That's not the approach the Lege took at the Texas Youth Commission, though, which radically downsized in a relatively short period of time while juvenile crime declined at record rates. (We're not alone, either: AP this week reported "States closing youth prisons as arrests plunge.") Legislators should view that transition as a model for what's possible at adult prisons in the face of a massive budget shortfall.
The many recent changes at the Texas Youth Commission - facility closures, reductions in staff and inmate numbers, revamping treatment curricula - were borne of a political crisis, to be sure, and the transition was a tumultuous time of disarray for employees at the agency. But it's hard to argue with the results. Not only was Texas' youth prison inmate population cut in half, policy changes by the Lege including beefed up community supervision resources at the local level altered local decisions about which kids to send to TYC. The agency has a web page charting TYC population trends, and I thought this graphic on referrals offered a telling depiction:
New commitments in FY 2009 came in at less than half the number 10 years ago. That's an astonishing result considering juvenile crime rates are also down. What's more, average length of stay has declined:
Importantly, rather than wait for new policies enacted in 2007 to take effect, in the case of juvenile prisons Texas slashed capacity by more than half, simultaneous to changing corrections policies.
That's the model for how legislators should approach cuts at TDCJ: Don't just slash line items from the budget willy-nilly as the agency has suggested, but change state corrections policies to reduce the number of people entering prison and the resources available for meaningful community supervision, which even at beefed up levels operates at a fraction of the cost of incarceration. It's definitely possible from a practical perspective; the question is whether the budget crisis turns out to be severe enough to force such tough decisions.
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17 comments:
Cut all Legislators pay by 10%
They only make $7,500 per year For all 181 of them that'd be $135,750.
Don't cut their pay just their "BUDGET". Its a little more than $7,500.....
Consider also that approximately half of the current prison population is parole eligible. Many inmates have been eligible for over a decade and are denied each year. While incarcerated many of these men have earned bachelor’s degrees, had no behavioral issues (cases) and attended every program intended as rehabilitation. Parole may seem like a separate issue, but paroling eligible inmates would be the quickest solution to the current budget crisis. And, it is the right thing to do.
Just because a prisoner is eligible for parole does not mean they should be paroled.
I would like to see TYCs statistics from 2008 and 2009 on the number of juveniles who left institution and got re-arrested within one year?
That would be an interesting stat. Problem is I don't believe TYC keeps those stats as a regular course of their statistical analysis.
Good news! We don't have to worry about budget cuts - we can raise taxes. The wealthy are moving to Florida and Texas so we can now tax them as they arrive. The eight liberal states that have targeted wealthy households with extra-high tax brackets are now running the rich out and some of them are moving to Texas. We can now raise our taxes on them!
Those liberal heavy taxing states are: California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Hawaii, Oregon, Connecticut and Wisconsin.
Good idea; perhaps we can also send all those on welfare, unmarried w/ten children, illegals and anchor babies to those states and give Texans a break. Stop the handouts, give-aways, minority breaks and make folks be responsible, for a change.
About those eight states that have targeted wealthy households with extra-high tax burdens, how did
Massachusetts miss that list?
I read that news account today. It mentioned Llano county as one of destinations. Hard to believe.
One of the few examples that this occult/rogue agency can provide for others. A failure of state policy but one to examine as the future moves on and what to avoid as any functionable organization. How to avoid oil soaked lobysters...TYC sludge.
Anyone that is employed by the child abuse agency - TYC - and publically admits to it, is in need of psychological/mental help, other than that of the agency in disgrace.
Lets take a hard look at de-criminalization of marijuana. Personal use is okay but the sale of it by an individual will result in fines, and then jail time, any sale to a minor would bring automatic jail time. What would that do to the population at TDCJ, did I forget to mention that we could then tax it and stop all of the toll roads in Texas, problem solved!
TYC's still a toilet. Flush it already. The juvenile correction turds floating in the Brown Heatley building have become so bloated that they'll have to be cut in half just to get down the drain.
WOW. Now I know where that terrible odor comes from when I drive near that building. Yes, fire those smelly ill-conceived correctional people at the child abuse center.
It probably isn't them personally that cause the odor. Many of them don't even bother showing up for work for days at a time. The superintendent of education, Clint Carpenter, spends most of his time in Lubbock, and who knows where else.
The Austin headquarters needs to be cleaned out. This is the biggest problem with TYC - Austin, not the field units. Get rid of these dimwits and shitheads and TYC could get a fresh start with unsmelly management. I hate to visit there for meetings, etc. it is a cesspool of TYC's worst people.
09:47 if that's you Randal, I'll see you next weekend at the West Texas State School reunion. I'll even bring the Lone Star.
Ham2mtr
Major budget cuts could be the only motivation to spark a clean-up of TYC corruption, cover-ups, incompetency, nepotism, lack of leadership, and ineffective programs. Let's only hope that the economy does not improve until after we see the benefits of many reforms.
I used to be proud to work at TYC, and can only hope that I can be proud again. Concerned.
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