TJJD News & Announcements

Jeanette Vrabel is the TJJD Employee Excellence Award winner for Central Office. Vrabel began her employment with the agency in November of 2015 as a Senior Contract Specialist and has become a “rock star” of that department, handling some of the most complex contracts for TJJD and more than $40 million in contracts overall. “With over 25 years state service and over 12 years of experience in contracts, she always get the job done in the most cost efficient way,” wrote her nominating colleague. “. . . She is merciless in her management of vendors and service providers, holding each accountable for providing the best quality services we expect and are paying for.” Outside of work, Vrabel enjoys spending time with family and friends, and she likes to get outdoors, whether for work or pleasure. She will receive a reserved parking, certificate of appreciation and the option for a $50 gift card or 8 hours of Executive leave.

Diane Laffoon, a training specialist, is the April 2018 recipient of the TJJD Employee Excellence Award for Central Office. Laffoon, who began her employment with the agency in January 2004 as a professional certification specialist, continues to be “the hub of the certification wheel for all juvenile justice across the state of Texas,” according to her nomination. She provides excellent customer service to all those with whom she works to get training properly documented, and “despite challenges with technology and many daily questions from the field, she is always helpful and diligent.” She communicates items for follow-up that don’t necessarily even fall into her purview, because she wants to help others connect with the right person, wrote the colleague who nominated her. Friends and co-workers know Laffoon to be an avid fan of the Cleveland Indians baseball team.  Laffoon also is a songwriter and onetime drummer. She will receive a reserved parking, certi...

AUSTIN, Texas – TJJD will be implementing a series of new courses on September 1 designed to assist staff with additional tools to aid in the successful performance of their jobs. The Juvenile Justice Training Academy (JJTA) will provide the following courses to all new hire staff as well as tenured staff: Understanding Professional Liability; Cultural Equity; Gender and Sexuality; Engaging Families in the Juvenile Justice System; and IT Security Awareness Training. In addition, a new curriculum on Suicide Prevention was developed for tenured staff that will be included in annual training. Understanding Professional Liability was developed by the JJTA to establish a foundational understanding of TJJD job-related legal liabilities, consequences, and protections. During the course, staff will review some of the most common liabilities that may cause legal issues for staff; look at the criminal, civil, and administrative consequences staff face when they do not follow law and policy; an...

AUSTIN, Texas – The Supporting Staff Workgroup, a subgroup of the Youth in Custody Practice Model (YICPM)*, conducted an assessment to identify ways that agency leadership may better support the needs of staff. TJJD seeks to recognize staff as the agency’s most valuable resource, establish systems of support for mental and physical wellness, and develop a highly-qualified workforce to ensure employees are fully prepared to meet the challenges of their positions through training, building safe and supportive environments and avenues for responsive communication. This was this first quarterly survey sent to staff. Some of the outcomes of the survey are noted in the infographic on the following page. The Supporting Staff Workgroup has used information contained in the survey results to strategically plan how TJJD can enhance systems of support for staff and the workgroup anticipates providing staff with a regular update on measures taken as a result of these results. The first survey ...

AUSTIN, Texas – TJJD recently implemented efforts to assist new hires with receiving additional on-the-job training (OJT) and allowing juvenile correctional officers (JCO) with an opportunity to complete a satisfaction survey. Within 180 days after a JCO is approved for sole supervision, assigned JCO supervisors must observe and coach the employee through the a plethora of training modules to ensure the demonstration of competency, proficiency, and performance. State Programs and Facilities and the Juvenile Justice Training Academy solicited input from each facility on targeted training that was an identified need based on operations. Subsequently each facility has an individualized supplemental OJT plan that will be updated annually. In addition to the JCO supplemental OJT, the JCO supervisor must provide an opportunity for feedback and input utilizing the New Hire Check-In and Assessment Questionnaire. This was a need determined from the Youth in Custody Practice Model assessments ...

EL PASO, Texas – El Paso County Juvenile Probation Department Senior Officer Jimmy Olivas and his 14-year-old daughter were recently faced with a situation that called for quick thinking. On June 30, they were on I-10 East following behind an SUV that appeared to be exiting the freeway, but then the driver changed her mind at the last minute. The SUV hit the exit barriers, which caused the vehicle to flip over and as a result, two small children were ejected. Before he could bring his own car to a complete stop, Olivas’ daughter was out of the car, running across morning traffic to gather up one of the children from the freeway. This little girl, who was not more than four or five years old, was severely injured and would not have been able to move on her own. The second child, who had been thrown to the middle of the freeway, stood up dazed and confused, directly in the path of a semi-truck. Miraculously, at the last second, the child took a small step to the side and avoided be...

AUSTIN, Texas – TJJD welcomed juvenile justice professionals from across the state to Austin for the 11th biennial Post-Legislative Conference and Budget Workshop, held July 31-August 2, 2017, at the Omni Southpark Hotel. The TJJD Post-Legislative Conference had approximately 360 participants in attendance and provided individuals with an overview of changes made during the 85th Texas Legislative session, specifically bills impacting juvenile justice, DFPS, victims of crime, human trafficking, sex offenders, the Code Of Criminal Procedure, the Penal Code, and county government with some of the most notable changes occurring with juvenile records. In addition, audience members heard about legislative appropriations to TJJD and the overall impact of funding changes to the juvenile justice system, along with the enhancement of regionalization efforts. Representative Gene Wu provided the keynote presentation to participants as a supporter of TJJD’s mission and to the Texas juvenile jus...

AUSTIN, Texas – The Juvenile Justice Training Academy has been working diligently over the last year with the Regional Training Officers, Chapter 344 subgroup of the TJJD Advisory Council, and other statewide stakeholders to develop an automated competency exam for applicants seeking certification as a juvenile supervision officer. Anyone hired on or after September 1, 2017 as a juvenile supervision officer will be required to successfully pass the automated JSO certification exam prior to being certified by TJJD. TJJD piloted the juvenile supervision officer certification exam over a six-month period. Three different versions of exam questions were piloted, each for a two-month period. The pilot exams consisted of a total of 150 possible questions that may be used on the certification exam. During the six-month pilot, a total of 626 people took the test, equating to 58% of the total number of new JSO certification applications received from last fiscal year. The average score was 85...

AUSTIN, Texas – TJJD is pleased to announce that the Juvenile Probation Officer Certification Exam that was implemented September 1, 2016, will be moving to a TJJD-hosted platform. No changes will be made with regard to the exam itself; however, this will remove the required fee that is currently associated with taking the exam. As of September 1, 2017, no one will be required to pay a fee for taking the exam. This first year of the JPO certification exam has proven to be successful, which in the end, should lend additional credibility to the certification process. TJJD has updated the resources available for taking and proctoring the exam and they may be found on the Training Academy’s website . TJJD will soon send additional information to the designated department or facility proctors. If your department or facility has not yet assigned an individual to be an official proctor, please contact the TJJD Training Division. For more information, please contact Kristy Almager at 512.4...

EL PASO, Texas – After their participation in a national survey last year, the El Paso County Juvenile Probation Department’s Drug Court staff was selected to contribute to a focus group on family engagement. During that time, the case managers and probation officers were instrumental in providing feedback and input as to operations and policies. Their participation in the survey included a 28-page brief. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges are now distributing that brief nationwide. Out of 157 different drug treatment courts participating from 38 different states, the El Paso County Juvenile Drug Court program was one of only two that were highlighted as having a strong commitment to family engagement as part of their design. The program was also recently featured in the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges “What’s New From the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Information Center” newsletter....

AUSTIN, Texas – TJJD’s Juvenile Justice Training Academy offers Motivational Interviewing (MI) as a course for departments or regions to assist in the development of skills necessary to facilitate positive change in the thoughts and behavior of individuals. MI is a client centered, evidence based program that allows effective prosocial communication between people. This training provides a thorough introduction on how to use the program techniques to enhance communications between staff and youth and among staff. The 16-24 hour course begins with an overview of basic communication skills and principles of effective interventions. It is followed by stages of change models and the fundamental principles of MI. This interactive course was developed so participants engage in active listening with others, identify target areas for further exploration, and have the tools needed to respond in nonconfrontational ways. If staff have already been trained in MI, TJJD also offers an 8 hour MI ...

AUSTIN, Texas – TJJD began piloting the juvenile supervision officer certification exam in February and the last phase of the pilotbegan earlier this month. The pilot will be conducted over a six-month period and the exam will not be required for certification until September 1, 2017. To date, we have collected valuable data to be used as we move toward the final set of questions that will be used for the exam. We continue to ask departments or facilities to assist us with the pilot and have any new or existing staff take the exam. Continued feedback is always welcomed. The pilot will be for data collection only and not to give official credit for passing the exam. The link to access the third and final pilot may be found online on the Juvenile Justice Training Academy’s site. As of the end of May, we had 410 individuals attempt the test statewide, with an average score of 86.25%. The average time to take the exam has been 20 minutes. Only 1% (5) of the individuals who have attem...