TJJD News & Announcements

EDINBURG, Texas -- Bingo, pizza and prizes made for many happy moments at Family Day at the Evins Regional Juvenile Center, on Feb. 24. More than 100 family members visited 38 youth at this gathering sponsored by the South Texas Youth Council. The council provided pizza and beverages. Evins youth in the academic horticultural class cultivated potted flowers, which were given out as bingo prizes to the winning participants. Other prizes included beanie toys and toy cars. Elva Benitez, Family Liaison at Evins, coordinated and ran the event. Superintendent Tamu Steptoe, Assistant Superintendent Daniel Siam, Chaplain Luis Alvarado and central office’s Family and Community Program Supervisor Suzanne Scharlé attended, participated and assisted as needed. Thanks to all the case managers, dorm supervisors, JCOs and volunteers and facility managers who helped!

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.

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...

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 ...

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...

EDINBURG, Texas – Since 1994, Emma Joe and Herbert Snyder have been traveling the state of Texas to juvenile and adult corrections facilities to tell their story. Their story is not one easily shared by others, but for them it has become a life journey. It’s a story of joy, sorrow, court battles, parole hearings, and their willingness to see justice and prevent such tragedies from happening to others. Throughout the years they have touched thousands of lives and made an impact on many juveniles, adult inmates, and staff alike. As part of National Crime Victims Week, they traveled a 572 mile round trip to the Evins Regional Juvenile Center (ERJC) to speak to the youth. Their true story recounts how February 7, 1992, was not a typical day for the Snyders. In their hearts they felt something was terribly wrong and how a phone call would in an instant forever change their lives. They recounted how their 30-year-old son Atch (Pronounced “H”) was last seen alive and how he was trying t...

EDINBURG, Texas – Evins Regional Juvenile Center celebrated the Easter weekend by having a daylong family event. The day was filled with food, music, a variety of games, and an Easter egg hunt for Evins youth and youth that have children. The event was partially funded by volunteers and the Evins Volunteer Council, now renamed the South Texas Youth Council. PHOTO: Father and son enjoying a beautiful day at Evins Easter egg Hunt

EDINBURG, Texas – Roy Trevino dedicated most of his life helping adults around him as a computer business analyst specialist at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas. Now, recently retired, Mr. Trevino once again finds himself traveling to Edinburg on Tuesday nights to the Evins Regional Juvenile Center to mentor youth who have been committed to the state to help them cope with life behind the fence at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) facility. Mr. Trevino is also a member of First Baptist Church of Edinburg “My Brother’s Keeper.” The group has been active volunteers at Evins for the last eight years and sponsors monthly birthday parties and religious spiritual support for the boys in one of the dorms. Volunteers in the agency play a critical role in supplementing the agency’s rehabilitation program by offering a variety of life skills and other activities for the youth. Mentoring is one of them. Mentoring is a one-on-one assignment with a volunte...

Every six weeks, all TJJD education departments participate in a Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) incentive program, which addresses the youth’s individual ability to reach a set of identified expectations and behavior goals. This helps facilitate and shape behavior while building and reinforcing coping skills through targeted skill development. Overall, this offers the students directed practice, staff opportunity for modeling of pro-social skills, and positive reinforcement of targeted progress. The goal is to help youth reduce negative behavior while developing corresponding positive behaviors to build longterm, internalized changes in behavior. Below is a description of the PBIS Incentive Day held agency-wide on September 16, 2016. Gainesville: PBIS is going strong at the Gainesville State School. The last incentive was the largest yet with 68 students participating. The teachers came in early and prepared a home cooked breakfast for the students that included scra...