TJJD News & Announcements

GAINESVILLE, Texas – The Gainesville State School broke ground Wednesday, Dec. 20, on a new, unique facility and program that will help students in custody learn agricultural skills and access a special type of horse therapy that has been proven to help at-risk youth with complex trauma, attachment disorders, and mood disorders. The dedication of Tornado Ranch, as it’s named, honored retiring TJJD Director David Reilly, who has championed animal therapy programs as a way to reach and help troubled teens. Reilly was the impetus behind both the equine program, which will begin operation shortly at Gainesville, and the PAWS (Pairing Achievement with Service) canine program, already in place at the Gainesville, Giddings and Ron Jackson campuses. Gainesville Superintendent Mike Studamire and Assistant Superintendent Deidra Reece presented Reilly with a handcrafted metal Texas “badge” made by youth in the metal shop and also unveiled photos of the new animal shelter...

GIDDINGS, Texas – Youth at the Giddings State School decorated their dorms for Christmas during their holiday break from classes. Here are photos of the amazing decor drawn, assembled and arranged by the youths from Dorm 8B and Dorm 3B.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Ayres Halfway House youth participated in a rewarding community service project, “Christmas for Seniors” on Dec.15, 2017. Volunteer Council Member Glenn  Faulk organized the project and raised almost $2,500 from generous community sponsors to provide lunch and Christmas presents for 54 residents at the Newell Retirement Complex. Ayres youth assisted in setting up, serving the seniors, eating lunch with the seniors and cleaning up. Santa made an appearance and brought smiles to the face of everyone in the room.

SAN ANTONIO – Ayres Halfway House youth participated in a two-day Ministries Of the Third Cross Retreat on Dec. 17, 2017. Members of the MOTTC group treated the youth to uplifting fellowship, music, and worship. The retreat members volunteered their time to cook for, serve and lift up our young men in an incredibly powerful way, that even brought the shyest youth out of their shell. At the end of the retreat the group members surprised the youth with Christmas gifts for each young man in the house.  All youth in the program participated and even lead prayers and songs. Many MOTTC members asked to sign on to volunteer with our agency to mentor in the future. It was a wonderful experience for all and they have already began the process of returning for a full, four-day retreat in the summer.

MART, Texas – The Capstone team and youth at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s McLennan County facilities collected over 200 toys for the Waco Boys & Girls Club!! Ernest Akers and Debra Noles went above and beyond with their efforts to get the toy drive started, and then following through on the details to make a huge success! A special thank you to them and all who donated as well as the HR department and business services because they donated an abundant amount of toys. The executive director of the Boys & Girls club was very appreciative of the work that was put in, and most off all, for providing holiday gifts to the children in Waco. Capstone youth and staff distributed flyers around our campus and also posted them on our dorms to promote the event. They also developed a sign in sheet for donators to place their name and list how many toys they have given. To promote the toy drive, the youth also came up with the idea of making the drive a completi...

HARLINGEN, Texas – On November 10, 2017 and November 16, 2017, the Tamayo House Students were able to help serve food to the community at two HEB Feast of Sharing 2017 events. One was held in Willacy and the other was held in Cameron County.   At the Willacy county event, 4 students helped serve over 4,000 people.  At the Harlingen event over 15,000 people were served with the help of 15 students  from Tamayo House on two different shifts.  The students enjoyed serving their community and enjoyed the great food!

Edinburg, Texas, hasn't seen snow in 13 years! But the staff and kids at the Evins Regional Juvenile Facility enjoyed it during the rare snowfall that reached all the way to the Rio Grande Valley on Dec. 8.

Youth on parole helped wrap presents for disadvantaged kids. SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Several San Antonio parolees, who attend the George Gervin Youth Center, participated in gift wrapping with the Elf Louise project. The Elf Louise Christmas Project was established in 1969 and is dedicated to providing a little bit of joy to Bexar County’s less fortunate children. The program is community-based and 100 percent volunteer supported, which enables thousands of youth to receive toys for Christmas. The youth that attend the George Gervin Youth Center are graduating December 16th with their high school diplomas and building trade certification. We are very proud of their hard work and commitment to accomplish this goal and give to youth in their community in this manner. The Elf Louise project has been going for nearly 50 years.

Photo: Volunteers take time out to talk to youth on center  court at Evins. “It was amazing to see the transformation and change in the attitude of the kids as they started, and towards the end of the retreat.”   --Ernesto Duran, Evins Volunteer and Christ on the Cross team member for the Acts Retreat.      EDINBURG, Texas -- You could sense something was brewing at the Evins Regional Juvenile Center (Evins) on a Thursday afternoon when a huge U-Haul truck entered the gated youth correctional facility.  Once it made its way around the corner towards the cafeteria, a group of volunteers wearing blue t-shirts with Christ on the Cross Juvenile Ministry on them followed and quickly unloaded musical sound equipment, tables, water, boxes of snacks, soft drinks and other fixtures.Within an hour, the cafeteria was transformed into a makeshift chapel with an altar and other religious symbols adorning the big area. Thirty-five t...

BROWNWOOD, Texas – The Foster Grandparent program has been in existence since 1965 and it is in every state in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It is a federal program with the state of Texas as the sponsor. Foster grandparents receive an hourly stipend that does not affect social security or other benefits, transportation cost assistance as well as sick, vacation and holidays paid. Seniors will work with children 15-40 hours per week with optional special hours provided. Full background checks are completed prior to acceptance in the program. “We are excited to bring this program into the classrooms,” said Principal Beverly Sumners of JJDRon Jackson. Sheryl Millwee, teacher, said, the youth are working with foster grandparent Barbara Hawkins and are "very appreciative of her help and are happy to see her. I have seen visible changes in their demeanor around her.” This program provides an opportunity for persons over 55 years of age who have limited ...

EDINBURG, Texas – Twenty-four youth volunteered to participate in a three-day Epiphany weekend retreat at Evins Regional Juvenile Center this summer. “This is a remarkable number of youth that decided to stay for the whole program”, said Evins Chaplain Luis Alvarado. Community Relations Coordinator Fidel Garcia added, “When you see this number of kids saying, ‘I like what I see and it keeps me focused and entertained while,’ that is a good thing.” Epiphany weekends are non-denominational retreats for the youth and are scheduled twice a year. The days are long, usually 12 hours of in-depth spiritual programing combined with music, singing, skits, meditation, scripture reading, board games, arts and crafts, and lots of different types of snacks and food throughout the retreat. Eighteen-year-old Andrez who participated for the first time, said, “I think it was wonderful. People showed me they cared about us. These people don’t even know us and they showed us love. When it was over, I ...

VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas – DiAnna Reich of Van Zandt County is the program administrator for the Just Kids Hands On Pet Education (JK HOPE) Program which was recently profiled in the Grand Saline Sun newspaper. Reich is a Grand Saline police officer who handles code enforcement and animal control. The program has been in place for five years and has three aspects: Animal Shelter, School Intervention, and Community Awareness. With the Animal Shelter and School Intervention Programs, youth participate in a six-week program either at the shelter or at school with classroom time and hands on training working with a dog. The dogs are transformed into well-mannered pets more likely to be adopted into a loving home. In the Community Awareness program, the youth participate in adoption clinics, presentations, and festivals where the youth are able to demonstrate what they have learned. The article in the Sun describes the value of JK HOPE for the kids saying, “The program aims to provide youth ...