TJJD News & Announcements

What led you to your career in juvenile justice? I would say God did. As a child I was raised in a very dysfunctional family. My siblings and I were involved at one point the Child Welfare Department, leading to us being placed in a children’s home in Arkansas for a period of time. Eventually my mother was able to get her life together to get us all back, but there was still continued dysfunction. When I was in high school, I wanted to be a social worker to help children. However, I did not go that direction. Instead, I enlisted in the U. S. Army for several years and came home, married, and had a family. It was not until my youngest daughter was in high school, and I was working at Wharton County Junior College that I started going to college on the Hazelwood Act, which was available to people who have served in the military and entered and exited the military with Texas as its home of record. It was with this grant paying for my tuition that I was able to work towards a degree....

What led you to your career in juvenile justice? I grew up with a desire to help others and my college years were directed toward working with teenagers.  Subsequent to an internship with the Abilene Boys Club, one of my professors talked with me about juvenile probation.  After graduation, I applied with the late Lynn Ross at the Tarrant County Juvenile Probation Department and began my career on January 15, 1991. What types of facilities do you operate? While our department doesn’t operate any facilities, we do contract with several residential treatment programs both in- and out-of-state.  The juvenile supports our quest to place youth in residential programs that best meets their needs regardless of location. What programs do you feel have proven most successful? The substance abuse program is a favorite primarily due to the expertise and passion of Debbie Cashon, the remarkable lady who runs our program in Wise and Jack counties.  We also have life...