Juvenile Justice Board. I am excited about what these individuals will bring to the leadership of TJJD and look forward to working with each of them.
With the 85th Texas Legislative Session behind us, it is now time to assess the results. While no legislation passed that makes sweeping changes to the system, there were a few bills that passed worth noting. SB 1304, known as the Juvenile Records Advisory Committee bill, passed, thanks in large part to the diligent efforts of William Carter, CPO in Lubbock County along with Mark Williams, CPO in Tom Green County. There was a focus on foster children this session that resulted in several bills passing that would increase sharing of information between the Department of Family and Protective Services and juvenile justice agencies, including HB 7, HB 932, and HB 1521. HB 1204 directs juvenile probation departments to refer certain children under 12 to a community resource coordination group or similar group to develop a service plan. SB 1548 allows counties to provide services to youth for up to six months after discharge, regardless of their age.
Financially, given the broader context of tightened revenue and budget cuts across all agencies, I believe TJJD came out well, particularly with regard to long-standing infrastructure needs. However, there are some areas that will face significant challenges over the next two years. TJJD’s core probation grant—State Aid—will see a large reduction, and certain fundamental elements of caring for the state residential population were funded at levels significantly below our request. We are in the process of determining how to mitigate those challenges; I’d like to take a moment to highlight efforts related to probation grants.
Baseline probation funding included a reduction of about 2%. Starting from that reduced base, both
the Senate and House increased funding for the Regional Diversion Alternatives program, but adopted additional reductions totaling $8.9 million that will impact State Aid. This was not TJJD’s recommendation or choice, but was a legislative decision based on projected probation supervision populations. The total reduction in the appropriation sources supporting most probation grants is about 4.5%. The current appropriations environment has led TJJD to continue with the funding formula adopted last year, but using all options available to minimize the impact of the system-wide reduction. Counties just received their projected formula funding to begin the budgeting process for 2018, and based on staff’s analysis and adjusting, relative to initial FY 2017 State Aid allocations: a projected 97 departments will experience a reduction of approximately 3.06%, while 6 will see a greater reduction and 16 will see a lesser reduction; and a projected 31 departments will experience an increase of approximately 0.98%, while 7 will stay flat or see a lesser increase and 9 will see a greater increase. I strongly encourage you to contact Mike Meyer with any questions you have. We often hear the need for greater flexibility in spending. We have been able to support county-specific
needs in that regard whenever they have asked, and will continue to look for ways to increase flexibility going forward. I look forward to discussing these issues in more detail at the Post Legislative and Budget Conferences July 31, 2017 through August 2, 2017 at the Omni Southpark in Austin. More information can be found on the TJJD website.
Jim Hurley, our long-time Communications Director, quietly retired at the end of May. I am grateful for Jim’s diligent service to our agency, through some tough times. I will miss his kindness, wit, and energy but wish him all the best in this new stage of life. Given the agency’s budgetary limitations, we will not fill the position. Carolyn Beck, Governmental Relations Specialist, is taking on those duties as our new Director of External Relations. She will continue her governmental relations duties as well.
Additionally, I am reviewing applications for the Senior Director of Probation and Community Services position and expect to conduct interviews and make a selection over the summer. Lou Serrano and Denise Askea are doing an excellent job managing the Probation and Community Services Division in the interim. I know it is important to the county probation field to have a strong person in this position. I share the desire to fill that position with a candidate that is a good match for the field and look forward to being able to make that announcement.
This will be a summer of continued Youth In Custody Practice Model implementation, legislation
implementation, budget discussions, and much more. Our work is never done. I am thankful I get to work with each of you.
PHOTO: David Reilly