Monday, May 19, 2008

Children's Defense Fund calls on Congress to intervene on youth prisons

Read Marian Wright Edelman's column at the Huffington Post calling to expand recourse for youth who are abused in youth lockups, citing Texas and Mississippi as her prime examples. See also Edelman's recent testimony to Congress (pdf) regarding "The Prison Abuse Remedies Act of 2007."

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree. Let those that are guilty not be hidden nor covered because they work for the state and let prosecutors who refuse to prosecute suffer the same.

Anonymous said...

TYC will defend it's own. If you are on the team (on the inside track) many people can be found to say it never happened.

The Texas Rangers, OIG and others are outsiders - visitors. They may want to make friends with those on the inner track.

The DAs and grand juries seem happy to no bill. They also want to make the right friends. They know who votes and they are in tune with the local culture.

Who will stand up against this? The AG office? The governor? The legislators are worn out trying to reform an agency that comes back in the same form after the top 1% has been trimmed off.

You tell me who will do it.

Anonymous said...

Return to Campus.
In his book, Raped by the State, Randal Chance reported that administrators who were barred from TYC facilities were eventually brought back. He said this happened at Crockett, West Texas and Brownwood. It also happened at Giddings.

Back then, top TYC administrators made sure that these individuals were allowed to return and continue their "contribution." We still see this happening. Is this a wise practice? Should we continue to recycle these individuals or should we finally begin to move away from this legacy?

Anonymous said...

4:48,

The legislature is the reason that the "TYC reform" did not work. It was not because they were "worn out" but because they and the governor insisted on placing unqualified people such as Jay Kimbrough, Ed Owens, Dimitria Pope, Steve Foster, Wade Phillips, etc. in positions to which they were not qualified. Also there was a lack of understanding by the legislature that juvenile corrections is vastly different from adult corrections.

Howard A. Hickman

Anonymous said...

4:48, It seems to me that the legislators are "worn out" trying to deflect blame from themselves for their part in setting TYC up for failure over the last three or four sessions. They are politicians and have no idea how to help youthful offenders. I've met several of them. They hold the purse strings, stand for reelection every two years, and that's pretty much it.

Anonymous said...

And unfortunately Steve Foster, Wade Phillips, David Walenta, and others continue to hold positions for which they are not qualified.

Anonymous said...

As of June 1, the Youth Care Investigators will come under the supervision of the OIG. This will provide several potential benefits: (1) it will provide better, more independent oversight over the investigations conducted by the YCIs, (2) it will provide the OIG criminal investigators with helpers who have local knowledge, (3) it may provide for better training and resources for the YCIs (4) it may help reduce some of the duplication of effort that has existed between the two departments. In this same reorganization, the Youth Rights Specialists, who primarilly handle the grievance system, will move under the supervision of the treatment division.

It is going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like too many damn investigators investigating, and no treatment or supervision happening. Has TYC set up a para-military police state for the staff and youth?

Anonymous said...

damn, just can't win can you. Everybody wants investigators and now there are investigators and that is "a para-military" state. Trust me, TYC is further now from a military state than ever before.

And, i am not sure where you are but there is treatment going on in TYC. There are youth who are being accountable for their delinquency and making changes...please tell us where there is no treatment happening...

Anonymous said...

Looking back to 2006.

Announcing Two New Juvenile Corrections Directors.

October 12, 2006 From: Tim Savoy, Public Information Officer

Lemuel “Chip” Harrison and Stan DeGerolami have been selected as the two new directors of juvenile corrections. They join Lydia Barnard and Paula Morelock who currently hold the same title. These four Texas Youth Commission directors of juvenile corrections oversee operations at all TYC institutions and programs, ensuring quality care and safe facilities for TYC youth and staff.

What was behind these two promotions on 10/12/06? In this old environment, why were they trusted above all others in TYC? This position (directors of juvenile corrections) was where the TYC culture was enforced and through it everyone was kept in line.

When do Chip and Lydia go to trial?

Anonymous said...

Unfortunatly the past year was not much better when you consider who was promoted to these type of positions, and their still in them.

TYC is still in need of guidance and this is not to speak ugly of the conservator. I believe he is an honorable man but with the damage done this past year prior to his appointment, the question should be asked, is it too late?

What have we done, what programs are in place, our numbers are lower but the staff ratio's have not met the 12 to 1 ratio.

Is Sunset the answer?

Anonymous said...

Chip and Lydia should go to trial the same time Gov. Perry, Kimbrough, Owens, and Pope go for all the covering up, misappropriations of funds and all the other crap they pulled in the name of reforming TYC.

The short answer - NEVER!!

Anonymous said...

another one bites the dust in CO-HR.... Mr. Paul Baca is leaving after dedicating 10 years of service to TYC Employees.

Good Luck, Man! Us Field staff will miss you.

Anonymous said...

Is Sunset the answer? Some of us are afraid we're headed full speed in that direction. Most of the people I work with are still completely loyal to the old way. If we keep moving in this direction, we may meet the sunset.

Anonymous said...

Let the sun set already. The Turdyc needs to be flushed and then flushed again because that crap keep re-surfacing. I can name several places where treatment is not happening: all halfway houses except probably Willoughby and Cottrell; Evins of course, unless you count the illicit drug therapy that goes on down there: both Mart locales where the blood runs down the drain on regular occasion; Al Price; Crockett; Giddings; Victory Field; West Texas; Brownwood; Corsicana. Hell through'em all in there. Flush it and start all over. Make every administrator CO and field, teacher, caseworker, and JCO with more than two years tenure reapply and see who gets rehired. Yep, let the sun set on the toilet that TYC really is and quit wasting my tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

the governor and legislature are entirely responsible for the lack of progress. Once they decided changes needed to be made they went completely political with their "reforms" and "administrators". The current conservator is wise to learn what the state of the agency is before he begins cleaning out administrators and field administrators.

I have to disagree with the broad brush painted by 9:29.