GIDDINGS STATE SCHOOL ONE OF FIVE TJJD FACILITIES INVESTIGATED

  

The U.S. Justice Department released the results of its findings of a recent investigation into the conditions at Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities.

DOJ Civil Rights Division Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said that the investigation showed that “TJJD engaged in a pattern of abuse, deprivation of essential services and disability-related discrimination that seriously harms children, and undermines their rehabilitation.”

The facilities in question include the Giddings State School, the Evins Regional Juvenile Center, the Gainesville State School, the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility, and the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex.

The report finds that TJJD routinely violated the constitutional rights of children in all five facilities by exposing them to excessive force and prolonged isolation, failing to protect children from sexual abuse, and failing to provide adequate mental health services.

It also finds that the department violated the Individuals with Disabilities Act by failing to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities.

In addition to that, TJJD violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing children with disabilities with reasonable modifications necessary to permit their participation in programming required for release, and denying them an equal opportunity to benefit from education.

The Justice Department launched the investigation of the juvenile justice facilities in October 2021.

KWHI reached out to TJJD for a response to the DOJ report. In a statement, TJJD said that they are continually working to improve the operations and services to the youth in their care and the communities of Texas they protect.

TJJD added that they have zero-tolerance policy toward abuse and neglect, and have always fully rejected any abusive behaviors at their campuses.

Thanks to an investment by the 88^th Texas Legislature and support from the Governor’s Office, they have already made several recent improvements in staffing, mental health care, and educational programs.

TJJD worked closely with the DOJ investigators during their on-site visits in 2022. In the past two years, they have:

Raised direct care staff salaries of 15% in 2022 and another 5% in 2023,

Hired more mental health professionals and added enhanced stabilization units to provide more intensive supervision and care for youth with high mental health needs,

Improved training for juvenile corrections officers, case managers, and all campus staff,

Added a wholistic rehabilitative program that uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which is already reducing disruptions and self-harm incidents.

And strengthened their multi-tiered support system for youth struggling with behavior or academic needs.