tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post4361962684649427131..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Sunset: TYC, county probation, don't gather, share enough informationGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-90271193933558504082009-01-08T20:32:00.000-06:002009-01-08T20:32:00.000-06:00Once a kid goes to TYC, he/she does not go back un...Once a kid goes to TYC, he/she does not go back under the probation department. Yet, TYC sends notice to the CPO whenever there is an abuse/neglect investigation, and whenever the youth is returned to the CPO's county. Seems to me, TYC is sending more info to the CPOs than is necessary. <BR/><BR/>On the other side of the coin, some probation departments are very conscientious about filling out the Common Application when they send youths to TYC; but many of them send very little info.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-2874968921094421252009-01-01T12:56:00.000-06:002009-01-01T12:56:00.000-06:0011:58 is our stray dog...11:58 is our stray dog...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-88442282889560089912008-12-14T13:41:00.000-06:002008-12-14T13:41:00.000-06:00I've had several JPOs contact me and ask me why my...I've had several JPOs contact me and ask me why my caseworkers were sending them so much information about the kids we were sending back into their communities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-4696860501311082282008-12-01T11:30:00.000-06:002008-12-01T11:30:00.000-06:00I've sent a few kids to TYC in my days as a juveni...I've sent a few kids to TYC in my days as a juvenile probation officer. All school records, immunization, birth certificate, social security card, juvenile justice referral history with copies of all offense reports, all court docuemnts, court social history (PSI) and a 15 page common application for placement.<BR/><BR/>Not sure what else TYC would need. Now, I can't tell you that all departments provide thorough information. <BR/><BR/>Ofcourse, if a kid is directly committed to TYC then the local juvenile probation folks won't know that much about the kid anyway.<BR/><BR/>On the backside, I don't see why TYC would need to send anything regarding the treatment of the kid. The Court washed its hands of the kid when they sent him/her to TYC. That is TYCs business and responsibility. We have always received notices of movement from TYC on where the kid is at or is going. Now, that has been nice but do I need more info. No. <BR/><BR/>I disagree with sunset here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-50398361410801398642008-11-28T17:39:00.000-06:002008-11-28T17:39:00.000-06:00Who asked anything about Harris? Some of you peop...Who asked anything about Harris? Some of you people are mutants. You cannot stay on topic - you have to go off on your tangents to get your shots in at folks you don't like. Go troll somewhere else! This blog is about whether or not TYC and county probation depts share enough information.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-83198440930372456382008-11-28T12:45:00.000-06:002008-11-28T12:45:00.000-06:00Harris caused some bad effects on TYC as the Dep. ...Harris caused some bad effects on TYC as the Dep. also, long before he became ED. Many of his cronies are still in the shadows and unless Cherie gets rid of them, the chaos will continue. I just hope she is not part of the old team.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-24560154570231400332008-11-26T22:54:00.000-06:002008-11-26T22:54:00.000-06:00Man why don't you advertise your book on this blog...Man why don't you advertise your book on this blogs ad's section, or are you just too cheap to poney up funds? It's really getting old reading your non-sence post, and now you've dragged parole in it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-86357958568936498162008-11-26T20:32:00.000-06:002008-11-26T20:32:00.000-06:00Apparantly , others know some of TYC's history in ...Apparantly , others know some of TYC's history in this area. Not far off.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-88281067050628512562008-11-26T16:40:00.000-06:002008-11-26T16:40:00.000-06:008:58 - BULL! Go peddle your book elsewhere. You ...8:58 - BULL! Go peddle your book elsewhere. You do not know what you are talking about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-84207967743762504552008-11-26T11:58:00.000-06:002008-11-26T11:58:00.000-06:00TYC institutions staff did not even share informat...TYC institutions staff did not even share information with TYC parole staff. The institutions fought to get youth released, mostly, while parole fought to get them returned to institutions. They made a game of it, with youth caught in the middle. Raped by The State fairly well explains how TYC did this and ruined youth's lives who were caught in the middle. How can TYC and probation work, after this type history?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-19918183618059230052008-11-25T01:42:00.000-06:002008-11-25T01:42:00.000-06:00If you look back to the time prior to George W. Bu...If you look back to the time prior to George W. Bush's cutting of the programs, at maximum numbers, the SAFP's actually were distributed much like the TYC facilities are now throughout the State. I agree, for the regionalization concept that is being desired now, the number of facilities would have to increase both in the larger urban locations as well as the north and western parts of Texas. For example, the SAFP in the Panhandle of Texas served offenders from Houston to El Paso, to Amarillo, and Plainview, so some of the probation officers would travel from down south and out west to visit the facility for a few days at a time. Same thing with the southern most SAFP's - they had offenders from Amarillo, El Paso, etc. Regionalization was not the primary consideration for those particular programs at that time, available treatment beds were as was the perception of the judges about which particular SAFP programs worked best. With todays high price of fuel, etc. that regionalization might have become a larger consideration, had the programs not been shut down. <BR/> <BR/>Smaller, regionalized programs might work even better today. A major issue will be start-up costs. It is also preferable to have a few programs that are totally secure, where leaving is not an option. At this point however, everything is on the table as far as working models goes.<BR/><BR/>The important thing now is to start generating alternative models that all the "customers" can buy into. This is just one of several possabilities. It's chief merit is that it has already proven itself as an effective coalition of different agencies providing a unified service. There are certainly lots of other possabilities. Since we don't know how much time there will be for any of the proposed changes to happen, we need to start generating constructive ideas now. I personally think that any proposed, workable models should be developed around their rehabilitative effectiveness first and their ability to be regionalized second. IMOP, regionalization should be a preferance but not the engine of the train.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-47940976982058418202008-11-24T22:05:00.000-06:002008-11-24T22:05:00.000-06:00remember TYC facilities are scattered to the four ...remember TYC facilities are scattered to the four corners of the state, SAFP's are relatively close to the courts in which they serve. That is the exact model that locals use when they place children in thier own secure and non secure facilties, which is why so few actually go to TYCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-68689915482646509062008-11-24T21:38:00.000-06:002008-11-24T21:38:00.000-06:00The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission is not a P...The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission is not a Probation Department. It is more of a funding conduit and an external auditing agency than any kine of service provider, which is what TYC is. The individual Probation Departments that receive services from TJPC do provide services, and it is the judges connected to those departments on the county level, that send youth to TYC.<BR/><BR/>With that distinction clearly in place, there is a model in Texas corrections that possibly can be copied in a modified form to help create a powerfull and effective link between county probation departments, TJPC and TYC.<BR/><BR/>That model is found in the treatment initiatives developed in the mid 1990's by TDCJ's Substance Abuse Felony Treatment Programs (Therapeutic Communities), and local probation departments.<BR/><BR/>Essentially, offenders were sentenced by a local court for a drug offense. They sometimes were given "shock" probation, as a motivator to accept "treatment". If the offender agreed to treatment, he was placed on a "deferred adjudication" status and sent to the SAFP (Substance Abuse Felony Treatment Program) for a minimum of nine months. While in the SAFP, the offender was considered an inmate of TDCJ and had to abide by the prison rules. They were also bound by the elements of the order for deferred adjudication from the court that ordered them into treatment. If the offender successfully completed treatment, they went back before the court for consideration of a new modification to their original sentence. If they failed in the treatment program, they went back to court and had the boom lowered (i.e., the full sentence was imposed). <BR/><BR/>While the offender was in treatment, a specialized probation officer was assigned to work with the treatment staff of the SAFP and with the offender. The offender knew, that the court knew how they were or were not progressing. Occassionally, if an offender acted up, he or she would be bench warranted back to see the judge for some "attitude adjustment". Most of the time, that did the trick. If the offender continued to thumb his or her nose at treatment, then they would have their probation revoked.<BR/><BR/>This same model would work for a marriage between TYC and local probation departments. If TJPC acted as the "common link" agency between local probation departments and TYC, there could be not only a coordinated rehabilitation effort, but a new and powerful tool that is currently lacking in TYC. That tool is direct and ongoing access to a probation officer from the county that sent the offender to TYC, and to the committing judge when needed for a "little talk" about the consequences of not getting with the program. Of course, TYC will have to have a program to "get with", but they are working at that pretty seriously these days.<BR/><BR/>This dynamic relationship between the agency which incarcerates the offender and the agency referring the offender for rehabilitative services has been extremely successfull for adult probationers in Texas. The recidivism rates for participants in these very tough SAFP programs, is very very low, compared to the rates for those who don't go through the programs. The new TYC Connections program has a few of the same programatic elements as do the Therapeutic Communities within the SAFP (such as a focus on cognitive thinking skills and high accountability with direct consequences). <BR/><BR/>Since this model of incarceration/rehabilitation is already familiar to adult probation departments, DA's, Judges and TJPC, and the Legislature, it would be fairly easy to assimilate into Juvenile Corrections.<BR/><BR/>The legislature is already open to this kind of arrangement because the model has been working in adult corrections for the last 12 years. Cutting recidivism means lower costs to the State by containing prison expansion.<BR/><BR/>Judges,Probation Officers and Program Directors (read Superintendents) love the program because they are working in a unified fashion to reduce recidivism. All of the players retain there respective turfs.<BR/><BR/>I'm not saying it is a perfect model, but it is a proven one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-59278907517798611642008-11-24T21:34:00.000-06:002008-11-24T21:34:00.000-06:006:35 check your numbers in cy 2006, there were 291...6:35 check your numbers<BR/> in cy 2006, there were 2912 commitments, and only 937 were misd, that's still 500 more than 1500, when the problems started judges quit sending kids to TYC, and of those 937, some probably had a felony in their pastAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-19075346169586357422008-11-24T18:35:00.000-06:002008-11-24T18:35:00.000-06:0011:12, the commitments are way down due to not sen...11:12, the commitments are way down due to not sending the misdemeanors to TYC.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-83156506164552370352008-11-24T11:12:00.000-06:002008-11-24T11:12:00.000-06:00In FY '08, Texas counties committed 1582 kids to T...In FY '08, Texas counties committed 1582 kids to TYC. That number does not include recommitments, revocations, or reclassifications. The 1582 in '08 is down from 2327 in '07, 2738 in '06, 2614 in '05, and 2526 in '04. (TYC Website) Appears to me county probation has been doing its job in their communities for the past 5 years so why mess with TJPC and the counties? <BR/><BR/> The problem is TYC's past management beginning with Mr. Harris on February 4, 2004, and the stooges/pretenders that followed him (other than Ms. Townsend).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-38333660745280827182008-11-24T09:34:00.000-06:002008-11-24T09:34:00.000-06:00Kids cannot receive treatment if the treatment pro...Kids cannot receive treatment if the treatment programs are not funded. Blaming TYC is pointing the finger in the wrong direction. The legislature put huge qualification requirements for sex offender treatment providers, but did not provide any money to fund the salaries of people with these types of certification. Any judge who sends a kid to TYC expecting that that same youth will automatically get sex offender treatment, is either not paying attention, or is intentionally passing the buck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-66560970830385129542008-11-24T08:21:00.000-06:002008-11-24T08:21:00.000-06:00I agree that probation departments are better equi...I agree that probation departments are better equipped to handle parole. The current parole system is a joke. However, the decision to revoke needs to be left to local judges not TYC.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-33523352750830717872008-11-24T08:15:00.000-06:002008-11-24T08:15:00.000-06:00"Because probation departments and committing cour..."Because probation departments and committing courts do not receive information about the services youth receive at TYC, they cannot easily hold TYC accountable for treatment of youth. Local judges send youth to TYC with the expectation that the agency will provide necessary treatment." <BR/><BR/>TYC still releases Deferred Sex Offenders from the general programs with out sex offender treatment or registration. The Judges get a letter that says he finished a treatment program and TYC will not register them. This treatment under the transitional program may be little more than the youth admitting to the original charge and that he had sex. Often these deferred youth are sent to TYC after failing a probation Sex Offender Program with the Judges expectation that he receive a real inpatient SO program. <BR/><BR/>It doesn't help to complain as long as the folks in central office belive their own press releases.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-7025422695750609402008-11-24T08:02:00.000-06:002008-11-24T08:02:00.000-06:00Haven't you heard?El Paso is a country unto itself...Haven't you heard?<BR/><BR/>El Paso is a country unto itself, It includes El Paso and Hudspeth Counties.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-58207291367408270552008-11-24T00:21:00.001-06:002008-11-24T00:21:00.001-06:00The question is WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE KID...The question is WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE KIDS ON THE WESTERN HALF OF THE STATE????<BR/><BR/>If you close the two remaining facilities on that side....where will these kids go?<BR/><BR/>No one seems to have a straight answer to that question!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-77432586778933499102008-11-24T00:21:00.000-06:002008-11-24T00:21:00.000-06:00The question is WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE KID...The question is WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE KIDS ON THE WESTERN HALF OF THE STATE????<BR/><BR/>If you close the two remaining facilities on that side....where will these kids go?<BR/><BR/>No one seems to have a straight answer to that question!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-34216204131769531672008-11-23T23:39:00.000-06:002008-11-23T23:39:00.000-06:00Don't worry, qualified contractors will handle to ...Don't worry, qualified contractors will handle to joining of the two agencies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-55140712331922504882008-11-23T23:32:00.000-06:002008-11-23T23:32:00.000-06:00i've heard that the TJPC is looking at developing ...i've heard that the TJPC is looking at developing a new program that was referenced in the report, its referred to as JCMS, i believe its Juvenile Correctional Management System. The price tag for the biggest three counties 14,000,000, TJPC's cost to be a part was 4,000, 000. These are just estimates. I didn't see that in the fiscal impact. It was also in TJPC's budget request and was denied by the Ledge..........Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-47296455650172500752008-11-23T22:38:00.000-06:002008-11-23T22:38:00.000-06:00As more investigators look at local county program...As more investigators look at local county programs you will see smaller, but just as corrupt, versions of the same problems uncovered at TYC. When was the last time TJPC made an unannounced visit to a county program. Just ask TJPC for records of their rubber stamped approval of all affirmative findings of wrong doing in local facilities by local juvenile board investigations when the boards conduct these bogus investigations of themselves. What group of judges is ever going to find themselves wrong? Watch out juvenile boards I understand you as judges can be held PERSONALLY liable for your actions and can't hide behind your judicial immunity any longer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com