Reformed Juvenile Justice System Fears Budget Cuts

Texas' juvenile justice system has seen recent gains in efficiency and reform. Because of sweeping measures passed in 2007 by the Texas Legislature, agencies have made dramatic changes in structure and practice. Since 2007, agencies have established oversight offices, reduced the maximum age of confinement (from 21 to 19), improved and diversified treatment programs, and ceased to refer misdemeanor offences to Texas Youth Commission (TYC) facilities.

Bexar County shines in its efforts to provide effective programming for juvenile offenders, and restorative programs for youth who reenter society after doing time in a correctional facility. The county recently began a partnership with Baptist Child & Family Services (BCFS), which includes programming related to employment strategies, mentoring, restorative justice, and educational outreach methods.

A Texas Tribune article reports that changes to the juvenile justice structure have caused savings of around $200 million for the state, including a savings of $80,000 a year for each child diverted from the TYC system. From 2006 to 2009, the population in TYC facilities dropped 47 percent—from 4,800 to 2,259.

Counties are the primary funding source of the Texas youth probation system. With ever-tightening budgets, some counties have already been forced to make cuts. State money, which accounts for about 25 percent of funding, is in short supply, with an $18 billion budget deficit.

As with other probation programs, the juvenile justice system was exempt from this year’s five percent state agency budget cuts, but as the economic outlook for Texas continues to be grave, some officials at these agencies fear that their departments will not be able to avoid the gathering storm and will lose funding in the upcoming budget cycle.

Legislation passed in 2009 calls for parts of the juvenile justice system to be reviewed by the Sunset Review Commission in 2011.