tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post651310031188492765..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: For once in Coke County, SB 103 worked like it was supposed toGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-74495302375418371722007-10-08T11:07:00.000-05:002007-10-08T11:07:00.000-05:00The events I described happened immediately before...The events I described happened immediately before the sudden closing. Old SaltyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-24910364989324343692007-10-07T19:36:00.000-05:002007-10-07T19:36:00.000-05:00how in the hell would YOU serve someone better? Wh...how in the hell would YOU serve someone better? Whoops did you make a Typo? The master!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-24922636186374222772007-10-06T16:53:00.000-05:002007-10-06T16:53:00.000-05:0011:35.There is a thing called constructive critici...11:35.<BR/><BR/>There is a thing called constructive criticism. I would serve you well to learn to accept it more graciously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-77157868460366617792007-10-06T11:35:00.000-05:002007-10-06T11:35:00.000-05:0010:30 Just another show of disrepect.If you did no...10:30<BR/> Just another show of disrepect.If you did not have something positive to say to the last post then why say anything at all?<BR/><BR/>If grits is about someone writing correctly maybe we should all just stop writing. Check out other post and start correcting them. What is wrong with people who work at TYC?<BR/> I do not work there and glad I am not employed at this place.<BR/> I bet I made some mistakes here too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-45071749342514812252007-10-06T10:30:00.000-05:002007-10-06T10:30:00.000-05:0010:04, your copious spelling and grammatical error...10:04, your copious spelling and grammatical errors aren't really helping you make your point. I'm pro-teacher, but proof-read, dude.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-20520179774089986652007-10-05T22:04:00.000-05:002007-10-05T22:04:00.000-05:00Tyc staff have always had problems with people in ...Tyc staff have always had problems with people in education and think they are loosers. Well, as for many years in TYC the same issues have came out on this blog.<BR/> Get off somewhere around 4-430<BR/> Make a good salary<BR/> Educated with a college degree( did that to make more money in life)<BR/> Do not have to be JCO staff<BR/> Some think they have a do nothing job.<BR/><BR/> For the one that said, you use to work for me but I quit. Bet there is a lot who are glad of that with your attitude towards Educators. I am sure the kids did well where you worked. You are incorrect I have NEVER worked for you and I am glad of that. I believe that would be a thinking error on your part.<BR/><BR/>You are all wrong and until you have walked in the shoes of an educator in TYC don't bash them! You don't have a clue.I guess you don't appreciate your teacher of your kids, grandkids in public school either, you must hate them for not doing your kids homework for them, or sending something home for you to do.<BR/><BR/>I would say that most teachers in Education have equal to or more degrees. But the degree does not make the person it is what they do with the knowlege they have. There are alot of good people that work at TYC for the betterment of the kids with no degrees and they do a hell of a good job. So leave out the degree thing.<BR/><BR/>If you hate Teachers so much, maybe TYC will do away with these do nothing people and you guys can rasie them all the time by yourself. Since we are so useless we can get a job in another school district and make those big bucks, but we choose to work 12 months out of the year instead of 9, boy that makes alot of sense! work extra to help kids at risk.<BR/> Every position at TYC has problems with the way they are treated and the work that is put on them. No one has the right to say anyone is whinning. Are you whinning because your in your position? Guess you are if your complaining about it.<BR/> Stop blaming all teachers for a few bad ones where you work. That is like saying we are all guilty of the crime of sexually abusing kids because we work at TYC and we all should go to jail for that. With this kind of thinking about Teachers it makes one wonder what your teaching the kids in your facility! Judge everyone for everybody else's wrong doing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-16406234945983172192007-10-05T12:35:00.000-05:002007-10-05T12:35:00.000-05:00But Old Salty, that's the whole point. Why did it ...But Old Salty, that's the whole point. Why did it take more than those two visits to prompt action? If GEO was restricting access to youth to the contracting agency, TYC, then they were already in some type of breach of contract anyway - correct? Not criticizing, just trying to get clear on the chain of events here. How many visits does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop (or poorly run contract facility)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-44024615335728091572007-10-05T10:08:00.000-05:002007-10-05T10:08:00.000-05:00Let's get one thing straight: the worst in TYC com...Let's get one thing straight: the worst in TYC commit new crimes after being released and are recommitted to TYC by the courts. Most of the youth in Coke County were revoked for parole violations, such as failure to report to their parole officer, truancy, etc. Revocation for parole violations is meant to get their attention and reinforce to them that parole rules are something to be taken seriously. Coke County was supposed to be a parole sanctions unit. It did not house the worst from TYC. <BR/><BR/>When a group from TYC went to Coke County to investigate, the Warden and Director of Security tried to prevent them from talking to the kids! The Deputy Director for Youth Rights for the agency (TYC) that contracted with Geo went to Coke County and they tried to refuse her access to the kids! Do you people who are defending the Coke County facility even begin to understand the implications of that? Old SaltyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-50366101548856601952007-10-05T09:10:00.000-05:002007-10-05T09:10:00.000-05:00Under the new legislation, county's now have to de...Under the new legislation, county's now have to deal with their own misdemeanor offenders, no matter how many violations they may have! No misdemeanor offender may be sent to TYC, leaving the county's to care for any violation, so detention centers will now be full! I agree, no county in a rural area will desire a TYC facility, who in their right mind would? TYC is downsizing anyway and giving their facilties to TDCJ as fast as they can give them away to reduce prison overcrowding, all you have to do is check to see they have given several facilities already!<BR/><BR/>The report, in all actuality, from what I read, shows no major areas of concern significant enough to warrant closure! It was a short report, consisting of approximately one to two pages, and if this was the worst facility ever, why wasn't it closed first? Don't you close the worst facilties first? Common sense dictates to me, the worst is first to go! From what I have read, and yes it is true I don't have TYC in house facts or hidden details they don't bother to release, information is now coming out that Bronte was not on the funding list for this biennium! If this be true, which I truly admit rumors abound, then something is truly amiss at TYC, but there is always something amiss at TYC so follow the rumors and the truth may just follow.<BR/><BR/>The GEO group is not, by my own admission, one of the best run organizations in the world, however, they are still under contract by the Feds, TDCJ and were under contract with TYC, so evidently they still have some semblance of organizational skills. They were over 40 personnel short in their staffing in Bronte by their own admission.<BR/><BR/>The real tragedy here is the simple fact of economics, this will adversely affect the local community for years to come, and the 7 fired employees careers will be affected without recourse when in truth it is TYC's own fault, not these employees! I do not agree that these kids were monsters, however I do agree that the kids there were some of the worst in the juvenile justice system who failed in parole, probation and were TYC's worst and found this as an opportunity to shut down a facility and be moved to another under TYC's latest fiasco based histrionics!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1371497425122277652007-10-05T08:06:00.000-05:002007-10-05T08:06:00.000-05:0010:55 sounds like a teacher who used to work for m...10:55 sounds like a teacher who used to work for me at Shero.<BR/><BR/>Let me make a sort of an introduction here. I was one of Shero's educators who chose to leave TYC, because Eric Young wanted me to go to Vernon Victory Field. I have had enough of closing things down. It hurts too many people, myself included.<BR/><BR/>10:55, I still have little sympathy for you. If you would get off your butt and out of the teahcer's lounge, you would accomplish a lot more. Your coworkers are sick of your negativity and if your supervisor doesn't write you up shame on him/her.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-65935389119138001822007-10-05T05:49:00.000-05:002007-10-05T05:49:00.000-05:00@11:26 - If this is an example of strong leadershi...@11:26 - If this is an example of strong leadership, why didn't they take action when the Dallas News published its expose this summer? The reason I think this is evidence SB 103 "worked" is that administration ignored reports from the media and longstanding complaints by kids, but reportedly acted on the Ombudsman's report, which is an office created by the new law. There were chances to know about this and act before now.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-35708307447988323242007-10-05T05:30:00.000-05:002007-10-05T05:30:00.000-05:0011:26 I don't know what kind of education you have...11:26 I don't know what kind of education you have at your place, but most of the facilities have teachers that work their butts off. They were not hired to be JCO staff, but are. They are not hired to be janitorial staff, but they are at TYC. And the hour lunch and walking out the gate at 3:00? You've got to be kidding! Most work lunch at their desk trying to catch up on paperwork, because they have to cover another class during their conference period. I agree with 10:23 about the transcripts and credit issues with all the moves. That is not whining on the teachers' part, but rather that is a tragedy to the youth. By this I mean that credits get lost, or paperwork is not completed in the night moves, etc... So, the student arrives at the new place with incomplete records(STPs, IEPs, transcripts, GED certifications, LPAC recommendations for example) of his education and has to retake classes, and sometimes they lose grades (they may be an 11th grader, but the credits don't follow, so they are bumped down to 10th). Not to mention all the correctional issues like their updated phase assessments.It is very difficult for the paper trail to follow the youth with all the transitioning to different facilities. This issue is about the kids, not the teachers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-27932702575739096972007-10-04T23:55:00.000-05:002007-10-04T23:55:00.000-05:00Folks get your facts right, neither Will Harrell n...Folks get your facts right, neither Will Harrell nor the Harris County Monitor called for the facility to close or even mention removing the kids. They MISSED A GOLDEN Opportunity to show SB103 works. What you have is a good management team in place that did what was necessary to take care of the kids.<BR/><BR/>There is nothing in SB103 that aided this process. Its all about a strong leader.<BR/><BR/>The town people they have as much greed as the company. There is no love for them bad kids and everybody in hear forgets them kids are in kid prision. STUFF IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM WHILE INSIDE. BUT ITS HOW YOU HANDLE IT THAT MATTERS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-44082780916586861072007-10-04T23:26:00.000-05:002007-10-04T23:26:00.000-05:00I get a little tired of all the whining by teacher...I get a little tired of all the whining by teachers. Compare yourselves to public schools - Come in at 7:30, hour off for lunch, flood the gate at 3, no mandatory attendance at PTO, student dances or other extra-curricular activities, JCO staff in the hallways and in the classrooms to enforce discipline for 3-10 kids in a class as opposed to the public schools where there are upwards of 30 kids in a class, and the teacher is on his/her own. Not to mention in public schools the kids often smuggle firearms into the school building - yeah, it has happened several times at the High School right across the street. Oh yeah, you don't have to go to school board meetings to defend your actions when some parent brings a complaint that you are not teaching her little darling just right. Get a grip! You are the highest paid folks in TYC, yet the low-paid JCO staff get to be with the kids for 8 straight hours. The caseworkers, who have just as much, and often more formal education than you, have to work irregular hours, including weekends, and have to take work home with them to keep up. Poor teachers! Y'all have it so rough!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-19008457794179463872007-10-04T22:55:00.000-05:002007-10-04T22:55:00.000-05:0010:23 your so right about all the paper trails to ...10:23 your so right about all the paper trails to keep up with all of these moves. Don't know what is really happening at Mart but it must be a nightmare.<BR/> Education, Education of these students is what CO office and Legislators want to happen for the kids. GED's and Highschool Diplomas. Well that is what they say, but the real thing is they want clean floors, tons of paperwork and meetings more than education of the kids.<BR/> Teaching is on the back burner and if you can fit that in fine. They scream and holler teach, teach , teach but they put so much paper work on you and demand so much other than time to teach the kids. Teacher has no prep time , grading time as it is taken up by paper work and meetings(pat team, ards,staff meetings, beet, training,transition paperwork,STP's, IEP's,lesson plans,cleaning, dept meetings,staff developments and what ever else they come up with)that take every hour of the day.<BR/> What happen to just being able to deliver a lesson to a class and have the time to plan that lesson. What happen to plan and prep time each day like Teachers are suppose to have. It is gone by the way side. Teacher aides are not helping teachers in our place, they are cleaning floors or visiting. Aren't they suppose to be assisting kids in the classrooms and teachers? They say they are assigned to help, they are hired to help, but with them also other duties take away from the education of kids. <BR/> We need our education depts like public school, whole class teaching and kids in a class on the same grade level and not on five or six grade levels at once in a classroom. You can not successfully teach a room full of kids with everyone of them in a different book and grade. Classes with kids in the 6-12 grade all in one room. They wonder why it is so hard to find good teachers and when they do they will leave soon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-35872882524931426492007-10-04T22:31:00.000-05:002007-10-04T22:31:00.000-05:00Bill (10:12 here); it has been suggested that rura...Bill (10:12 here); it has been suggested that rural vs. urban may not be the issue. Try getting into or out of Austin during in the time it takes to get from Bronte to the major hospitals in San Angelo (experienced in gunshot wounds to oilfield accidents, not to mention heart and neurosurgery) or West Texas to Odessa, again with the skills, including a Texas Tech med school program); a half hour to one hour drive in the country for specialists to come out.. or would it be better to tie that specialist up in traffic, sometimes for hours in the case of an autowreck.<BR/>The issue may be extraordinary initial assessment and a professional determination (based on the best criteria) what the kid needs and where is it best available... and that may include getting the child away from his or her family or transporting the family to the kid... we do both for kids in need for medical problems, why not for kids in need for social/psychological problems.... oops, I forgot, this is Texas and they must be punished.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-79624188783178741542007-10-04T22:23:00.000-05:002007-10-04T22:23:00.000-05:00Okay, once again let's review the logic in all thi...Okay, once again let's review the logic in all this. The 197 youth were at Bronte--but instead of taking them straight to Brownwood they instead emptied Mart II of 150+ of their youth--put them on buses and hauled them to Brownwood and Crockett. Then they brought the 197 youth from Bronte to Mart II. That might work in TDCJ, but did anyone bother to think about the education piece here. These students are all enrolled in TEA accredited high school classes. Which means that through all this change there have had to been over 500 transcripts reviewed, schedule changes redone, tracking down of class schedules and not to mention credits. Unreal! Come on! Mart II has now had 3 major overhauls of more than 200 students being dumped on them in less than 2 years. Al Price came from Hurricane Rita, then Mart I this past summer,and now Coke county. No wonder they can't keep educators or staff for that matter. They are worn out, beat up, and just flat burned out from having to clean up everyone else's messes!It is amazing that anyone shows up for work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-48702098510566227922007-10-04T22:12:00.000-05:002007-10-04T22:12:00.000-05:00Hats off to small town girl... honored to know you...Hats off to small town girl... honored to know you as an adult. Back off Bill, she is right or perhaps more accurately, she may be right, in part for the same reasons 5:27 notes about urban areas. TYC has had problems getting approval for Halfway Houses with 15-30 kids who have successfully completed a program in those big cities; nobody wants a 30-50 bed Missouri plan unit in their backyard. <BR/>25 years ago, there tended to be 2-3 people in line for every filled job on campuses in those small towns, even when the oilpatch was booming. Benefits, supportive co-workers and supervisors made a difference. At the time, contract placement was for special care; now it's for lowest bidder. "Get tough", extend the age, extend the sentence era has combined with fewer benefits, less skilled supervisors and a sense of integrity lower than any student in TYC (for both the legislature and the upper echelon in TYC.) If you think urban locations are the answer, I remind you to look again at Al Price. Near Beaumont, not far from Houston... $6-8 million to get the land out of the swamp (back when a million was worth a million) and IT HAS NEVER WORKED!!!!<BR/><BR/>Speaking of small town girls, why has nobody raised the issue (or did I miss it?) that female students go to Brownwood, (nearly the exact center of the state since San Saba closed), while male students are placed close to home? Isn't this gender discrimnation? Don't girls need their families as much as boys? <BR/>'night all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-12428548999669059282007-10-04T19:55:00.000-05:002007-10-04T19:55:00.000-05:00Folks, trust this:When former Texas Commission on ...Folks, trust this:<BR/><BR/>When former Texas Commission on Jail Standards reps visited that facility and said they would have shut it down within the first three minutes of their entrance, TYC knew there was a problem.<BR/><BR/>When you have the SAO assisting in the investigation, you have to wonder about a little problem called a kicker. The kicker kicks on the green, know what I mean?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-36403387111207829892007-10-04T19:53:00.000-05:002007-10-04T19:53:00.000-05:00Allow me to clarify my earlier comments a little.F...Allow me to clarify my earlier comments a little.<BR/><BR/>First, anon 3:49, you're right and I'm wrong about Blair. My bad. Doesn't really change the substance of my comment, though.<BR/><BR/>Second, to those who feel that I insulted small towns: My criticism was not intended to be a blanket smear of small towns or the people who live in them as "bad" or "backward" or anything like that. And if it came across that way, my apologies (FWIW, much of my extended family comes from rural east Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee).<BR/><BR/>Instead, I was trying to suggest that the Coke County mess reflects some well established criticisms of locating juvenile rehab facilities in small towns. I didn't express myself very well, though, so let me try again.<BR/><BR/>Agencies have often chosen these locations b/c they allow for lower salaries, but they also tend to be too far removed from a range of professional support services, and discourage qualified personnel from working there.<BR/><BR/>Also, when such a facility becomes the major employer in the area, it fosters an unhealthy economic dependency that encourages even well meaning people to discourage scrutiny of potential problems. This is what I meant by the phrase "moral corruption" - it warps people's thinking, and drives political reps from the area to defend their turf at all costs, facts be damned.<BR/><BR/>Lastly, and this speaks to anon 5:27's point, there is a long standing and deep difference of opinion among juvenile justice professionals / experts about whether juveniles are better served by being placed far away from or nearer to their families.<BR/><BR/>Since the invention of juvenile justice, the majority of offenders have come from urban areas but have been placed overwhelmingly in rural areas. It was cited as a problem when TYC was created in 1949, and again during a lege investigation of TYC in 1969, and yet again in the Morales case in the 1970s.<BR/><BR/>And now in 2007 we're still debating it.<BR/><BR/>Bill BushAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-14891107759371188242007-10-04T19:18:00.000-05:002007-10-04T19:18:00.000-05:00Bill the reality is small communities will not wan...Bill the reality is small communities will not want TYC or TDCJ in the future if situations like Coke Co. continue. No larger towns are going to welcome any type of prison in Texas and never have. I also doubt the local town folks had anything to do with the operation of the contract unit. I think the locals are collateral damage! Other people screw up and the locals get to pay the price. The TYC administration has been in place for a while and they are just now discovering a serious problem that is supposed to have existed for a long time? An old saying fits this to a “T”, “The buck stops at the top”! If it happens on your watch, it is your problem not anyone else’s. Why couldn’t there have been a better solution a lot sooner. A solution that was much better for everyone that would have shown great leadership would have been a nice change. I have to say I would call my local elected officials to voice my opposition to TYC or TDCJ opening a prison near where I live. My opposition would not be based on fear of the inmates but how we the tax payers would most likely get screwed by the state.<BR/><BR/>I hope you all get this sorted out and fix what’s wrong. I hope the TYC leadership will try to do better as they consider everyone involved in future decisions. Maybe some will learn from their mistakes and want to do better. A little more honesty and a little less pride might also be a good thing for the folks in CO.<BR/><BR/>FTMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-14966105318357895642007-10-04T19:01:00.000-05:002007-10-04T19:01:00.000-05:00I encourage everyone to read Harrell's report. It ...I encourage everyone to read Harrell's report. It shows problems but not the sort that one gets fromreading the media accounts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-29521507927442982512007-10-04T17:27:00.000-05:002007-10-04T17:27:00.000-05:00Actually, the rural communities are far better for...Actually, the rural communities are far better for the youth because of the lack of urban ties in those areas. <BR/><BR/>The Edinburgh and Beaumont facilities are racked with gang problems of all kinds. Drugs come onto campus regularly, not intermittently, and the quality of staff is on a par with the underpaid GEO staff.<BR/><BR/>No, the rural areas are actually better, because the Cost of Living can better support the inadequate wages that the State pays these employees. <BR/><BR/>The Bronte complaint is that these low wages actually created inflation in their poor community.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-4750230410389943952007-10-04T17:09:00.000-05:002007-10-04T17:09:00.000-05:00He could be serious - believe me, it's happened. ...He could be serious - believe me, it's happened. And while we're on the subject, I'm getting really tired of some of you blasting the rural communities where some of our facilities are located. Some of these rural facilities are home to many of the best citizens of this state - who would give the shirt off their back to one of our youth if he needed it. Don't speak about what you don't know about and if you think you know, don't bunch us all in together...cause that's not the case. Stop Hating! as our T-shirts say :)<BR/><BR/>Small Town GirlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-73508635777301439372007-10-04T15:49:00.000-05:002007-10-04T15:49:00.000-05:00I believe Blair is the County Judge of Coke County...I believe Blair is the County Judge of Coke County not the San Angelo State Representative who is named Darby. Why don't you get your own facts right before you bother to post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com