Dr. Henry Schmidt joins TJJD as Director of Structured Programming and Accountability
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications
Texas Juvenile Justice Department is pleased to welcome Henry Schmidt III, Ph.D., a former clinical director for Washington State’s Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, as the agency’s Director of Structured Programming and Accountability.
Schmidt has extensive experience working with youth in corrections and residential care, both in Washington state and as a consultant to many other agencies. He’s worked with rural and urban facilities, in the US and abroad, including Norway, where his model program for adolescent group homes was adopted nationally.
His new position at TJJD will focus on supporting the structured environment and treatment approaches that help youth make needed behavioral changes and build toward a more successful life.
“TJJD has already laid the important groundwork for this system of care, beginning with Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) and the Texas Model. Trauma-informed care principles are core in working with youth in juvenile justice settings, particularly the youth in secure settings,” Schmidt said.
He added that he begins this new position with a deep respect for direct-care staff and their pivotal role in a youth’s success.
“Direct care staff are with the youth when they need guidance and assistance,” said Schmidt. “Staff often find themselves in some of the most intense interpersonal situations we can imagine, from situations where youth are intensely hot emotionally to situations where youth may be hopeless and ready to give up.”
In a corrections environment, staff need a variety of reliable tools to navigate a multiplicity of situations so they can best help the youth manage events, emotions, and their own behavior, he said.
“I’ve learned as much from the talented and gifted staff I have worked with as I did in school, and my goal is to help create programs that share these 'tools that work' in the settings where we meet our youth.”
In his early years in corrections, Schmidt recalls, “it was truly eye-opening to see how the principles and practices I read about in textbooks were being used by naturally gifted staff with the youth they served.
“I also realized what incredibly tough work it is to be working where youth are living, and helping youth who lack critical skills of emotion regulation and problem-solving to manage the stress of being away from family and under constant watch in a highly structured setting. So I knew I wanted to learn everything I could from staff who were super effective.”
Schmidt says he’s excited to begin his work at TJJD and has been impressed by the staff and administrators he’s met since starting with the agency on March 6.
“I can see that there is a mission to create the best programs and state agency in the country to serve the youth here. I want to be a part of this team, and a part of creating that history here in Texas.”
After receiving his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Washington, Schmidt worked and conducted research under the supervision of Marsha Linehan, Ph.D., developer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
He brought Linehan’s insights and clinical practices to staff working with youth who had emotion regulation disorders and had been removed from their homes.
“She developed a package of skills for people who struggled to manage their intense emotions, and who engage in behaviors that created crisis situations for themselves and those around them,” Schmidt said. “These same tools seemed like a perfect fit for the challenges that youth in juvenile justice settings have.”
In 2002, Washington State’s Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA) hired Schmidt as the system’s first clinical director. He chaired the workgroup that developed the Integrated Treatment Model (ITM) -- a residential DBT model -- for JRA and oversaw its implementation across all JRA residential beds in the state.
After putting these programs in place, Schmidt saw line staff embrace and employ the tools that Linehan had developed, prompting measurable success for the youth in their care.
“The treatment is based on meeting youth where they are, having a genuine relationship with them, and working with youth to define a life that is meaningful to them,” Schmidt said.
“Use of these tools in one of the most behaviorally challenging units in Washington’s system led to a reduction in assaults, assaults on staff, and self-harming, as well as treatment refusal.
The youth’s school attendance also improved, as did their completion rates for substance abuse and other treatment programs. They kept their jobs and were able to move to less secure settings.
Early research on this approach suggests that this approach can lead to reductions in recidivism, better reentry outcomes and safe reductions in the use of psychotropic medications.
Seeing the promising results in Washington, Schmidt sought to help others. Over the next years, as a consultant to US agencies and abroad, from “tiny county jails to large urban systems to group homes,” he shared the tools he’d seen work in Washington state, providing training in interventions that direct-care staff could understand and use in day-to-day operations.
He also continued to work with Linehan, working with her from 2006-2016 to develop standards for comprehensive DBT programs and create the Linehan Board of Certification (DBT-LBC) in 2016. He is a DBT-LBC certified clinician and founding chair of the DBT-LBC Program Certification committee, which helps clients seeking treatment find clinicians in their community who are providing DBT that meets the set standards.
Schmidt’s work at TJJD will be informed by this broad experience and extend to working with data to help define, explain, and measure progress as the Texas system integrates these best practices.
“All levels and levers of the organization must be employed to understand and work from the same principles and practices,” he said.
“I’ll be working closely with facility staff, trainers, mental health providers, and administrators to first learn and understand what has already been done, and then to see where I can help to implement TJJD’s vision of best practices that create a safe working environment for staff and living environment for youth, a rich experience for teams working together with youth, and meaningful behavior change as youth learn to succeed within the institutions and then back in the community.
“I believe that good programs support and create excellent staff, and teams work best together when we understand our roles, goals and the tools we have to work with. If I can support TJJD to continue to define and implement a solid structure for treatment, then the staff and youth here will produce amazing outcomes together.”
Youth at Gainesville State School 'bubbling with enthusiasm' over new vocal program led community volunteers
By John McGreevy, TJJD Communications
Some talented and hard-working students at the Gainesville State School are getting the chance to express themselves in a creative and educational way with the launch of a regular program of vocal workshops.
It started in May of 2022 when Dennis Castiglione of Harmony Foundation International reached out to Kevin Hill, the Volunteer Coordinator for the Gainesville campus. Castiglione was interested in bringing an HFI program, Power of Harmony, to the school.
Power of Harmony engages youth in correctional facilities using the power of music. Volunteers coach the youth, demonstrate cooperation, and arrange performances. The organization believes that these experiences can help change the life trajectory of incarcerated youth by introducing vocal ensemble singing and positive role models.
“We got Dennis out here as a visitor,” said Hill. “We gave him a tour and he talked about what they do and we brainstormed an idea of how to introduce him to the school. We decided to have them perform for the next Family Day.”
That November Family Day, a two-day event held at Gainesville, featured performances by two barbershop quartets from the singing group Vocal Majority, a men’s chorus based in Dallas.
“The Vocal Majority is easily the world’s greatest men’s chorus,” said Castiglione. “I know that sounds pretty outrageous, but they are. Not only in terms of their abilities, they’re thirteen-time world champions at the International Barbershop Chorus Competition, but they are wonderful, giving people who are socially aware and always ready to help their community. They were the logical partner for me in Texas.”
Castiglione had chosen Gainesville largely for practical purposes: It was close to where Vocal Majority rehearsed.
“I called Mr. Hill and told him about the program and asked him if this was something he thought would be a good fit at Gainesville and he said ‘Absolutely’ and I said ‘Great, I’ll be there next Thursday.’”
“I explained more about the program to Mr. Hill and Mr. Claybrook (Stephen Claybrook, Family Enrichment Specialist at Gainesville) and they loved the idea. I told them it’s an opportunity to give them a creative outlet, it’s an opportunity for them to understand the power of singing in harmony, the power of singing with a group of people and making something better than what you could do by yourself. That’s what we strive to accomplish.”
Castiglione went directly from Gainesville to where the Vocal Majority were rehearsing and quickly got them excited about the project.
“I just married need with talent, honestly,” Castiglione said.
“Launching it on Family Day was really Mr. Hill’s and Mr. Claybrook’s idea. They said this would introduce every student to Power of Harmony not only by performing for them but by telling them your story and we’ll take it from there. Honestly, that was a brilliant move, one I plan to emulate at the other facilities where I do this, because not only was I able to share the Power of Harmony’s story, I was able to get the parents excited about the project as well as the students.”
The real test would be the performances. Depending on how the people gathered at Family Day received the Vocal Majority, that would give Castiglione, Hill, and Claybrook an idea how the youth at Gainesville would feel about participating in the project. By several accounts, things couldn’t have gone better. The performances, by quartets within Vocal Majority called “Studio Talk” and “Clutch,” were enthusiastically received by students and parents alike.
Next up was getting a sense of how many of the students were interested in being a part of the project, and there was a surprise on that front. Over forty youth expressed interest for a class that would only have seven members. That meant there would have to be tryouts.
Only students without any major rule violations in the last 30 days and passing all their classes would be allowed to participate.
The tryouts were similar to television-styled competition shows, with members of the staff serving as judges. Each youth performed a song of their choosing as well as having to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The youth selected (J. M., D.F., C.M., J.B., L.S., Z.B., N.B.) represent a mix of tenor and baritone/bass voices.
Castiglione and Vocal Majority member Donovan Davis were there for the first class on Feb. 8. “It really went as well as I could’ve hoped,” Castiglione said.
“Those young men were just bubbling with enthusiasm, not to mention that they had extraordinary voices. I started vocal warm-ups, and they matched pitch right out of the gate. I was moved by their interest, their performance, and the feedback I’ve gotten since then from the other instructors. The instructors have told me that these guys are magic. They want to be there, they’re having fun," he said.
The goal is for these classes to be ongoing, where members will come and go as their time at Gainesville ends, and new members will go on in their place. There’s also a recording studio in the school’s chapel that hasn’t been used for some time that members of the Vocal Majority plan to restore. The class will perform and record songs as they go along and the youth will get to keep their own copies of the recordings. There’s also the goal that over time these youth will perform at the school and other local facilities.
“I’ve really been encouraged by how well they were able to harmonize and embrace the a cappella style of singing,” Hill said. Among the songs the students have been working on are “Lean on Me” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
(Photos: Youth in a workshop with Castiglione; members of the Vocal Majority in Dallas perform at Gainesville State School in November.)
Longtime TJJD Board member Jimmy Smith leaves a big legacy
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications
TJJD bid farewell and wished a happy retirement to longtime board member James "Jimmy" Smith at the last TJJD Board meeting, held in February.
Smith was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to serve as one of the inaugural board members of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, which was created by Senate Bill 653. He initially served as a county commissioner representative on the board from Midland County. After serving one term, Smith was re-appointed in 2015 by Gov. Greg Abbott to continue in the county commissioner position on the TJJD Board.
After Smith retired from the Midland County Commissioner’s Court in Jan. 2017, Abbott reappointed him to continue as a TJJD board member in a term that expired on Feb. 1, 2023.
Smith became a highly valued member of the board, interested in all aspects of juvenile justice. He served on the Programs and Executive committees, and lent his special expertise in real estate, his vocation, to his service on the Trust Committee, which he chaired.
The TJJD Trust Committee oversaw management of two properties in Central Texas that had been bestowed to the agency many years ago to benefit disadvantaged or orphaned Texas youth. Smith helped ensure that these properties were well maintained and generated funds that could help TJJD and other qualified youth as they transitioned into young adulthood.
These trust monies helped youth with scholarships and stipends that covered housing, textbooks, supplies, tuition, childcare and living expenses as they pursued their education or vocational training. Over the last five years, the trust money has served 95 students with total disbursements of $755,854.
"As chair of the Trust Committee, Mr. Smith spent hundreds of hours outside of Board meetings working to increase the funds available for youth through the trusts,” said TJJD General Counsel Christian von Wupperfeld, who worked closely with the Trust Committee. “His vision and deep experience in real estate has been incredibly valuable to the oversight of the trusts and contributed greatly to the education of trust beneficiaries.”
“Serving on Trust meant a lot to me," Smith said. "It was an opportunity to manage the assets and provide educational funds for our youth, and hopefully keep the recidivism rate down and to see the successes of the students.”
Smith, who served during the leadership of several TJJD executive directors during his tenure, leaves the board with a lot of optimism about the current leadership and direction of the agency, he said. “I’m excited about the current staff and leadership at TJJD, and the progress being made.”
“It has been an honor serving on the Texas Juvenile Justice Department Board and the State of Texas,” he said. “It’s been a great experience and the many people I got to meet . . . We had great board members throughout.”
In addition to his work at TJJD, Smith’s juvenile justice service includes time as a board member of Midland Teen Court, Casa of West Texas, and work as a court-appointed special advocate. He also was a reserve peace officer for 30 years, working with the Midland Police Dept, Midland County Sheriff’s Dept. and Midland County District Attorney’s Office. He retired his license as a Master Peace Officer in April of 2022.
Smith served and was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps.
Photos: Upper right, James Smith; lower left, Board Chair Scott Matthew, Outgoing Board Member James Smith, TJJD Executive Director Shandra Carter
Spotlight On: Willie Brown, Supt. of Schaeffer House
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications
Willie Brown knows that seeing a brawny guy like him playing Barbie dolls would probably draw a chuckle.
But that’s OK with him because he is a man of many of varied passions and commitments. He loves weightlifting and martial arts and adores his children. His youngest is just 8 and delighted when her daddy joins her to play "Barbies".
That’s one facet of Brown’s life. However, as Superintendent of TJJD’s Schaeffer Halfway House, in El Paso, his workdays are focused on serious real-life scenarios as he and the staff make every effort to help TJJD youth learn life skills and prepare to return home.
His love of helping others, especially young people, brought Brown here after serving in the Army and earning degrees at the University of New Mexico (bachelor’s) and Webster University (master’s) at Fort Bliss, Texas.
“Knowing I can work with these kids coming from hard places and help them know they can be better people and be successful, that’s what keeps me here,” he said. It’s especially rewarding, he added, to help kids “flip their mindset,” become more aspirational and realize they have opportunities.
“These kids when they get their GED, it’s like a light switching. For some, that’s a first in their family. That’s a big deal. We’ve had some kids leave out of here and become pretty successful,” he said. He recalled TJJD youth who passed through Schaeffer House and later became journeymen electricians. Another Schaeffer House youth went on to medical school.
Sometimes the youth will check back later with Schaeffer House and say something like “without you helping me I never would have been able to leave here,” Brown said. “That makes me feel good and want to do more.”
Willie Brown is a strong leader, said Jennifer Jones, director of Halfway Houses and Contract Care, and works hard so the youth at Schaeffer can be equipped for success.
“He leads by example and never hesitates to get into the trenches when needed with his team to ensure they are supported and never feel they have to handle a tough situation without extra support,” Jones said.
Before TJJD, Brown worked in corrections in New Mexico. He rose to become director of the Training Academy for the state’s prison system, where he taught corrections trainees that their role was to help the inmates “feel human again and become successful.”
He took that advice with him when he transferred to Texas in 2006 to work with justice-involved youth, first at the Texas Youth Commission (TJJD’s precursor agency) as a top-level JCO and thereafter at Schaeffer House.
Empowering and motivating youth to value themselves is a primary concern at Schaeffer House. Assuring their success helps them and their communities. But Brown knows that begins with an energized, well-trained, and coordinated staff.
“Being able to motivate a team and have everybody focus on the same mission” is so gratifying, he said. To see staff “at the end of the day, know they accomplished something in a positive direction. I think that’s super important.”
Stichin for the Journey Group Delights Ayres Halfway House Youth with Donations of Handcrafted Quilts
By Patty Garza, Community Relations & Family Coordinator, Ayres House and South Parole
Ayres Halfway House, in San Antonio, has been blessed to partner with “Stichin for the Journey,” a group of San Antonio area quilters with remarkable talents and big hearts.
Last year this generous group donated a quilt to every single youth at Ayres House.
What staff thought was a onetime donation for the beds at the house turned into an ongoing relationship. The amazing quilters kept quilting and donating. They wanted each youth to get a new quilt to keep for themselves to take with them as they transition home.
They wanted each youth to know that one person spent multiple hours making something specifically for them.
They wanted all the youth passing through Ayres House to know that someone cared.
Each of these quilts can take anywhere from 20-50 hours to complete and cost $300 to $500 to make. Each bears a “care message” designed just for Ayres House youth. It says, “Stitched for you piece by piece by someone who cares.”
When youth go home after their rehabilitation time in TJJD, life doesn’t miraculously fall into place. A youth continues to face many challenges and barriers. Stichin for the Journey (SFTJ) hopes that on those hard days, they’ll see their quilts and remember that people do care about them.
Seeing the Stichin group, led by Debbie DeCamp and Rebecca Rindhal, deliver five new quilts at the end of January for newly arriving youth touched everyone at Ayres House.
“It’s really great to see what Mrs. DeCamp and her colleagues are doing for the youths by donating these quilts. It really does put a smile on their faces. They seem to understand just how much work goes into them. They even asked her about the whole process when she came in,” said Katelyn Brambila, an intern who works at Ayres House.
“The most heartwarming thing I witnessed during Mrs. DeCamp’s last visit had to be one of the youth’s excitement to see her. He had been wanting to see if she would be able to add a patch to his quilt. The patch said something along the lines of ‘made with love by someone who cares’, Brambila said. “That might seem like a small ask, but it was clear that it meant a lot to him to have that patch on his quilt, and I know it made him happier.”
“I was amazed by her generosity and loving compassion for the youth,” said another Ayres intern, Teniola Okeyemi. “Her dedication to youths shows them that they are cared for.”
Okeyemi asked DeCamp about why she started quilting and how the quilts were made.
“As I and other staff members, as well as some of the youth, sat with her and watched her sew, her storytelling lit up the room with smiles and laughter,” Okeyemi said.
Ayres House staff are beyond grateful for these gifts and the continuing support of the quilters of Stichin for the Journey.