A bill filed in the Texas House by the young Democrat State Representative James Talarico (D-Round Rock) would seek to dissolve Texas’ five juvenile detention facilities. If passed by the Legislature, it would dissolve the Texas Juvenile Justice Department into the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation and would operate under the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
According to the bill, if passed, the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation would theoretically promote “trauma-responsive and culturally informed services for children engaging in delinquent conduct, in a manner that supports the child’s successful transition to adulthood; and ensuring children become responsible, thriving, and engaged members of their communities.”
The TJJD has faced scrutiny over the years for allegations of sexual and physical abuse, failure to conduct adequate and safe living, and is detrimentally having a 70% turnover rate in staff. The US Department of Justice has been investigating the Texas Juvenile Justice Department since October 2021.
About half of the youth in the state’s five detention facilities are on suicide watch, and a majority of them have unmet mental health needs. The bill comes as a way to dissolve the five state facilities and turn that funding towards localized mental health and rehabilitative services and programs. Atop Talarico’s proposal, there is another bill filed that aims to divert kids away from state facilities and towards local initiatives for juvenile mental health and rehabilitation services.
The Weatherford Democrat reported the hypothetical Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation would “divert the roughly $300 million in state funding traditionally allocated to the Juvenile Justice Department to building a new system that focuses on rehabilitating kids closer to home through diversion programs.”
Critics of the TJJD have stated more localized measures and facilities would better aid youth rehabilitation with locations and programs closer to their community. Additionally, critics of the department are wanting to get youth out of the conditions that they are facing. Last year, the Sunset Advisory Commission, which investigates Texas agencies and facilities, stated, “understaffing has heightened youth safety risks, limited their access to rehabilitation, increased their suicidal and aggressive behaviors, and compelled further staff turnover, creating a self-perpetuating and dangerous situation TJJD cannot reverse with existing resources, despite staff ‘s best efforts.”