• Madeline Lewis •
• Originally published January 13, 2009 at 11:39 p.m., updated January 13, 2009 at 11:39 p.m.

When the 18-year-old man left Giddings State School seven months ago, he was surprised to see how much had changed in three years.

"We didn't have iPods, iPhones," he said. "I barely knew how to text."

The Dallas-area man, who is now 19, had just completed 38 months of incarceration in Texas Youth Commission facilities, such as Giddings, for aggravated robbery.

He asked to remain anonymous because he was a juvenile when he committed the offense. The experience was not enjoyable, but one he felt was necessary.

"I think that, ultimately, I benefited from it," he said.

Now a student at Collin County Community College, the man is defending the autonomy of the youth commission, which underwent major reforms in 2007 after accusations of sexual abuse in some of its facilities came to light. He opposes the proposed consolidation of youth commission with another state agency, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission.

"There has been a lot of reform," he said. "I think TYC, as a whole, has become a lot safer."

The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, a 12-member legislative body that reviews state agencies, is set to vote Wednesday on whether to recommend consolidation to the Texas Legislature. It isn't likely the Sunset Commission will resolve the question easily.

Opponents and proponents of consolidation have already lined up and voiced their opinions.

The youth commission operates state incarceration facilities for juveniles who have committed felonies. The juvenile probation commission oversees and allots funding to county-run probation programs for juveniles who have committed the gamut of offenses.

Under Senate Bill 103, the Texas Legislature mandated in 2007 that the youth commission only accept felons into its facilities. Prior to this reform, murderers mixed with vandals.

As part of the 2007 reforms, the youth commission has lowered its population to about 2,500 from nearly 5,000, said Jim Hurley, director of public affairs for the commission. It has installed 12,000 extra security cameras to monitor juvenile offenders and guards in the facilities. And it has reduced the juvenile offender-staff ratio from a high of 24 to 1 two years ago to 12 to 1 now.

"We really think it would be best if those reforms would be allowed to be implemented and not inject a new set of issues, such as consolidation, into the process," Hurley said.

Sunset's own investigative staff concluded in its report to the commission that the youth commission had improved on security, but still had a long way to go in other areas, such as the quality of treatment and education it provided juvenile offenders.

"There needs to be more work done trying to get kids the services they need," said Karl Spock, project manager for Sunset's Texas youth commission review.

The staff didn't begin with the premise that the two commissions should combine, but came to this conclusion after its review, Spock said. They decided consolidation would improve coordination between the two agencies and ensure juvenile offenders get treatment from one area to the next.

The two commissions are really part of the same system because they both work with the same group of kids, Spock said.

The staff's conclusions have since gained the support of state Senator Glenn Hegar, whose district includes Victoria County.

As vice chair of the Sunset Commission, Hegar plans to vote for consolidation. The Katy Republican said consolidation will create greater continuity in the state's juvenile justice system.

Hegar said both commissions have serious flaws. The youth commission has not yet adequately complied with the reforms of SB 103 and the state juvenile probation commission does not spend enough time listening to the concerns of local juvenile probation departments.

Pama Hencerling, chief juvenile probation officer for Victoria County, and Victoria County Court at-Law Judge Laura Weiser, who hears juvenile cases, are not among those complaining about the juvenile probation commission.

Both said the juvenile probation commission is an excellent agency, and they worry about the consequences of merging it with historically troubled youth commission.

"They are not broke," Weiser said of the state juvenile probation commission. "Don't fix them."

They fear a merger will deprive county probation departments of money to run rehabilitation programs, such as Victoria's substance abuse and counseling programs for juvenile offenders. These programs may lose out when balanced against financing incarceration.

"I think taxpayers want to see something for their dollar," Hencerling said. "You can't see programs. You can't see long-term results. You can see concrete buildings."

The state funds 71 percent of Victoria County's probation budget, Hencerling said. But the county is solely responsible for its 72-bed detention center.

Between September 2007 and August 2008, Victoria Regional Juvenile Justice Center received 721 referrals. Of these, 25 went to the Texas youth Commission.

Hencerling and Weiser also argued that consolidation would follow too closely on the heels of the SB 103 reforms. It would not give the youth commission time to change.

State Senator Juan Hinojosa, who wrote SB 103, shares this perspective. Also a member of the Sunset Commission, he is going to vote against consolidation.

"They are not yet 100 percent there," the McAllen Democrat said of the youth commission reforms.

Hinojosa touted the expansion of security cameras and the lower staff-to-juvenile-offender ratio in the youth commission facilities as steps in the right direction.

Cherie Townsend began serving as Texas Youth Commission's executive commissioner in October. She is the agency's fifth leader since March 2007.

Some juvenile justice advocates in Texas say the establishment of the Office of Independent Ombudsman to oversee the youth commission and protect the rights of juveniles in the agency's custody as a major plus.

Ombudsman Will Harrell, a former director of the ACLU of Texas, and other representatives of his office visit all youth commission facilities at least once every three months and evaluate their services and treatment of juvenile offenders.

His office recently published a report on the educational program at the youth commission.

"It's absolutely abysmal," Harrell said of the education program. "However, a correctional plan has been produced."

Seven juvenile offenders in the youth commission's custody, including the 19-year-old Dallas area man, serve as youth ombudsmen to the office. They report back to Harrell about the internal workings of the state agency and have written several memoranda, including one on how and why some juveniles join gangs inside the facilities.

"Even gang leaders have allowed me to interview them with these students vouching for them," Harrell said.

The youth commission has a lot of work ahead of it, Harrell said. But he does not believe consolidation is in the best interest of the agency or the juvenile offenders.

"To hit the reset button one more time will just be a disaster," he said. "If that happened, we'd spend the next two years talking about what the logo is."

• Other state agencies the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission will look at on WednesdayTexas Commission on Jail Standards

  Board of Tax Professional Examiners

  Office of State-Federal Relations

  Texas Military Preparedness Commission

  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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