From the "It's About Damn Time" Department, an alert reader emails to tell me that the feds have finally filed suit against the Texas Youth Commission in the Southern District. Judge Ricardo Hinojosa will preside in the case, which centers on the Evins Unit.
The litigation was brought by USDOJ's civil rights division, which for years under former AG Alberto Gonzales simply never pursued cases in Texas, so I'd attribute this case going forward, in part, to his departure. The named defendants are the state, Governor Rick Perry, Richard Nedelkoff, Dimitria D. Pope and Melody Vidaurri, who is superintendent at Evins, "and their successors, contractors and agents."
The litigation accuses TYC of failing to protect inmates at Evins from both assaults by staff and other youth, failing to provide inmates due process, and failing to provide rehabilitative treatment. If implemented, a full-time federal compliance officer would oversee the terms of the settlement.
Several of the proposed orders deal with use of force, physical restraints, and tracking of force incidents. Another would mandate adequate staffing, not just to supervise kids but to provide treatment. One of the remedies proposed would require "evidence based" changes to the notorious Behavioral Management Program (a euphemism for solitary confinement) and require regular access by BMP youth to mental health staff.
According to background in DOJ's proposed order, the agency began looking at the allegations raised in the complaint in June 2006. In March 2007 they issued a letter to TYC outlining concerns, but TYC did not accept their findings, so now nearly a year later they've apparently come to an agreement. Most of the changes in the proposed order, though, would affect every TYC unit, not just Evins.
This day's been a long time coming. After all the drama over the last year, this may just be the prequel to the real story of reforming TYC. At a minimum, the litigation should give conservator Richard Nedelkoff all the political cover he needs to bring the agency up to speed by negotiating high standards for the agency in the terms of any agreed order.
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27 comments:
Agreed, It is about time.
DFT
Texas is going to have to dig deep to pay for needed change at TYC and TDCJ. I sure hope this sends a message to the politicians and the people of Texas.
The message is:
You cannot make everyone a criminal, because criminals have to be cared for as much or more than you!
A number of changes are coming to TYC. Since TYC cannot hire enough staff to comply with the court order contract care is the only option left. Also I think you will see more youth being handled at the county level which would take only minor adjustment to current law. TYC has been a corrupt and immorally run state agency for many years and the wrong doing of the agency administration has caught with it. I hope only the best for the good people who have been at TYC. I hope the youth are better served by TYC in the future with worthwhile programming that meets the needs of the individual youth.
Ms. Pope may be packing up her office right now! Stay tuned for more news as the day progresses.
Major news, Grits... I agree with your assessment that it gives Nedelkoff more space to move forward, esp with his stated goal of going to smaller, regionally located programs. Will be interesting to see what happens.
Bill B.
let's light a candle that she is and taking her cronies with her.
to 10:38 am
TDCJ? Who said anything about THEM changing? Wishful thinking.
Good luck finding long term Case Managers who will stay around and work long enough to get good at what they are asked to do. The pay incentive was pulled today. No more raises spread out over seven years to keep them from looking for jobs elsewhere.
Close Evans!!!!!!!! most ofthe Staff at Evans are related to the Inmates ,,,They need to remove the Unit and put the Youth in a Safer Place.....The Unit has always been corrupt and needs to close down ....This is not the First time Evans has been in the News but it needs to be the last time...
Close the Doors !!!!!!!!!!
Bill B: you may be in the best position to address the issue raised by 6:52. Most of us who work in facilities wonder what happens to kids when they go back to the exact same environment they left: i.e., drugs, gangs, family criminal activity, sexual abuse etc. At Evins, in many cases, they never even get to leave it except for the time at Mart Orientation. Even when not directly related, staff have family living in the area who can be targeted for retaliation.
I am not suggesting smaller, regional facilities may not have a place, even a dominant place in future thinking, just that a very serious, close look needs to be taken. While you are at it, consider where you put the girls and the kids from West of I-35. In either case, failure to put them as close to home as a small facility in Harris County could put them to Houston sounds like discrimination.
Director Sought for National Center for Juvenile Justice
Breaking News (just don't let our Conservator know about this. Imagine his response when he realizes there is a position that can have great influence on juveniles, pays well and does not have Whitmire)
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges has issued a position announcement for the Director of its National Center for Juvenile Justice.
Did someone say Morales vs Turman? The lawsuit that prohibited the use of pepper spray and uniforms in TYC? It affected all TYC facilities and it didn't make a difference to Pope, she failed to comply and now look at the mess we are going to clean up??
Evins has always been problem facility. The events there have been swept under the carpet by a legislator with an interest in keeping jobs for his constituents in Edinberg. It would have blown wide open much earlier but the sex
scandal took the spotlight off them.
Hopefully this lawsuit will bring about the changes that are needed to reform TYC. But money is still the bottom line, unless the lege funds TYC with enough money to implement changes for both youth and employees, it will not happen!! We'll get another Pope who won't comply with court order.
Everything south of San Antonio is third world, IMO. What do you expect?
Is it a coincidence that the judge and the senator have the same last name? Does this happen south of San Antonio also??
This is the only way anything happens regarding reforms and criminal justice in Texas. I hope it works. The state has got to realize you cannot ask people to work such stressful jobs for poverty level money.
I hope the last few commenters on this blog aren't TYC employees, because I'd hate to think that such ignorant and bigoted people receive their salaries from taxpayers. It's even more sad that they may work directly with minority children who come from "Third World" conditions.
Which legislator, commenter at 9:30, was sweeping Evins' problems under the rug? Was it Pena, or was it Hinojosa? Because both those legislators complained about Evins many times to elected officials and to the press. Legislators had also made surprise visits to Evins to check on its chaotic conditions. It was always on the radar.
It sounds like you're bitter that all the sexual abuses and lying taking place in multiple TYC facilities wasn't covered up longer. It's pathetic that you're minimizing the abuses that kids and employees had to deal with so you can lie about how Evins got off "easy." Or maybe you've accepted rumors you've heard from equally bitter and racist people, and you were willing to believe them because you're angry and look down on people from South Texas anyway.
Grits,
Why no mention of the House Appropriations Hearing Wednesday at noon? I think your readers would be interested.
10:11 p.m., talk about being bitter?
10:11 p.m. No one mentioned race in their comments. Get a life. From what I've read in the MSM there is rampant corruption by elected officials and police in most of South Texas. I believe you even had one offical carry a gun in an airport and he got away with it. That you are located in South Texas has nothing to do with it. Dirty politics is not restricted to South Texas. Don't read between the lines and assume things.
Thanks, 10:47. I put something up today. I've not been as focused on the blog the last week or so and stuff's piling up.
As it has been said before. This whole thing has always been about Evins. Pyote just gave Hinojosa an edge to finally get Dwight back for not hiring hispanics. Look at it now. They're on their second one and things are worse than before. Instead of doing their jobs, they blame administration. Pena says things are better, but that's a friggin joke. Bob fired some slackers and they complained to Pena. He and Chewy got together and lied up a storm with their so called friend/buddy Frank Villa. What a joke. Pena and Chewy are just covering for their gente. Democrats call this the spoils system and it lives well in the RGV.
You're right. Hinojosa's a lawyer. He does not give a shit about boys being screwed in West Texas. That kind of thing happens in the Valley everyday, especially in Mission with BoyScouts so he's not really bothered by it. They just keep quiet about it for the most part. For him, it was just a case of git back with Central Office in Austin.
This is the only way anything happens regarding reforms and criminal justice in Texas. I hope it works. The state has got to realize you cannot ask people to work such stressful jobs for poverty level money.
the person that posted that had it right. short staffed, those that are there working crazy hours just to keep coverage in the 1/20 range.
and Ms. Pope needed new furniture. i'da traded that for a part-time employee in a heart beat.
RE-OPEN THE ORIENTATION UNIT IN MARLIN SINCE TDCJ SUPPOSEDLY WANT BE USING IT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO MIX ORIENTATION YOUTH WITH STATE SCHOOL YOUTH THE YOUTH AT MART STATE SCHOOL ARE MIXED IN WITH THE 1O-13YRS OLD ORIENTATION YOUTH WHICH IS NOT VERY SAFE FOR NEW YOUTH THAT DON'T KNOW THE SYSTEM THE LEGE NEED TO PUT SOMEBODY IN CHARGE OF THAT UNIT THAT KNOWS HOW ORIENTATION IS SUPPOSE TO WORK RIGHT NOW MART IS A VERY UNSAFE UNIT FOR STAFF AND YOUTH THAT'S MART I & II
Does anyone know if TDCJ seems to be doing any retro-fitting yet of the building in Marlin? TDCJ promised TYC employees who crossed over that they were guaranteed a position at the Marlin unit after it was converted. The target date for that conversion was March 2008, I believe.
You people really can't be that stupid to think that the whole TYC reform effort was about Hinojosa being mad b/c a Latino wasn't made head of the agency. I would laugh out loud if I wasn't floored by your ignorance. I just hope you're not sharing your "thoughts" with anyone around you. Some poor fool who's stupider than you are might actually believe that what you say has some merit.
No, you friggin idiot. Chupie along with the other haters down here wanted a mexican to run evins.
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