TYC's fate under debate

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Lawmakers are hearing testimony Thursday on a bill aimed at abolishing the troubled Texas Youth Commission and form a new criminal justice center for youths is making its way through the legislature.

If passed, the bill would put the TYC and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission under one umbrella called the Texas Juvenile Justice Commission.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon , D-San Antonio, gets a public hearing today in the House Corrections Committee . The committee may vote on it immediately, or may elect to vet it for a few more weeks before voting on it.

If it passes the committee, it then goes under consideration for a House floor vote.

Under the proposed legislation, a juvenile justice improvement committee will be formed, with the executive commissioner of the TYC and the executive director of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission as co-presiding officers of the committee. Other members will include representatives of the youth and the families of juvenile offenders.

Other changes include:

• Master plan for secure correctional facilities that allow offenders to be closer to their homes. Other facilities would be reserved for high risk offenders.
• Database linking the Texas Juvenile Justice Commission and other programs that help troubled youths, local probation departments.
• Improving a juvenile's re-entry process into society, including community programs and routine check-ups.

Sunset Commission's Decision

This bill comes after the Sunset Advisory Commission staff report on the needed changes to the Texas Youth Commission. In December 2008, they recommended abolishing the TYC and combing it with the juvenile probation agency, so operations would be more streamlined. The report garnered some controversy when probation officers spoke out against the measure, saying the TYC's troubles would bring down their progress. However, in January 2009, the Sunset Commission decided to accept the staff's recommendations. The new agency will get another review in 2015.

History of the Texas Youth Commission

The Texas Youth Commission came under fire in 2007, when reports of rampant abuse and flaws in the way the agency was run came to light. The investigation stemmed from a ranger’s report that alleged two senior TYC administrators from the West Texas State School in Pyote, Texas had been sexually abusing several youth in 2005.

The report surfaced in 2007, and in March of that year Texas Rangers, investigators from the Attorney General's Office, and law enforcement agents from the Office of Inspector General for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice were dispatched to every TYC facility. TYC also established an abuse reporting hotline, which recorded thousands of calls which resulted in as many investigations.

Senate Bill 103 was passed, which also made sweeping reforms to the agency. These included:

• The establishment of the Office of the Inspector General
• Creation of the Office of the Independent Ombudsman
• Formation of the Release Review Panel to ensure youth were not being held in TYC unnecessarily or longer than beneficial
• Reduction of the maximum age of confinement from 21 to 19
• Elimination of misdemeanant commitments to TYC
• The reduction of residential populations
• Adoption of a Parent's Bill of Rights