1 / 22

Webinar: Texas Juvenile Justice, A Brief Overview

+. Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy. Webinar: Texas Juvenile Justice, A Brief Overview. +. 2. Your Beliefs . Before beginning to work on juvenile justice issues, it is important to reflect on your views.

rahim-freeman
Download Presentation

Webinar: Texas Juvenile Justice, A Brief Overview

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. + Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy Webinar: Texas Juvenile Justice, A Brief Overview

  2. + 2 Your Beliefs • Before beginning to work on juvenile justice issues, it is important to reflect on your views. • How do you view the balance between protecting an individual’s welfare verses the safety of a community? • How do you view the balance between providing care verses punishment? • Do you believe young people… • are uniquely redeemable as compared to adults? Why? • lack the mental capacity to be held accountable for their decisions and should be protected? • should be guaranteed all the rights of autonomous persons? • should be allowed to learn how to make decisions for themselves, but also protected from the full consequences of their actions?

  3. + 3 A Brief History of the Texas Juvenile Justice System • Mid 19th century, children considered adults at 13. • Need for separate correctional facilities for youth recognized in 1859. • Gatesville State School began construction in 1887. • The 60’s and 70’s saw shift toward promoting care in the child’s local community. • Morales v. Truman class action suit in 1971 brought major reforms to the juvenile justice system

  4. + 4 A Brief History of the Texas Juvenile Justice System (cont.) • An increase in juvenile crime from 1990-1998. • In 1995 the Texas Legislature responded with “get tough, balanced approach”. • TYC implemented “back to basics” philosophy. • Sex abuse scandal in 2005.

  5. + 5 Juvenile Justice Reforms: Past and Present • 2007- law enforcement officers began visiting all TYC secure facilities to investigate complaints of sexual misconduct. • 2007 March- TYC placed under conservatorship. Office of Inspector General and Office of Independent Ombudsman created. • 2008- New executive commissioner appointed as head TYC and conservatorship label was eliminated. • 2009- Significant legislative reform passed with a focus on providing more community-based alternatives to detention, prioritizing reentry support and services, and improving mental healthcare at juvenile facilities. • 2011- Senate Bill 653 calls for the merging of the two State agencies responsible for juvenile justice, the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. The new, and unified Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) should better be able to address problems at ever level and provide a more effective and consistent continuum of services.

  6. + 6 Current Texas Juvenile Justice System

  7. + 7 Current Juvenile Justice System • County Level • 3,054 pre-adjudication beds • 19 holdover beds • 2,133 post adjudication beds • 254 counties and 165 juvenile probation departments • State Level • 6 state secure facilities • 9 halfway houses • Parole

  8. + 8 What Rights do Youth Have? • Notice of charges and hearings must be given to the child and his/her parents. • Supreme Court granted qualified right to counsel for juveniles. • Youth have right to exercise their 5th amendment privilege against self incrimination and the right to confront and cross examine witnesses. • Child does not possess a right to counsel at intake and officers are not required to issue Miranda warnings. • Young people who commit an offense once they are 17 fall under the adult system. • Young people who have committed an offense when they were younger than 17 stay under TJJD custody until they are 19 at the state level, and 18 at the county level. • Texas prosecutors have the right to certify young people as adults starting at age 14.

  9. + 9 Who are These Youth? • 2.4 million children ages 10-16 in Texas in 2008, 49% were girls, 51% boys. Latino youth account for 44% of the population, African American youth make up 13%, and White youth comprise 40% of the population. • BUT • Latino youth are almost half of the referrals to the juvenile system, African American nearly 25% and White youth nearly 26%. Males account for 75% of all referrals.

  10. + 10 Who are These Youth? (cont.) • Average age of youth entering the system is 15. • Eighty percent of youth were attending regular school or receiving home schooling. • Most offenses committed by females are status offenses and males are responsible for the majority of misdemeanors, felonies and probation violations. • 270 youth were certified to stand trial in adult criminal court.

  11. + 11 Who are in the State Secure Facilities? • Males constitute 89% of secure facility population. • Median age is 16. • More than half of youth have committed a violent offense and almost half claim gang affiliation. • Eighty-four percent of youth come from single parent homes. • Fifty-nine percent of youth come from low-income families.

  12. + 12 Who are in the State Secure Facilities? (cont.) • Twelve percent of youth have family members with mental impairments. • Forty-three percent of youth have family members with history of criminal behavior. • Seventy-two percent of youth need drug or alcohol treatment. • The median reading achievement level is 6th grade, and median math achievement level is 5th grade. • Thirty-five percent of youth were eligible for special ed. • Eighty-three percent of youth has IQs below the mean score of 100.

  13. + 13 What Can You Do? • The success of recent juvenile justice reforms rests partly on the ability of the community to support youth and their families. • There are many ways to offer support. Please contact Texas Impact, www.texasimpact.org, for a list of suggestions on how you can get further involved.

  14. + 14 Visiting a Juvenile Justice Detention Center • Texans Care for Children created a toolkit that contains everything you need to know before paying a visit to a Texas Juvenile Justice Department facility. • The toolkit gives you information about how to set up a tour for your group at a juvenile facility near you, what you should bring and leave behind for your visit, and some questions you might ask the youth you meet. • You can download the toolkit at: • http://texanscareforchildren.org/Get-Involved/Witness-to-Youth-Safety-Toolkit

  15. + 15 Information for Upcoming Visit • Each facility is a bit different and may have slightly different rules. • Wear clothing that is comfortable, since the tour will likely include a significant amount of walking. Tennis shoes, blue jeans, and a shirt with a higher education logo is an outfit often recommended by TJJD staff. • Clothing that is generally NOT permitted in facilities: skirts or pants that are shorter than mid-calf, sleeveless blouses or shirts, or cropped shirts. • Logos or the like that could be interpreted as referencing gang culture.

  16. + 16 What to Bring and What Not to Bring • Photo identification will be required to enter the facility. The following forms of photo identification will be accepted: 1) Drivers license, 2)Other state-issued identification card, or 3) Current military or school-issued identification card. • Generally speaking, you should avoid bringing any items inside the facility, save perhaps something to write with and paper. Things that you will generally NOT be permitted to bring into the facility include: electronic items like cell phones and cameras, lotion, lip balm, money, tobacco products, lighter or matches, medications, weapons, food and beverages, purses and/or briefcases, notebooks with metal spiral binding, or anything made of glass (if you wear glasses , you are permitted to wear them).

  17. + 17 The Day of the Visit • All members of your tour will be asked to sign in and present photo identification upon arriving at the facility. Each visitor will then receive a visitor's badge, which must be worn and visible throughout the tour. Facility staff will also ask visitors to submit any keys they have in their possession. These will be returned at the end of the tour once the visitor again presents photo identification. • Please advise your group that visitors are required to pass through a metal detector before entering the facility. At this time, visitors will be asked to remove their shoes, empty their pockets, and remove any outer garments, such as coats or jackets. • During your tour, the staff will ask that you remain with the group and visible to the tour guide. • Feel free to ask your tour guide questions, and if the tour does not include areas or programs that you understood would be covered, feel free to ask your guide if they can be included . Similarly , you may want to remind your tour guide that you are seeking the opportunity to visit directly with youth.

  18. + 18 Possible Questions for Youth • How long have you been here? • Do you feel safe? • Do you currently have a mentor? • Are there gangs here? • Do you ever get confined to your room? • Does your family visit you? Do they live close by? How often do you see them or talk to them on the phone? • When you get sick, who takes care of you? • When kids act up, how do they get punished here? • Do kids here get to see a counselor? • Do you have enough clean clothes to wear? Do you have warm clothes? Do they fit?

  19. + 19 Possible Questions for Youth • Does your bed have clean sheets? Do you have enough blankets at night? • Is your room clean? • Do you get enough food to eat? Is the dining room clean? • Do you get enough water? • How much time do you spend out of your room? • What do you do when you aren't in your room? • Do you get to go outside? When was the last time? • Do you keep books in your room? What are you reading? • How often do you go to school? What kind of work do you do there? • What are your plans for the future?

  20. + 20 What Happens After the Visit? • There is a form on the Texans Care for Children website, http://texanscareforchildren.org/Get-Involved/Witness-to-Youth-Safety-Toolkit, that allows you to record your observations after a visit to a juvenile detention center. This information will allow us to monitor and address any alarming trends or concerns. • In addition to the completion of this form, if you are concerned about a specific youth or conditions at the facility, we encourage you to contact the Office of Independent Ombudsman at 512-919-5062.

  21. + 21 Information to Keep in Mind • The follow up form asks the following questions: • General impressions of the facility • General impression of the state of the youth there • Did youth indicate they felt safe? • Did youth indicate or exhibit any areas of unmet needs? • Did the youth seem in distress? • Do you have areas of concern regarding conditions? • If yes, did you express these to staff?

  22. + 22 Thank You!!! • We are extremely grateful for your interest and participation on these important issues!

More Related