INSIDER
Dallas juvenile detention center isolated kids and falsified documents, state investigation says
Read full article: Dallas juvenile detention center isolated kids and falsified documents, state investigation saysA Texas Juvenile Justice Department report says Dallas County officers kept kids in their sleeping quarters for days at a time and faked school attendance logs.
Justice Department finds Texas juvenile detention centers violated youth offenders’ rights
Read full article: Justice Department finds Texas juvenile detention centers violated youth offenders’ rightsThe DOJ found that officers overused pepper spray, kept youths in prolonged isolation and failed to protect them from sexual abuse.
‘A pattern of abuse’: Conditions for children at 5 Texas Juvenile Justice facilities violate constitution
Read full article: ‘A pattern of abuse’: Conditions for children at 5 Texas Juvenile Justice facilities violate constitutionThe Justice Department announced Thursday of its findings that the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) has violated the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Former Texas Juvenile Correctional Officer arrested after being accused of indecency with child at facility
Read full article: Former Texas Juvenile Correctional Officer arrested after being accused of indecency with child at facilityA former Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional officer has been arrested for crimes against a child in a correctional facility.
Facing youth prison crisis, Texas lawmakers opt to build new facilities and funnel more kids to adult system
Read full article: Facing youth prison crisis, Texas lawmakers opt to build new facilities and funnel more kids to adult systemFor more than a decade, Texas has been trying to slim down its youth prison system, which has been plagued by years of abuse scandals. This Legislature is reversing that course.
After abuse accusations at The Refuge, Texas will create new reporting and screening requirements for foster care workers
Read full article: After abuse accusations at The Refuge, Texas will create new reporting and screening requirements for foster care workersThe legislation came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing she had a history of sexual misconduct with children at a state juvenile facility. Coworkers also concealed evidence of the abuse, which further put the foster girls at harm.
Texas imprisoned Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. when he was 11, purportedly for his own good. Five years later, he returned home in a casket.
Read full article: Texas imprisoned Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. when he was 11, purportedly for his own good. Five years later, he returned home in a casket.“They didn’t try to fix the brokenness,” his mother says. “They just broke him more.”
“A way to throw kids away”: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice department is sending more children to adult prisons
Read full article: “A way to throw kids away”: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice department is sending more children to adult prisonsMoving the most violent and troubled youths to adult prison makes it easier to help others in juvenile facilities, some prosecutors and lawmakers say. Youth justice advocates say Texas is giving up on the children who most need help.
7 Texas prison employees face dismissal over 16-year-old inmate’s suicide
Read full article: 7 Texas prison employees face dismissal over 16-year-old inmate’s suicideJoshua Keith Beasley Jr. had been transferred from a Texas youth facility to an adult prison despite a long history of suicidal behavior. Five guards and two supervisors allegedly failed to check on him.
Texas Senate votes to close employment loophole after Refuge foster care scandal
Read full article: Texas Senate votes to close employment loophole after Refuge foster care scandalThe upper chamber unanimously passed Senate Bill 182 after The Texas Tribune reported that a state-licensed foster care facility hired a caretaker whom the Texas Juvenile Justice Department previously fired for having inappropriate relationships with children.
Lawmakers offer stark choices for ending the crisis in Texas’ youth prisons — shut them all down, or build more
Read full article: Lawmakers offer stark choices for ending the crisis in Texas’ youth prisons — shut them all down, or build morePlagued by decades of scandals over sexual and physical abuse of children, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department is at a crossroads.
Texas teens embark on an idealistic quest to shut down the state’s last five youth prisons
Read full article: Texas teens embark on an idealistic quest to shut down the state’s last five youth prisonsSpurred by reports of inhumane conditions at Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities, Austin-area teenagers are lobbying the Legislature to reform the system.
Pay raises alone won’t solve staffing shortages in “nightmare” Texas youth prisons, ex-workers say
Read full article: Pay raises alone won’t solve staffing shortages in “nightmare” Texas youth prisons, ex-workers sayDanger and trauma — not low salaries — are what drive most workers to leave the crisis-wracked Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
State agencies push for better worker pay as critical staffing crunch hits Texas government
Read full article: State agencies push for better worker pay as critical staffing crunch hits Texas governmentTexas agencies say they are being hammered by a historic staffing crisis, particularly when it comes to those in the trenches serving the state’s most vulnerable populations.
Tarrant County sends more kids to youth prisons than any other in Texas. Many blame this judge.
Read full article: Tarrant County sends more kids to youth prisons than any other in Texas. Many blame this judge.Critics say state District Judge Alex Kim is sending too many children to the state’s failing youth prison system. The longtime GOP politician points to a rise in teen gang violence.
In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use water bottles and lunch trays for toilets
Read full article: In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use water bottles and lunch trays for toiletsGov. Greg Abbott largely remained silent as dangerous conditions caused by a lack of staff persisted at Texas juvenile facilities during the summer.
Lawmakers decry collapsing Texas juvenile prison system, ask Abbott to call special session
Read full article: Lawmakers decry collapsing Texas juvenile prison system, ask Abbott to call special sessionWithout a jolt of funding, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department will struggle to hire workers and regain control over the safety and treatment of almost 600 incarcerated youth, its acting director told lawmakers at a hearing.
A mother watches helplessly as her teenage boy deteriorates in a Texas youth prison
Read full article: A mother watches helplessly as her teenage boy deteriorates in a Texas youth prisonThe state of Texas has essentially controlled her son’s life since he was 11. The Texas Juvenile Justice Department was supposed to keep him safe and help him get better. It has failed at every turn.
Almost 600 Texas youths are trapped in a juvenile prison system on the brink of collapse
Read full article: Almost 600 Texas youths are trapped in a juvenile prison system on the brink of collapseThe agency is so understaffed that teens have reported spending up to 23 hours locked in their cells, using water bottles to go to the bathroom. A staggering number have hurt themselves or been placed on suicide watch.
Inspection reports reflect the desperation and danger youths face in Texas juvenile prisons
Read full article: Inspection reports reflect the desperation and danger youths face in Texas juvenile prisonsVisits to Texas’ severely understaffed youth prisons show suicide attempts without intervention, water bottles being used as makeshift toilets, and a rash of possibly gang-related fights.
Pay raises to address staff shortages at Texas youth prisons
Read full article: Pay raises to address staff shortages at Texas youth prisonsTexas’ juvenile prison system is giving employees pay raises to address high staff turnover and staffing shortages that earlier this week prompted officials to stop accepting new children into its facilities.
Understaffed, and under federal investigation, Texas juvenile detention system halts intake
Read full article: Understaffed, and under federal investigation, Texas juvenile detention system halts intakeThe Texas Juvenile Justice Department doesn’t have enough staff to keep minors safe or deal with increasing suicidal behavior, its interim head says. Gov. Greg Abbott recently shifted millions of dollars from the long-troubled agency to his controversial border security mission.
U.S. Department of Justice investigating abuse, mistreatment at Texas’ juvenile lockups
Read full article: U.S. Department of Justice investigating abuse, mistreatment at Texas’ juvenile lockupsThe department says it’s looking into whether the Texas Juvenile Justice Department provides “reasonable protection from physical and sexual abuse by staff and other residents, excessive use of chemical restraints and excessive use of isolation.”
‘They are hurting them': Advocacy groups ask feds to investigate sexual assaults, gang violence in Texas youth lockups
Read full article: ‘They are hurting them': Advocacy groups ask feds to investigate sexual assaults, gang violence in Texas youth lockupsChildren in Texas’ youth lockups are suffering from widespread sexual assault and other constitutional violations, reform advocates wrote Wednesday in a complaint urging a federal investigation into the state’s five youth lockups. “The state facilities are not just failing the youth in them, they are hurting them,” said Brett Merfish, director of youth justice at Texas Appleseed. As TJJD has encouraged more reliance on county facilities and reduced the number of state youth lockups from 12 in 2007 to five today, there has been a sustained drop in juveniles detained in state lockups. “Mental health is key to youth rehabilitation,” said Beth Mitchell, a top attorney at Disability Rights Texas. The plan requests more funding for county facilities and proposes more state facilities closer to urban centers to address staffing shortfalls.
Former juvenile correctional facility employee accused of having sex with person in her care
Read full article: Former juvenile correctional facility employee accused of having sex with person in her careHOUSTON A 37-year-old woman who worked as a youth development coach at a Texas juvenile correctional facility is accused of having sex with a person in her care, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department announced Monday in a statement. A statement from TJJD says Andrea Banks was suspended and then fired after allegations surfaced on July 14 at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex in Brownwood. Banks, who has worked for the TJJD since 2011, was arrested Monday and booked into the Brown County Jail. Camille Cain, the Executive Director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, issued a statement that read, in part, Without exception, any employee who betrays their oath to protect our youth and commits a criminal act will face the highest penalties allowed under the law. TJJD has zero tolerance for such behavior, and I encourage anyone who suspects abuse, neglect, or criminal activity to report it immediately.
After 17 youths test positive for the coronavirus, Texas juvenile lockups to begin mass testing
Read full article: After 17 youths test positive for the coronavirus, Texas juvenile lockups to begin mass testingTJJD/Bob DaemmrichAfter 17 young people tested positive for the coronavirus inside Texas state-run juvenile lockups, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department said Wednesday it will test all detainees and staff. Only two employees tested positive in April and May, according to agency news releases. But last month, 28 more employees and the 17 detainees also tested positive for the virus at four of the states juvenile lockups. The youth were all being treated at the lockups, TJJD said in a Tuesday news release. Sean Wilson, 43, worked at the Giddings State School and died on June 28 after testing positive for the virus the week before.