Well-Being of Youth in the Texas Juvenile Justice System

For almost two decades, the juvenile justice system in Texas has been the subject of several scandals and legal challenges. There have been numerous documented accounts of harm being done to the physical and emotional well-being of youth in its care. Beginning in 2007, reports of physical and sexual abuse caused judges and the Legislature to shift their focus to utilizing local probation departments. As a result, state facilities decreased from twelve to five.1 Continuing reform in 2011 following reports of sexual abuse and operational issues, the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission were dismantled, and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) was created.2

Mental Health of Youth

Trauma is one of the most common causes of mental health issues for children in the juvenile justice. system. According to TJJD, most children in Texas’s juvenile justice system have experienced trauma:

  • In FY 2022, of the youth committed to a TJJD facility, 95 percent of newly-admitted female youth and 84 percent of male youth had a high or moderate need for mental health treatment.3
  • Of formal referrals to juvenile probation departments, approximately 45 percent have mental health needs.4
  • Compared to the estimated 12.5 percent of the general public, 43 percent of girls and 29 percent of boys on probation in Texas have experienced four or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Of the youth committed to state care, this is true for 86 percent of girls and 53 percent of boys.5

Systemic issues within TJJD have exacerbated many youths’ existing mental health conditions, resulting in increased reports of suicidal behaviors and self-harm activities. Across the five facilities, there were 100 youth complaints about suicidal behavior from 2018-19.6 During this same time period, 47 youth had serious self-injuries.7 From 2019 to 2021, the number of self-harm assessments increased by almost 80 percent across all TJJD youth prisons.8 Though the number of youth in Texas juvenile facilities have decreased by around 27 percent from 2019 to 2021, youth on suicide alert increased by 40 percent.9 TJJD reported more than 6,500 suicide alerts in secured facilities in FY21.10 In July 2022, 45 percent of those held in Texas’s juvenile lockups had been on suicide watch.11

Despite an obvious and urgent need to support the mental health and well-being of youth who become involved with the juvenile justice system in Texas, many are re-traumatized in the system. A long record of staff misconduct and inadequate mental health support illustrated in the agency’s investigations and reports, has created unsafe environments, negatively impacting all youth’s mental health.

History of Reports and Investigations

U.S. Department of Justice Investigation

The United States Department of Justice, along with United States Attorney’s offices in Texas, released findings on August 1, 2024 from their statewide investigation into the conditions of TJJD’s five secure juvenile correctional facilities. The investigation followed a complaint filed by Texas Appleseed and Disability Rights Texas related to abuse and constitutional violations.12 The findings confirmed widespread instances of systemic physical and mental abuse and violations of children’s civil and constitutional rights, placing children at substantial risk of serious physical and psychological harm and impeding successful outcomes for children.13 Further, TJJD failed to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities.

The report concludes:

  • TJJD routinely violates the constitutional rights of children in all five facilities by:
    • Exposing them to excessive force and prolonged isolation;
    • Failing to protect children from sexual abuse; and
    • Failing to provide adequate mental health services.
  • TJJD violates the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by failing to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities.
  • TJJD discriminates against children with disabilities in violation of the ADA by:
    • Not providing reasonable modifications necessary to permit their participation in programming required for release; and
    • Denying them an equal opportunity to benefit from education.

In response to the report, a number of advocates released a joint press release urging Texas lawmakers to remedy the disturbing findings and take steps toward systemwide changes.14

TJJD issued a statement outlining the steps it’s taken in the last two years to increase supervision and safety, including direct staff salary wage increases, hiring more mental health professionals, and improvements to staff training, programs, and schools.15

Texas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

The Texas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights adopted a proposal in May 2022 to study the civil rights implications of mental health care in TJJD in response to allegations of civil rights violations, state and federal investigations, and reports of abuse and mistreatment. Joshua Beasley, a justice-involved youth whose story was informing the study, died by suicide in 2023 while in-custody of the Texas criminal justice system.16 Following his death, the Committee released an interim report stating “given the in-custody death of an individual who contributed to our research and given that we have concluded the fact-finding period of our inquiry, the Committee felt compelled to release an expedited, but abbreviated, report of its findings.”17

The Committee released its final report in February 2024, outlining findings and recommendations to the Commission for the U.S. Department of Justice, the Texas Legislature, the governor, and TJJD.18 The report underscores the severely inadequate mental health support within the system and illustrates how TJJD is re-traumatizing the children in their care.

Findings

  • Most youth in the Texas Juvenile Justice System have clear mental health needs.
  • Understaffing has been a major problem in the Texas Juvenile Justice System and has inhibited other efforts for reform. Staffing has been improving in the past year, but it is unclear if many of the longstanding issues with staffing will be resolved.
  • There are not enough resources and staff to provide proper treatment for the mental health needs of the youth in the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s care.
  • Being in state-run facilities may further traumatize the youth and increase mental health needs.
  • The state-run facilities provide an unsafe environment for both the youth and staff.
  • The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is transferring youth in their care to adult prisons rather than focusing on rehabilitative programming.
  • Youth benefit from individualized and asset-based mental health support, rather than the traditional punitive model currently in place in the Texas Juvenile Justice System.
  • Youth facilities that are closer to home and incorporate community-based resources are more effective and better serve youths’ mental health needs.
  • Texas communities do not have the resources required to support high-risk children who are ending up in Texas Juvenile Justice Department care. Texas needs to invest more in upstream and preventative services to divert children who are currently being referred to the juvenile justice system.
  • While the Texas Juvenile Justice Department has clearly defined rights for youth in their care, there remains confusion about what these rights are and/or if they are being adequately enforced.
  • Facilities’ current grievance process and other accountability measures are insufficient and function poorly.
  • The Texas Legislature made some improvements to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and its funding in the 2023 session, but there is much more reform and investment still needed.

Recommendations to the U.S. Department of Justice

  • Provide more transparency and report the progress on your ongoing investigation into the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

Recommendations to Governor of Texas and the Texas Legislature

  • Invest in the staff of all TJJD facilities.
  • Invest in the local and county-level juvenile systems and incentivize these community-based programs to treat youth closer to home.
  • Prioritize rehabilitation over punishment in all future investments and program changes to TJJD.
  • Mandate that TJJD provide multiple avenues for youth and their families to submit grievances and appoint investigators external to the facility to investigate all complaints.
  • Raise the age youth are considered a juvenile and increase the age that a youth can be transferred into the adult corrections system.

Recommendations to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD)

  • Prioritize the human and civil rights of all the youth in its care.
  • Increase efforts to educate the youth in its custody and their parents and/or guardians on their rights and their avenues for grievance. The grievance process should be more readily available to youth, be private, and be adjudicated by neutral parties.
  • Invest in additional mental health care resources that can begin to address the needs of youth in its custody in the short term.
  • Reduce the use of isolation. When isolation is deemed necessary, ensure it is used sparingly and for the least amount of time possible. Increase mental health support during and after periods of isolation.
  • Require all staff to be trained in trauma-informed care and ensure that all policies recognize the potential trauma experienced by the youth and their mental health needs.
  • Provide additional crisis prevention training to staff to improve their de-escalation skills to prevent violent situations.
  • Accept all avenues of additional funding, including accepting all federal funds available and pursuing additional grants.
  • Consider the use of peer support services from individuals who have previous experience in the juvenile justice system but who have been rehabilitated and trained in crisis and behavioral management.
  • For youth who age out of or are released from state-secured facilities, conduct family assessments to ensure that the youth are returning to a safe environment and that family members are receiving support services as needed.
  • Raise the age youth are considered juveniles and increase the age that a youth can be transferred into the adult corrections system. Reduce the practice of transferring youth to the adult system.
  • Review and revise the language of your rights brochures and other materials to include more age-appropriate language, proper translations, and a more comprehensive explanation of rights.

Background

Reports in 2017 of continued sexual victimization, abuse, and misconduct prompted joint investigation by the Texas Rangers, the TJJD Office of Inspector General, and the TJJD Special Prosecution Unit, leading to a change in TJJD leadership and the arrests of five TJJD employees.19,20 Additionally, the Office of the Independent Ombudsman found that 129 youth were exposed to potential victimization.21 Since 2017, more than 24 employees of TJJD have been arrested for sexual assault, sexual misconduct, or physical abuse.22 Another Texas Rangers investigation in July 2021 on staff misconduct found criminal violations, including:

  • Violation of the civil rights of person in custody;
  • Improper sexual activity;
  • Sexual assault;
  • Improper sexual contact with person in custody;
  • Possession of child pornography; and
  • Sexual performance by child.23

Multiple reports in 2022 were made of a dire staffing shortage resulting in children being kept in confinement for up to 23 hours a day and required to urinate in containers due to the unavailability of staff to take them to restrooms.24,25,26

Sunset Advisory Commission Report

In May 2022, a Sunset staff report was released to the Advisory Commission containing the need for, performance of, and improvements recommended for the agency under review.27 According to the report, “the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) was born out of scandal, and a decade later, it still struggles to avoid the spotlight…Since TJJD’s creation, the agency has been caught in a seemingly endless cycle of crises and instability, even after legislative initiatives cut in half the number of youth it must directly supervise and facilities it must operate.”28 The report outlined four main issues requiring a number of changes outlined in recommendations:

  • TJJD’s critical staffing issues must be adequately addressed to prevent the juvenile justice system from remaining in a cycle of instability, unable to fully achieve legislative goals;
  • TJJD’s board must vastly improve its governance and engagement to overcome the agency’s operational crises and leadership instability;
  • Key elements of TJJD’s statute, rules, and procedures do not conform to common regulatory standards;
  • The Office of the Independent Ombudsman needs clearer authority and formalized policies to better secure the rights of youth in the juvenile justice system; and
  • TJJD’s statute and processes do not reflect some standard elements of Sunset reviews.29

The commission moved several recommendations forward to the 88th Texas Legislature for consideration and passed Senate Bill 1727 (Schwertner/Bell). The final results of the Sunset Reviews for 2022-23 provide details of the overarching provisions passed by SB 1727.30 The bill continued TJJD for four years and implemented changes related to facilities, board governance, agency administration, resource allocation, sentencing and confinement, licensing and regulatory standards, public information and reports, advisory committee and other agency collaboration, and Office of the Independent Ombudsman.31

References

  1. Rosenzweig-Ziff, D. (2020, October 21). “They are hurting them”: Advocacy groups ask feds to investigate sexual assaults, gang violence in Texas youth lockup. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/21/texas-juvenile-justice-department-abuse/ ↩︎
  2. Gandy, R. (May 2022). Executive summary of sunset staff report [PDF]. Sunset Advisory Committee. https://www.sunset.texas.gov/public/uploads/2022-05/~Texas%20Juvenile%20Justice%20Department%20and%20Office%20of%20the%20Independent%20Ombudsman%20Executive%20Summary_5-26-22.pdf ↩︎
  3. Texas Juvenile Justice Department. (2022). Review of treatment effectiveness.  https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Treatment-Effectiveness-Report-2022.pdf ↩︎
  4. Texas Juvenile Justice Department. (2020). Texas model plan for reform. https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Texas_Model_Plan_for_Reform.pdf ↩︎
  5. Ibid. ↩︎
  6. Merfish, B.M. & Mitchell, B. (2020, October 21). Disability Rights Texas and Texas Appleseed complaint letter to U.S. Department of Justice [PDF]. https://disabilityrightstx.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DOJ-FINAL-COMPLAINT.pdf ↩︎
  7. Ibid. ↩︎
  8. McCullough, J. (2022, August 2). Almost 600 Texas youths are trapped in a juvenile prison system on the brink of collapse. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/02/texas-juvenile-prisons-crisis/ ↩︎
  9. Ibid. ↩︎
  10. https://www.usccr.gov/files/2024-02/report-on-mental-healthcare-in-the-tjjd.pdf ↩︎
  11. Ibid. ↩︎
  12. https://disabilityrightstx.org/en/press_release/dojcomplainttjjd/ ↩︎
  13. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-unconstitutional-conditions-five-texas-juvenile-justice-facilities ↩︎
  14. Texas Civil Rights Project. (2024, August 5). Advocates respond to harrowing findings from DOJ investigation into Texas Juvenile Justice Department. TCRP. https://www.txcivilrights.org/post/advocates-respond-to-harrowing-findings-from-doj-investigation-into-texas-juvenile-justice-departmen ↩︎
  15. Texas Juvenile Justice Department. (2024, August 1). Statement in Response to DOJ Report on Conditions at TJJD Secure Facilities. https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TJJD-Response-to-DOJ-8-1-2024.pdf ↩︎
  16. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/28/texas-juvenile-justice-suicide-joshua-keith-beasley/ ↩︎
  17. https://www.usccr.gov/files/2023-05/texas-interim-report-mental-healthcare-in-tjjd-.pdf ↩︎
  18. Texas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. (2024, February). Mental Healthcare in the 
    Texas Juvenile Justice System. United States Commission on Civil Rights. https://www.usccr.gov/files/2024-02/report-on-mental-healthcare-in-the-tjjd.pdf ↩︎
  19. Texas Department of Public Safety. (2018, January 31). Texas Rangers, TJJD make arrests in investigation [press release].  https://www.dps.texas.gov/news/texas-rangers-tjjd-make-arrests-investigation ↩︎
  20. McCullough, J. (2017, December 17). Gov. Greg Abbott asks Texas Rangers to investigate sexual abuse at youth lockups. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2017/12/13/abbott-asks-texas-rangers-investigate-sexual-abuse-youth-lockups/ ↩︎
  21. Independent Ombudsman for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. (2017). First quarter report FY 17 [PDF]. https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/index.php/doc-library/send/285-fiscal-year-2017/980-fy17-quarter-1-report ↩︎
  22. Flahive, P. (2022, May 9). Texas takes $30 million from troubled juvenile justice department to fund border initiative Operation Lone Star. Texas Public Radio. https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2022-05-09/texas-takes-30-million-from-troubled-juvenile-justice-department-to-fund-border-initiative-operation-lone-star ↩︎
  23. Bell, J. (2021, October 19). Texas Rangers’ investigation of TJJD finds criminal violations, but no wider pattern of abuse. KVUE.  https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-rangers-investigation-texas-juvenile-justice-department/269-d266cee7-72da-4f67-8caf-c6d45034945f ↩︎
  24. Flahive, P. (2022, November 4). Texas to try to break ‘seemingly endless cycle of crises’ at juvenile justice. Texas Public Radio. https://www.tpr.org/news/2022-11-04/texas-to-try-to-break-seemingly-endless-cycle-of-crises-at-juvenile-justice ↩︎
  25. McCullough, J. (2022, September 12). In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use bottles and lunch trays for toilets. KERA News. https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2022-09-12/in-texas-youth-prisons-children-trapped-in-their-cells-use-bottles-and-lunch-trays-for-toilets ↩︎
  26. Independent Ombudsman for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. (2022, June 28). Giddings State School sit visit record OIO-SV-22-0228. The Texas Tribune. https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a05142b532313d993556c5d1994d8460/giddings-june22-ombudsman-report.pdf ↩︎
  27. Sunset Advisory Commission. Texas Juvenile Justice Department, Office of the Independent Ombudsman, Sunset staff report 2022-23 88th Legislature [PDF]. https://www.sunset.texas.gov/public/uploads/2022-05/~Texas%20Juvenile%20Justice%20Department%20and%20Office%20of%20the%20Independent%20Ombudsman%20Staff%20Report_5-26-22.pdf ↩︎
  28. Ibid. ↩︎
  29. Ibid. ↩︎
  30. Sunset Advisory Commission. (2023, June). Final Results of Sunset Reviews 2022-23. https://www.sunset.texas.gov/public/uploads/files/reports/Sunset in Texas 2022-23.pdf ↩︎
  31. Ibid. ↩︎

Updated on December 13th, 2024



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