Bipartisan Support for Texas Juvenile Justice Reform
A major overhaul of the Texas' juvenile justice system is expected to save the state over $155 million over the next two fiscal years

August 13, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Texas governor Rick Perry signed legislation in May 2011 providing for a major overhaul of the state's juvenile justice system, which legislators expect will save the state over $155 million over the next two fiscal years. Lawmakers began to look at revamping the state's juvenile justice system after news of a sex abuse scandal exploded into public consciousness in 2007. Advocates of the reforms hope that the new system will save money and reduce crime, but some have fears that the state is acting too quickly in making changes.

Changes Under the New Law

The new legislation dissolves the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, creating a new Department of Juvenile Justice in their place. The new department will oversee a greater number of treatment programs. Additionally, the state will close three detainment facilities because the number of juveniles in detention has fallen from over 5,000 youths in 2007 to about 1,600 currently. Advocates of the new law expect the numbers to keep falling as a result of the changes.

This move follows a trend in Texas prison reform for adult offenders. Beginning in 2007, the state legislature allocated $240 million for programs such as chemical dependency treatment and better parole and probation supervision. The state ended up saving $300 million dollars as a result of these efforts because parole revocations fell 40 percent and the state did not need to fund any new prisons. Lawmakers hope the same thing will happen with the reform of the juvenile system.

One of the biggest problems the new organizational and funding structure is designed to eliminate is the challenge of hiring enough personnel with the proper training to provide the mental health services that juvenile offenders need. Currently, youth offenders in rural areas of the state participate in therapy via teleconference with mental health providers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Under the new model, communities would get funding to keep juvenile offenders in the community and provide rehabilitative services locally.

Concerns Regarding the New Legislation

The new agency will start operations December 1, 2011 and the speed with which the reorganization is going to occur has some worried that the state is rushing into something without knowing the outcome. Some have questioned the state's assumption that the number of youths coming into the system will be stable. Many institutions that currently offer services to young offenders have experienced cuts in funding, making it more difficult to reach the same number of children. Additionally, the federal government has cut funding to juvenile programs in the state, putting even more stress on the system.

The new vision for the juvenile justice system is a bold departure for a state known for being tough on crime. In making these changes to the law, however, lawmakers hope that they are doing more than just being tough on crime; they hope they are eliminating future crime by preventing juveniles from becoming adult criminals.

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