression of the Evins facility was totally different the...