TCJC's 2009 Criminal & Juvenile Justice Solutions Guide has finally arrived! Check out our policy recommendations that will save taxpayers money while increasing public safety:Part 1: Protect Youth and Communities by Improving Juvenile Justice
Part 2: Rebuild Confidence in the Criminal Justice System
Part 3: Save Money and Increase Public Safety by Strengthening Criminal Justice Practices
- Stop the Flow into Prisons by Supporting Probation
- Fight Drug Addiction and Address Mental Illness Head On
- Increase the Efficiency of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Part 4: Encourage Economic and Workforce Development by Reducing Re-Entry Barriers
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
TCJC Criminal Justice Solutions Guide
Via email, from our friends at the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition:
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11 comments:
These are very good recommendations. We need more groups like TCJC advocating for positive change in the criminal justice system. I hope all of these solutions become law this session.
I started thumbing through it this afternoon and it seems the ladies at TCJC put out an informative, comprehensive and well written document.
I agree. I especially like the section regarding probation; we need more legislation that supports probation and other alternatives to incarceration.
Broad generalities are nice but there is a great deal of devil in the detail which I do not see. The fly in the ointment that no one touches is that the problem is much bigger than cutting and pasting ideas together. How does one get clinical personel such as sex offender treatment providers when they do not exist? Where does the money come from to do all these ideas? What do you do about the youth who have not been treated in TYC because of the past two years of leadership incompetence? What do you do about providing proper medical care for TYC youth when there is no more UTMB- Galveston? How do you provide an equivalent level of treatment for youth on probation in Claude with youth in Houston? Etc. Etc.
Howard A. Hickman
First thing you do is pay the going rate for professional treatment options for addicts and the mentally ill.
University of Texas, Texas Tech and other colleges should be funded for degree programs specializing in the treatment of the criminally mentally ill and addiction. Research grants should be focused on treatment and public safety associated with addiction and mental illness.
The money spent would be rewarded in the six years it takes to get a degree. The savings to taxpayers and the value of a safer society are worth it.
All it takes is for the legislature to think about more than getting votes during the next election.
I'm constantly impressed by what this group puts out. They always do their homework, hit the important issues and make a nice presentation. Kudos to TCJC.
I too agree that this is a well thought out document. There are some discrepencies in funding figures but the concept is there. GREAT JOB.
Finally they address many of the main issues in a rational manner, thoughtful manner. I have some home. You know some really good things have happened at TYC and it doesn't get told. The majority of us were dedicated to helping those kids and believe or ot we knew what we were doing.
There is no need for anyone to use this blog to fight and argue. It's embarrassing that so many have had to be disabled. I hope TYC folks will become proactive and start talking about the good things.
I urge everyone to take a look at the sunset commissions findings in 1996. I appreciate the commissions work, however the issues being addressed are nothing new, just a different spin.
1996 issues addressed and findings by the sunset commission-"Tyc is the only agency that has the necessary expertise to provide services to delinquent youth with severe treatment needs".
1. Continue both TYC and TJPC for 12 yrs.
2. A consolidation of the two agencies would not improve system operations nor produce significant savings.
3. Require TJPC to adopt and enforce specific standards for the collection and reporting of info on juvenile offenders by probation depts. This is to determine effectiveness of probation services
5. TJPC and TYC should jointly develop pilot projects where counties on a voluntary basis, would receive a pool of state funds to be used wth local funds to provide a full array of services.
6. Require TJPC and TYC to maximize the use of medicaid funding for health care costs of youth in the system.
6. Require county juvenile prob. depts. to use the TJPC screening instrument to follow standards set by TJPC for mental health screens. Require prob. depts to report info.
1995 was a big overhaul year. Sunset focused on coordinating resources between the two agencies so that rehibilitative needs of juvenile offenders are better served and communities better protected.
In 1996 TYC teamed up with Travis CO. prob. dept. to improve services in Travis county.
1996-Sub committee formed TYC/TJCP to investigate feasibility of the two agencies sharing some admin duties.
I thought this was interesting information. I don't see how the sunset determined that it is now feasible to merge the two agencies. I think all of this has more to do with politics that anything else. These are the more emphasis on treatment days of Obama and they are also the days of let's trash G Dub. Tyc was his baby.
Let's let TCJC develop policy for the new consolidated department.
Thank you for this post, really worthwhile data.
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