TJJD News & Announcements

Black and Hispanic youth have historically been disproportionately represented in juvenile justice systems in Texas and most states across the US. They are more likely to be committed to residential detention facilities than whites, and in many cases, end up “deeper” in the system. The reasons are complex, but what providers of services – healthcare, criminal justice, juvenile justice – are learning is that the impacts can be blunted or reversed if they are willing to dig deep to study how racial and ethnic disparities affect their practices. In 2017, Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) launched a Cultural Equity Course to help staff examine and address biases that can affect outcomes for youth of color. The course is just one part of an umbrella effort known as RED (Racial and Ethnic Disparities) that touches many aspects of operations. This three-hour interactive training helps raise awareness of the intrinsic biases that can lead to disproportionate impacts on bl...

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – TJJD hosted its annual Regional Training Officer (RTO) meeting in partnership with the Correctional Management Institute of Texas August 1-3, 2017, at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Regional trainers from around the state came together for this collaborative opportunity. (The primary goal of the workgroup meeting was to ensure the current content of the Juvenile Probation Officer Basic and Juvenile Supervision Officer Basic curricula are updated, relevant, applicable and written in a way that can be consistently delivered statewide to officers.) The RTO workgroup also welcomed several new members to the group. In preparation for this workgroup meeting, TJJD solicited input via its annual training survey for suggested changes to the curricula, and additional training resources that may be needed within the field. In addition to the survey results, other areas of discussion included: accomplishments from FY 2017; review of the JSO pilot exam questions...

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 – 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 ...

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...

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’s Juvenile Justice Training Academy (JJTA) recently adopted a new Training Procedure Manual as well as revisions to the Personnel Policy and Procedure Manual as it relates to TJJD employees and their supervisors knowing and adhering to training-related requirements. TJJD provides training for employees to meet state and federal laws and to ensure that employees are successful in the performance of their job duties. Highlights of these new policies include: Identifying specific responsibilities of the JJTA, a TJJD employee, and their supervisor. Describing the process for establishing that an employee has sole-supervision status. Defining the competency threshold for considering a staff to successfully complete a course to include a score of 70% or higher, for written tests, except for CRP, first aid, and AED, which require a score of 80% or higher; or a demonstration of competency of the required skills, as determined by the training specialist, for hands-on te...

AUSTIN, Texas – TJJD’s Juvenile Justice Training Academy (JJTA) recently released revised curriculum for three mandatory topics to be used for juvenile probation and supervision officer basic training. The new materials include the full curriculum on Officer Safety and Mechanical Restraints, Customized Case Design, and Suicide Prevention and Intervention . The JJTA worked with the regional training officers, select field subject matter experts and internal technical authorities for input and review of the approved material. This new material should be used when training officers for certification. Officer Safety and Mechanical Restraints is a 3.5 hour course that provides an overview of safety considerations when supervising juveniles in and out of an office setting. Participants will examine the proper application of mechanical restraints via scenario-based learning. This course is intended for juvenile probation officers. Customized Case Design is a 5.5 hour course that c...

AUSTIN, Texas – TJJD targeted an on-going effort to enhance new hire and professional development among direct care staff. In January, the agency implemented new or substantially revised on-the-job training (OJT) modules for juvenile correctional officers (JCO) and case managers. The goals of the new curricula were to establish a consistent pattern for on-the-job training from facility to facility and to enhance the quality of material by making it practical and relevant to what staff need to know in order to be successful in their day to day job. At the end of each module, both JCOs and case managers will be required to successfully demonstrate competency, proficiency, and performance before completing the program. For JCOs, approximately 112 hours of OJT is provided upon hire. The new or rewritten classroom OJT modules include: Creating Opportunities for Successful Youth Outcomes Emergency Situations Managing the Dorm Professional Conduct in the Workplace Security and Contro...