tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post1509741920868281874..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Reader poll results: Counties have few alternatives for repeat, juvenile misdemeanants, but TYC likely not the best place for themGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-79915918552932571982007-11-18T19:55:00.000-06:002007-11-18T19:55:00.000-06:00TYC used to be a good place to send those kids who...TYC used to be a good place to send those kids who had failed in community based programs. That is no longer the case. TYC is becoming more and more a mini-TDCJ. I, like many of my colleagues in TYC chose TYC over TDCJ precisely because inside TYC there was hope that we could save some young lives and turn them away from the sorry end to which they were headed. The key word here is "hope". The current administration is quickly bringing an end to the word, "hope", in TYC. Still, there are those of us who hold on, "hoping" that someone will wake up to what is going on, and what the real cost will be. Maybe we are fools. Old SaltyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-80795256914887355702007-11-12T23:06:00.000-06:002007-11-12T23:06:00.000-06:006:47 says... Thanks Howard, you give guys like me ...6:47 says... Thanks Howard, you give guys like me the will to keep up the fight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-64578524613194828652007-11-12T17:45:00.000-06:002007-11-12T17:45:00.000-06:006:47,I believe before I left TYC I had a list of 1...6:47,<BR/><BR/>I believe before I left TYC I had a list of 13 legal and constitutional problems with what was being done to longstanding TYC employees in the name of Kimbrough and SB 103. Like the sentenced offender problem, that was another issue the new General Counsel chose to ignore or got an attorney to write a questionable legal opinion on.<BR/><BR/>Howard A. HickmanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-50771091940352684282007-11-11T20:54:00.000-06:002007-11-11T20:54:00.000-06:00while i ponder my future as an ex tyc employee, th...while i ponder my future as an ex tyc employee, their choice not mine. my thoughts are that tyc has no focus on leadership or treatment. they got rid of resocialization, (the treatment program), instituted pepper spray, got rid of anyone with treatment or juvenile experience, allow mike ward to refer to jcos as guards, allow employee morale to tank, allow staffing ratios to experience decline, bought uniforms, ignore the blue ribbon panel report, reappoint personnel as the winds blow, hire all their friends for the high paying jobs, and they do this in the name of leadership. sick, diseased, and destined to fail. etc. etc. my concern is about the future of juvenile justice as a whole. was the blue ribbon panel report a sham or some kind of smoke screen? <BR/><BR/>in a way i am kind of relieved that i am out of there. <BR/><BR/>how can they provide treatment if they are so understaffed? what professional or kind of person would want to work there? (especially when they have to transfer youth due to understaffing?) is there anyone that is listening to this problem? <BR/> <BR/>I do propose one solution that could start now. first they have to show that they care about youth. <BR/><BR/>if they basically screw over employees as they have, ignore consstitutional laws as they have, and show favoritism as they have, then, people, they also will treat your son or daughter with the same set of values. <BR/><BR/>I propose that they show some caringness, kindness, and understanding. (and i don't think they will because these are the qualities that are needed at the top) but if they did, then these types of things would filter down as some core values of the agency. <BR/><BR/>oh i forgot, i believe that they are also redoing the mission. <BR/><BR/>one person in a leadership position did state one time, "let's face it, one of the things we are here to do is for punishment!" <BR/><BR/>if we had the right kind of values at the top, it would filter down. <BR/><BR/>however, i don't know if we can bail water fast enough to keep this ship from sinking. <BR/><BR/>three dog nightAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-52252764358304325952007-11-11T20:20:00.000-06:002007-11-11T20:20:00.000-06:003:51 - anyone who has worked in this agency, or wi...3:51 - anyone who has worked in this agency, or with any juvenile offender program, knows damn good and well you don't want these kids sitting around idle all day with no program. Kids may think they'd like your program because they can escape from the "accountability" stuff. They would love nothing more than to lay around all day, "chilling." They'd eventually get bored, then frustrated, and then they'll start the planning. You can imagine what comes next.<BR/><BR/>I was really taken back regarding your comments that these kids should be prepared to "give that ass up daily." I think you have some significant issues especially considering that sexual abuse got us in this mess. Your comments are dark and disturbing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-78921322560926114402007-11-11T19:21:00.000-06:002007-11-11T19:21:00.000-06:00Bill,While working at working at TYC I always wond...Bill,<BR/><BR/>While working at working at TYC I always wondered who was socializing who?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-58962305291683031812007-11-11T19:03:00.001-06:002007-11-11T19:03:00.001-06:003:51 makes the exact same argument that TYC has ma...3:51 makes the exact same argument that TYC has made since the 1950s - that isolated remote facilities are better b/c the offenders' families and communities are part of the problem and can't possibly be included in the solution.<BR/><BR/>Here's the rub: many local communities DO provide parks & rec, "strong churches," and other aids. But they don't provide good social and MHMR services, and often not so good schooling, b/c citizens don't want to pay taxes for them. However, they're glad to pay taxes for "youth prisons" (I just love that this phrase is used without irony in Texas, where it would have been a source of intense embarrassment 30 years ago to even the toughest of the "get tough" TYC administrators).<BR/><BR/>These ass-backwards priorities in turn lead to the kind of incoherent cynicism expressed by 3:51.<BR/><BR/>BTW, the idea that lockdown facilities will "scare straight" juvie offenders is debunked by statistics. It is about as much a deterrent as the DP. Remember all the science showing that kids' brains haven't developed much in the areas that govern long-range planning and consequences?<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, the so-called adults with power to make decisions seem to be suffering from the same problem.<BR/><BR/>BBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-5589849324811770782007-11-11T19:03:00.000-06:002007-11-11T19:03:00.000-06:00Since Perry is the one who can solve the problem b...Since Perry is the one who can solve the problem by appointing a new conservator who will get rid of the TDCJ team failing miserably at leading TYC, maybe what we can do is wage a barrage of e-mails on his office until he understands the total incompetence of the TDCJ team, and why the TYC team doesn't like them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-72258500677782295642007-11-11T18:47:00.000-06:002007-11-11T18:47:00.000-06:00Howard, how do you feel about ex-employees being r...Howard, how do you feel about ex-employees being refused due process under the current leadership when they were fired? In other words, former employees that have had years of tenure with TYC and were fired when SB103 was signed by the gov, and now their property rights in their former jobs after years of service are not being acknowledged? I am interested in your input on this issue, if I am not being too intrusive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-77272333208229654932007-11-11T17:41:00.000-06:002007-11-11T17:41:00.000-06:003:51,If by the "current professional administratio...3:51,<BR/><BR/>If by the "current professional administration" you mean the leadership who has little to no juvenile justice experience, have a total disregard for the law, and have no understanding as to what the Family Code and the Human Resources Code are all about, you totally lost me on your logic. Fortunately, very few things in life are the "last chance." Otherwise all the youth in TYC would be damed by the "current professional administration's" total incompetance.<BR/><BR/>Howard A. HickmanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-8920543198293532872007-11-11T16:43:00.000-06:002007-11-11T16:43:00.000-06:003:51 If you're part of the team, I'm glad I'm not ...3:51 If you're part of the team, I'm glad I'm not a team player. Good luck on finding out who I am, but I'm curious who you are that you would take care of me if you found out. I'm not a team player, because this isn't a game. People's lives are being destroyed. If you're one of the TDCJ people, you're showing your true colors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-22692616654593739372007-11-11T16:27:00.000-06:002007-11-11T16:27:00.000-06:00Oh now there's the solution, just lock'em down and...Oh now there's the solution, just lock'em down and let 'em waste away while giving up that ass. That's pretty damn sick buddy. I would only hope your not a TYC employee.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-81519396537623083662007-11-11T15:51:00.000-06:002007-11-11T15:51:00.000-06:007:38 you are not a team player. "We", "TDCJ" Once...7:38 you are not a team player. "We", "TDCJ" Once I find out who you are you will be dealt with. Hey Howard you are correct TYC has been a dumping ground for counties who do not put the necessary dollars in to deal with their mental health. Then those same counties (Houston) hire a monitor to look after the kids once in TYC. Give me a break.<BR/><BR/>The locals have failed themselves. Local schools who don not educate. Those who cast away theses kids. Cities and Counties who do not provide opportunities to help at-risk kids and those on the bubble. If they worked in colloboration with the schools they know who they are and can intervene. Park and recrecration programs. How bout a strong church in the community. Look at where the kids in tyc come from and you seen a piss poor community that is a direct reflection on the city and county. Now once they get at TYC....<BR/><BR/>They dont need to be near home cause the community has failed them. The need a hard understanding from CURRENT PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATION that HERE LIES THE LAST CHANCE. <BR/><BR/>Get it right here or move on to ADULT PRISION. NO REHABILITATION. NO SCHOOL. NO TV....Just count them days and give up that ass daily.<BR/><BR/>Chew On that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-23969674096262600182007-11-11T14:27:00.000-06:002007-11-11T14:27:00.000-06:00The TYC change in administration needs to take pla...The TYC change in administration needs to take place immediately. Why wait until next year? The longer these people are there, the more cleanup it will need. Both employees & youth are suffering. I fail to see the logic in this mess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-60553374489276006812007-11-11T13:04:00.000-06:002007-11-11T13:04:00.000-06:00Since the focus is on how bad TYC is right now may...Since the focus is on how bad TYC is right now maybe the Lege should look at who is running TYC. There are alot of good honest people who care about these kids and want to make a difference in their lives.<BR/> Tyc also is providing most with three meals a day, bed, bath,education that they were not getting on the streets or in the family home.<BR/> The child has to want to change and sometimes you can not change the lifestyle a child has been raised in that is already embedded into their way of life. Gangs, drugs and abuse.<BR/> I don't believe that TYC should take all the blame for these reoffenders and unsuccessful stories by itself. But we seem to all have forgotten the backgrounds by which these kids came from and place all the blame on TYC.<BR/> The public sees these children as the everyday kid that plays on their block in their home town. These kids were not playing, they were dealing drugs, assualting , robbing, and packing guns and molesting others. I think we have forgotten that also.<BR/> News media paints pictures of them as sweet innocence children who made a mistake and sent to TYC where they were abused and not treated. TYC has given these kids more treatment than they ever got in their home towns and in a juvie lock up.<BR/> To fix TYC we need leadership not dictatorship. Staff at TYC are crying out like the kids for help to fix it and no one listens. The governor and Lege are allowing the problems to build and explode in this agency, so blame them not TYC.<BR/> Where are the positive news articles? News media doesn't sell stories on the good things that are still going on at TYC because the staff there still believe that kids are worth fixing. They don't report how many kids graduated from highschool, ged, or made reading and math gains each month.Instead they say we are failing them in education,treatment and so forth. They don't know what they are talking about. If get someone to learn their times table that is a success and a hell of alot more than they knew when they came to TYC. You get them to read a book that on the streets they never picked up a book to read.<BR/> In closing this long reading, TYC has made and still is making a difference in these kids lives and we Do have Success Stories every day. Just wish the public knew it.<BR/> We need new leaders and a new direction and that has to start at the top.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-45487190734782124062007-11-11T13:02:00.000-06:002007-11-11T13:02:00.000-06:00I agree with Anon 7:38 and with Howard.IMO, what s...I agree with Anon 7:38 and with Howard.<BR/><BR/>IMO, what should happen next year is that TYC should see its entire administration made over with juvenile justice experts put in charge, and a large budget allocation given to the counties varying by need, to provide needed treatment: JDC facility and staff, MHMR, substance abuse treatment, probation, and group home / halfway house if needed.<BR/><BR/>Who should oversee this fund? Definitely not TYC. If TJPC supervises the counties now it should stay that way.<BR/><BR/>It seems to me that if the current policy trend leads to a further drop in TYC's inmate population that some of the funds possibly could come directly from TYC's own budget.<BR/><BR/>I also think it is fair that if more TYC facilities close, staff should be given the opportunity to relocate to a county facility for at least the same pay and benefits, with any needed retraining offered gratis.<BR/><BR/>It's hard to say whether TYC's current financial woes stem from inadequate budget allocation or from gross mismanagement (i.e., spending money needlessly on uniforms while blowing up overtime). <BR/><BR/>The overarching trend plainly seems to be that in the absence of statewide leadership (and let's face, there is none from TYC or the lege or the gov), that counties are being forced to take matters into their own hands, with varying results.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, a lot of eggshells are being broken - needlessly - in the making of this omelet. The situation has been starved for some time for a little leadership that takes the needs of the kids, families, and staff into account. Maybe next year.<BR/><BR/>BBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-64378658061377452672007-11-11T09:52:00.000-06:002007-11-11T09:52:00.000-06:00Grits,Youth should not be sent to TYC because of l...Grits,<BR/><BR/>Youth should not be sent to TYC because of local inadequacies in mental health and drug treatment. Using TYC as an alternative to MHMR services is wrong. That is like sending someone to Leavenworth because local help is not available for a cleptomaniac. TYC is not intended to be a mental health facility. There should be and are other alternatives. It is just counties use an easy solution saying the county can not afford it, rather than going out and spending the money on the problem and if necessary cutting spending elsewhere.<BR/><BR/>Howard A. HickmanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-47215490535282263942007-11-11T07:38:00.000-06:002007-11-11T07:38:00.000-06:00TYC is still doing Resocialization. We are just c...TYC is still doing Resocialization. We are just calling it the Transitional Treatment Program. TYC should be the last resort for any young person, whether or not they need treatment. It doesn't mean that TYC should not exist, but understand that there has to be a last resort. It needs to be treatment oriented, but it needs to be equipped to handle the state's worst juvenile criminals. <BR/><BR/>We all know that prevention is where we should spend the money, and reducing TYC population is a good thing. However, I think turning everything over to TDCJ is a mistake that the tax payers will be paying for a long time. The philosophy of juvenile corrections is that there is still a chance of turning these kids around. TDCJ believes the money should all be spent on security.<BR/><BR/>Pepper spray may be an effective tool for security, but it does nothing to produce a treatment environment. I don't expect success in changing juvenile corrections to get away from the punishment mentality entirely, but we are presently headed in the wrong direction.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-92083799039129932822007-11-11T07:33:00.000-06:002007-11-11T07:33:00.000-06:00I think Travis county is unique...to think the rem...I think Travis county is unique...to think the remainder of the state has or is willing to expend the resources available to Travis County is foolish.<BR/><BR/>This is Texas. Come on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com