TJJD News & Announcements

Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Facility’s wide lawns and walkways are nearly deserted on a quiet summer afternoon. Youth in residence are inside taking classes or attending therapy. Several young women rest in dayrooms after an exhausting intramural field game meet that morning. A scant breeze rustles the giant oaks, and then -- a burst of activity! A huddle of girls and dogs spills from a low brick dorm in a far corner of the campus. The chattering hive of pony tails and wagging tails emerges as one, then separates into girl-dog pairs, trotting around the yard. The girls command their leashed canines to walk, sit and retrieve toys. Here at the PAWS Dorm, where 11 girls and their assigned foster dogs live and train, there’s rarely a slow moment, or many contentious ones. Visitors often remark about the “very warm environment,” says Dorm Supervisor Holli Fenton, who helped co-found the PAWS (Pairing Achievement with Service) program at the Texas Juvenile Justice Departmen...

Coggin Church led Vacation Bible School for 50 youth at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex during the last week of July.  This is the 4th year for them to sponsor this particular event.  Eighteen volunteers attended to assist with all the activities. Many were members of Coggin, while some were volunteers from various other churches in the area. Lynn Humeniuk, wife of the former Ron Jackson Superintendent Dan Humeniuk, expressed her excitement. “Not many people volunteer to work with incarcerated youth.  This VBS was a tremendous blessing as it was clear the students were open to hear the gospel message.  They were engaged, inquisitive and it was inspiring to be able to spend time with them at the Ron Jackson facility!” The students arrived at 8 each morning for a time of worship and fun. Ricky Cavitt, Coggin Church’s youth pastor, introduced the volunteers and kicked off the day’s activities with a few games and a word of encouragement in the chapel...

The annual National Day of Prayer on May 3 prompted multiple gatherings across TJJD campuses. McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility held a prayer breakfast with several speakers and a bounty of food delivered by volunteers. Eligible youth attended, bowing their heads in prayer along with Mart Chaplain Larrye Weaver and other pastoral leaders who visited and spoke. At the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Facility, a large group of volunteers arrived to lead a service in the chapel and also provide one-on-one prayer with youth who asked to participate in this very personal moment. Other secure facilities received volunteers and mentors, who organized events and prayed with youth. At Giddings State School, more than a dozen youth participated in a balloon release outside the chapel. At the Gainesville State School, an Epiphany group visited with youth. PHOTO: Youth at the Giddings State School release balloons.

This year’s winners of the Innovation Grants include practical new programs that will help TJJD youth learn how to make simple house repairs, maintain cars and improve their physical fitness and emotional well-being. The grants, which total $10,000, are made possible by the State Volunteer Resource Council for Texas Youth. Judges report they had a difficult task winnowing the many deserving proposals to the eight winning projects announced last week. Here are the winners: HOME REPAIR MADE EASY (WILLOUGHBY HALFWAY HOUSE) Grant Award: $700 In this project, community volunteers will teach the youth at the halfway house how to make simple home repairs through hands-on learning. They will focus on repairing floors, drywall and painting, and landscaping, and youth will complete a 12-week course. Grant funds will be used to purchase supplies, equipment and tools for the repair projects. CAR SMART (MCFADDEN RANCH) Grant Award: $500 Community volunteers will te...

BROWNWOOD, Texas – Every six weeks the youth at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex have the opportunity to attend an educational “Incentive Day.” Incentive Day offers the kids a chance to play games, swim in the pool and enjoy snacks. In order to be eligible to attend, a youth must have a good record in school. They must be passing all classes and not have had any security referrals or major rule violations. At the Incentive Day in February, 30 youth qualified. They were treated to hot dogs and cookies and were able to play pool basketball, shuffle board, bean bags and video games. In addition, they had “glamour” pictures taken.

BROWNWOOD, Texas – Youth at the Brownwood PAWS program trained this service dog candidate, Templeton, last year. Now Templeton has gone on to change a life of a teenager who was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a car wreck. Katie’s first service dog died at just 7 years old, leaving her in a very tough position. She depends upon having a service dog to maintain her independence during the afternoons after her caregiver leaves. At the same time, Templeton made the tough cut for becoming a service dog but his match fell through at the last minute. Staff at Service Dogs Inc. in Dripping Springs felt so awful for Katie they decided to place Templeton with her despite the fact that she’d moved away to Seattle. Templeton retrieves things Katie needs such as the remote for the lights so she can go to sleep or an emergency call button/phone. He helps her get undressed and puts her legs back on her wheelchair. Templeton started out at Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Insti...

BROWNWOOD, Texas -- The Metamorphosis Group, which works with youth who’re struggling with self-worth and related issues, is off to a successful start at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex. After winding up the first session with nine girls in December, volunteer group leaders Carl and Lorinda Bodiford are launching two new groups with 18 students this week. The group that finished in December followed a Christian curriculum that stresses everyone has a purpose in life and that the rough times the girls are going through are temporary. The six weeks course, based on the life cycle of a butterfly, uses scripture to emphasize that each person is created by God for a specific purpose. The last and most powerful lesson centered on forgiveness and the freedom that forgiveness brings. The class culminated with the release of balloons on which each student had the opportunity to write the names of people in their lives who needed forgiveness as well as act...

BROWNWOOD, Texas – The Brownwood Community Resource Council (CRC) raised $1,482 with a raffle it held last month on behalf of youth at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex.   Youth in the woodshop class participated in the fund-raising raffle by creating a beautiful picnic table. Weakley Watson Sporting Goods also provided a raffle prize, a Yeti 75 Tundra cooler at a discount price. Each member of the CRC, a group of volunteers that supports activities and projects at Ron Jackson, supported the raffle by offering tickets to the community. Lynn Humeniuk, director of the Criminal Justice Program at Howard Payne University, won the raffle and is enjoying both the picnic table and the cooler. Some may remember Humeniuk’s husband, Dan Humeniuk, who was the superintendent at Ron Jackson from 1993 to 2006. Proceeds go into a fund that supports scholarships, incentives, 4-H, choir, drama and events such as graduation receptions at the Ron Jackson fac...

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 ...

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...

BROWNWOOD, Texas – Youth incarcerated at the Ron Jackson facility in Brownwood, Texas, got a rare and well-earned opportunity for a field trip to reunite with service dogs they had trained when the dogs first emerged from their own humble beginnings at Texas animal shelters. On January 11, 2017, four boys in the program, along with staff from Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD), traveled three and a half hours to Dripping Springs, Texas, near Austin, to visit the campus of Service Dogs, Inc. The boys and other TJJD youth have been working with trainers from Service Dogs, Inc. for over a year in the nation’s first and only juvenile offender service dog training program. “Youth in the PAWS program (Pairing Achievement With Service) have been living with and training shelter dogs for pet adoption since 2010,” explains PAWS administrator and dog trainer for TJJD Cris Burton, M.Ed. “Youth must pass a psychological screening and have enough time left to work with the dogs throug...

BROWNWOOD, Texas – This past summer, Lone Star High School West at Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex worked to beautify the atrium in the center of the school. Students, along with teachers and JCO’s, painted concrete benches in a variety of colors and designs. During the Fall 2016 semester, the school decided to continue the beautification by building a picnic table in one of the woodshop classes and planting flowers. In addition, the decision was made to finish the benches by holding a competition. The students were asked to create a design for a bench that fit the theme of “Believe in yourself, achieve your goals, be a success.” Staff then selected four benches that best fit the theme. The atrium is currently used for staff and student events, as well as for some class activities. The upgrades to the benches give students ownership and pride in their school.

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...