By John McGreevy, TJJD Communications

At secure facilities and halfway houses throughout TJJD, members of the education staff consistently strive to identify opportunities for the youth to acquire valuable trades, enhancing their prospects for better futures.

While the youths receive a fundamental high school education, TJJD schools also provide vocational classes and workshops of various types.

Depending on the facility, classes in horticulture, welding, construction, business information management, and other subjects aim to prepare the youths for entry into the job market. Some of these vocational classes allow the youths to obtain certificates from the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), the Texas Nursery and Landscaping Association and a certification for food-handling from ServSafe.

At the Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg, horticulture science and construction technology courses have gained popularity among the youths.

Arturo Guerrero oversees the construction technology classes at Evins. With more than 43 years of teaching experience and now in his sixth year with TJJD, he guides the youths in operating the various workstations and machinery in his workshop.

He instructs them in the operation of machines such as a table saw, drill press, band saw, surface planer, and belt and disc sander.

“I teach them about the industry, about mass production,” he said. “When you go out in the world and you’re working for a company, nobody is making one individual project.”

Guerrero emphasizes safety and patience above all. "Industrial technology has many areas we can cover," he said. "We don't teach them how to be experts in construction, but we expose them to different types of machinery."

“Later this school year, we’ll be making cutting boards,” Guerrero continued. “They’ll strip, they’ll glue, we’ll use the planer, and everybody will work in different stations. Before they do that, they’ll learn about the machines. They’ll learn about safety and how to respect the power equipment.”

He's been pleased with positive response from the youths to the chance to learn these new skills.

"They look forward to the classes," Guerrero said. "They enjoy having a goal and a sense of accomplishment. The look on their faces when they grasp something, when they realize they've learned something, is rewarding. It's great to see how excited they get. They're genuinely joyful, believe it or not. That's gratifying for me as an instructor."

Tim Hinds serves as the horticultural science teacher at Evins. With 32 years of teaching experience, including teaching at the South Texas Independent School District (ST-ISD) and 11 years at TJJD, he credits his current position to “passing the required Texas Education Agency examination and helping my grandfather on his farm every summer since I was a kid.”

“Learning by doing is much better for these kids,” he said. “It sinks in much better than just having them answer a question on a piece of paper.”

In his classes, the youths will learn to properly and safely operate mowers, weed-eaters, and a garden tiller and they’ll earn an endorsement from the Texas Nursery and Landscaping Association.

“We’ll grow flowers and transplant them,” Hinds said. “We might transplant some trees.”

Coming soon, a vegetable garden.

“The kids will be able to eat whatever we grow,” Hinds said. “They’re super excited about that. It tastes different when you pick it fresh.”

He says he’s often asked why he went from teaching over-achieving students at ST-ISD to come to TJJD.

“My reply has always been that I came from a very dysfunctional family and I was not an angel during my teen years,” he said.

Both the horticulture and construction classes are held every school day, with six classes conducted each day. For safety and security reasons, classes are kept small, accommodating approximately four to six youths.

The construction classes will enable some students to earn an NCCER Core Curriculum certificate. Guerrero said this certification can, in some cases, result in an additional income of up to $50 per week with some jobs . Across TJJD, youths earned more than 90 such certificates this year.

“We’re doing our best to give these kids some alternatives to what they were doing before,” said Steve van Nest, the principal at Evins. “Their behavior and their choices that got them here are what we’re trying to correct and give them a different way to go. The more we can educate them in the classroom and get them either a diploma or a GED, or with this program and get them working with their hands .”

As teachers everywhere will tell you, it’s not always easy. Getting young people to work patiently and as a team rarely happens overnight,” said Hinds. “But we stay with it and we get them to work together, to help each other out.”

For an opportunity to put their burgeoning skills to the test, Hinds and the youths didn’t need to go very far.

“None of the trees on campus have been pruned since before COVID,” Hinds said, “so we’ve been pruning all week long. It didn’t take long for the kids to start working together as a unit. They were working safely and joking with each other and helping each other out . “

Guerrero agrees about the challenges of giving lessons in patience and teamwork, but says the approach to working this out is built right into the tasks at hand.

“Woodworking teaches the kids patience and learning from a mistake,” he said. “It’s a form of anger management.”

“We’re trying to help these kids,” van Nest said. “When these kids reenter their community, we want them to have a fresh outlook and some skills that they can use to go down a different path. We’re trying to change the way they think and help them change their lives for the better. You see these kids working hard and learning something and realizing what they could become. “

By John McGreevy, TJJD Communications

It started as a simple enough idea: to create a program for young people going through difficult times in their lives to learn ways to cope and make better decisions before heading down a more harmful or unproductive path.

In Tom Green County, the Education Supervision and Prevention program (ESP), a highly successful initiative, has been in operation since its inception in 1995.

It has left an indelible mark on the area, with young people in the region recalling how it helped them years and even decades later.

Mariah Harris, now in her 30’s, was a participant of the program almost 20 years ago and still has an appreciation for what a positive influence it had in her life. “I was going through a lot,” she said. “I was in seventh grade, I had to be the adult in my house and look after my siblings and take on things a kid shouldn’t have to do, and I was very angry.”

Back then, Probation Officer Amber Sellers learned about Harris’ situation and reached out to her.

“At first, I didn’t want to be a part of it,” Harris said. “But I went and that was a good thing. Ms. Amber was there when we needed somebody. She was there to guide me in the right direction.”

Early Success through partnering with schools  

ESP was the brainchild of the late Roy K. Robb, a prominent figure in the juvenile and adult supervision and corrections fields. The program targets at-risk middle school youth (grades seventh and eighth). However, as is often the case with long-standing programs like ESP, numerous individuals deserve credit for the work accomplished over the years.

“It was Mr. Robb’s idea,” said Mark Williams, TJJD regional program administrator for the West and Panhandle regions. “We wanted more interaction with the schools and to show support for them. It was his idea to put juvenile probation officers at the middle schools because he thought that’s where they would have the most impact. And it worked, and not so much as the officers being disciplinarians but as someone to support the kids and get to know them.”

The program has operated continuously since 1995 and earned statewide recognition in 1998 when it received an award from the Texas Corrections Association for its innovative approach, said Monica Schniers, Tom Green County Chief Juvenile Probation Officer.

Mark Williams played a vital role implementing and structuring the program while he was employed by the county probation department, though Williams does his best to downplay that.

“My job was to take all of Mr. Robb’s great ideas and make them work. The program has always been a good cooperative effort, because a key part of that was always allowing the schools to have some say in the program and not us just going in and telling them how it was going to be.” 

“The schools appreciated that,” Williams said, “and consequently our officers had more knowledge about the kids that were coming into our system. That was something we hadn’t predicted.”

Today, the youth groups meet three days a week for about one hour. Group meetings are usually held on school campuses, but they occasionally go to local parks for team-building activities.

They focus on better decision-making, problem-solving, self-esteem, and improving their attitudes toward their peers, teachers, and families.

The ESP officers communicate with teachers, principals, and counselors regularly. Attendance is checked randomly but specifically on scheduled group days, because this helps ESP officers know how many students to expect.

Communication with the students' guardians is essential. The program is voluntary and all parents or guardians are required to sign an ESP packet to authorize their child's participation. ESP officers also communicate with the guardians regarding a child's failure to attend a meeting (without prior notification) and/or any other identified issues.

The foundation of these group discussions and activities comes from the Rainbow Days Training - Curriculum-Based Support Groups (CBSG) Program. Tenured ESP officers have accumulated additional activities and discussions from various sources throughout the years, including guest speakers from around the community and a tour of Angelo State University.

Keeping ESP effective by accepting youth and building rapport 

Referrals for the program are received via the Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) and school administration. Students who are first-time offenders, have had a Supervisory Caution, or have been placed on deferred prosecution are generally good candidates for the program and are referred by a juvenile probation officer. School staff refer students who display behavioral issues in the classroom. Such issues could include a youth being notably introverted, needing a peer support group, having been placed in foster care, or experiencing familial issues such as divorce, death, or incarceration of a family member.

“I’ve been doing this program for 23 years,” said Sellers, the juvenile probation officer who today runs the ESP program at Lone Star Middle School in San Angelo. “We work with at-risk kids the majority of the day. We’re trying to keep kids out of the juvenile system.

ESP is based on a reward system. Positive incentives (candy, tokens, etc.) are given during meetings to encourage participation. The last meeting of each week is considered a reward day for students who have not received detention or In-School Suspension and attended all scheduled ESP meetings during the week. A typical reward day involves a pizza party or other snack food and a fun activity.

“The kids have been in class all day,” Sellers said. “We want to make things fun for them.”

The ESP officers spend most of their day at their assigned campus. They communicate with the teachers and staff daily and can provide courtesy checks for the probation officers seeking updates on how a student is doing at school. They can also request and pick up school records and remind students of upcoming appointments with their probation officer.

Confidentiality is a key part of ESP. All participants are asked to keep anything said in the group to themselves, and generally, this is respected. They trust that the officers will do the same. If a student communicates a desire to harm themselves or others, the ESP officers are required to follow departmental reporting protocols.

Building rapport with the kids is important. “That takes time,” said Jonnie Benge, a juvenile probation officer who has been running the ESP program at Glenn Middle School for 24 years.

“When they first start in the program, they don’t know you too well. You let them know that you’re someone there that they can depend on. You let them know that you’re here to help them, whether it be with school or with something at home. And you’ve got to be positive with them, work through their mistakes with them and praise them when they do good things. That way if they do get in trouble, we can talk to them about it and they’re less likely to get upset because they know that we legitimately care about them.”

“We’re able to be flexible with the group,” Sellers said. “We always talk to them and to each other about finding ways to better help and communicate with the kids. Being available is important. They can contact us, their parents can contact us, and not just at the school during school hours.

“They build relationships with us and with the other group members, and they all find support in that. That keeps them coming back.”

A necessary ingredient: Positivity  

Benge and Sellers both stress the benefit of confidentiality. “It’s a place where they know they can share what’s going on in their lives and not feel judged,” Benge said.

Kali Gordy participated in the program in 2018 and remains grateful for the experience. “I didn’t want to do it at first,” she said. “I didn’t think there was anything wrong with my behavior, I didn’t think I had any issues and didn’t need to be in that class.”

The program changed her mind after getting to know Sellers. “I’d never had anyone I felt I could talk to until then. She taught me how to look at things more positively. We still talk and still see her.”

“These kids need someone positive in their lives,” Benge said. “A lot of them only hear negativity. Kids respond better to us telling them they need to change their behavior if we give them positive feedback on the good things.”

Both officers agree that the best part of the job is working with the kids.

“They’re why we’ve both been doing this for so long,” Sellers said. “I don’t think we could be here if we didn’t have the passion for doing this and love working with the kids the way we do.”

“We love this program and love these kids,” Sellers continued. “Can it be stressful? Absolutely, because we worry about these kids – we want them to be safe, we want them to be happy. But I always say to people ‘Where else can you go where these kids are so happy to see you.”

“A lot of these kids feel like we’re the only adults they can depend on,” Benge said. “Some of their home lives are rough.” 

As is often seen in the juvenile justice community, the people tasked with working with young people find their own lives changed in the process. “I’ve learned so much more compassion and patience for people,” Sellers said. “It’s helped me as a mom. It’s helped open my eyes to what teenagers can go through. It’s helped me communicate better with my own kids.”

The bonds and friendships created often continue even after the kids have left the program.

“We’ve stayed in contact with several of the kids,” Sellers said. “We’ve gone to weddings and baby showers. These kids are a big part of our lives. They’re a blessing to us. We get to see the changes in them. We get to see them flourish.”

Mariah Harris attributes the program’s success with her to the powerful connection that Amber Sellers was able to forge with her.

“There’s something about her,” Harris. “She made it so much easier to want to go to school and to learn. I enjoyed her class a lot. She helped think differently about things and look at thing in a different way. She has patience and she’s just amazing. She made me believe and understand that there were people out there who cared.”

Harris says she would urge any parent who might be uncertain about placing their child in the program to give it a try.

“My daughter is in the program right now and she just loves it,” Harris said. “I would tell any parent to allow their child to go to this program. It’s changed some kids’ lives, the same way it changed mine.  Friends were made in this program.” 

Going forward, and thanks to the success of the program over the years, making ESP available to more youth is in the works. 

“Our goal is to expand the program to two additional junior high schools and two area DAEPs, one of which covers 12 rural school districts,” Schniers said. “The long-term objective is to continue extending the provision of school-based prevention services, life skills training, and support group programming to as many junior high and middle school campuses as possible, as well as the rural areas served by the Coke County Juvenile Probation Department.”

By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications

The profile of youth who come to TJJD is changing. The agency is serving more highly violent offenders – those referred for homicides, attempted homicides, and armed robbery -- as well as a much higher percentage of youth with serious mental health needs.

Still, some youths committed to TJJD are assessed to be low-risk or moderately low-risk to reoffend. These young people have various backgrounds and reasons for coming to a secure state facility. Some, like D.B., an 18-year-old who’s completing the program this month, never committed violent offenses, but had become a repeat offender. D.B. had failed out of a probation program in his home county and spent more of his middle teen years in local juvenile detention than at home. A judge sent him to TJJD in 2022 for D.B.’s second car theft, and a mounting record of other offenses, but none involved violence against another person.

A similarly positioned youth was nearly out of the system, having been paroled from TJJD. But he cut off his ankle monitor and went on the run. He re-thought that decision and turned himself in a few months later. The judge sent him back to TJJD to complete his term.

These youth, based on their background and risks to offend, qualify under a provision of the Texas Administrative Code -- TAC 385.45 – to be placed in a less restrictive environment.

Such youth have always been tracked at TJJD, but now they’ve got their own dorms and a highly structured new program, aptly dubbed Achieve, that aims to help them move through their requirements quickly, step down to a hallway house and head home.

The two residential halls serving this new program can house up to 32 youth. They opened at the Ron Jackson campus, in Brownwood, over the spring and summer.

“These kids qualify to be out at less restrictive facilities. But they made poor decisions that landed them in high restriction. So, we’re trying to help them remove those barriers that might keep them in longer than necessary,” said Alan Michel, Sr. Director for Operations.

The first step is to identify these “385.45” youth when they first arrive at Orientation and Assessment (O&A) at the Ron Jackson campus. There a youth’s treatment team assesses their eligibility for the program, reviews their background, and confirms their willingness to participate. As they’re evaluated for the program, through interviews with case managers and treatment professionals, O&A staff monitor them to assure they will be a good fit. One important benchmark is that the youth refrain from any aggressive behavior for 30 consecutive days while at O&A. Another is that the youth must express sincere desire to make and commit to behavioral changes.

Diversion to Achieve

Once all factors are considered and all requirements met, a youth can be accepted into the Achieve program, which diverts them from being placed into a general population setting. They will serve their time with other lower risk Achieve youth in a milieu designed for them.

“The reason for developing this program is that the agency recognizes that if you put a low-risk youth with high-risk youth, that low-risk youth will eventually become a high-risk youth,” said Ron Jackson Assistant Superintendent Robert Flores. “And so, the agency felt there was a need to create a program to help those low-risk youth stay low-risk youth and not get so lost into the system.”

“What we can see sometimes is that you have a young man who is low risk and he’s targeted by someone who has been through the system a long time. What can then happen is you have a kid who came in on a sentence of nine months but because he keeps getting Level II hearings, they have multiple assaults or fights in the facilities or they’re assaulting staff.  They fall deeper into our system when they never should have in the first place.”

One Achieve youth, V.O., 17, recalled being plucked from the transport bus that would have taken him to a general population dorm at a different secure facility. He had been under assessment for the program and was assigned to Achieve.

Now headed home to East Texas after a successful placement in Achieve followed by a few weeks at Ayres Halfway House, V.O. believes that turn of events that day on the bus was fortuitous. In the Achieve dorm, he felt safe and out of the reach of any youth who might try to “get you in trouble.”

“It made my mood better,” he said, though he noted that nearly all of his cohort did have “issues” and were enrolled in anger management and substance use treatment plans. They had some work to do. Assignment to Achieve was just the beginning.

While the youths identified for this program have been assessed as “low risk” or “low-to-moderate risk” to re-offend, they’ve also been referred for criminal offenses. To move successfully through TJJD, they are expected to meet strict behavior goals, stay motivated in school, and actively engaged in their prescribed therapies.

The Achieve plan offers a great reward – a quicker stay at TJJD of four to six, maybe eight months, encompassing stepdown to a halfway house -- but it comes with high expectations.

The youth must prove they’re serious, demonstrate “zero” aggressive behavior and keep moving forward in their program, Michel said. They must commit to making improvements.

The Team Leader who pulled V.O. in for slot at Achieve had looked him in the eye as he sat on the transport bus and asked: “If I keep you here are you going to be good?”

How it works: Safety, kudos and calm

Asst. Supt. Flores, Cowboy hat shading him from the sun, swung open the door to the Achieve dorm on a sunny day in early September, releasing a gush of cool air that soothed after the heat of the 100-degree walk across campus.

The dayroom looked like many do in dorms at TJJD secure facilities, with its modular furniture and windowed offices that allow JCOs to monitor the room.  There was a blue phone tucked in the corner and an array of notices tacked onto the painted cinder block walls. One simple typed page – “A Quick Peek at What’s Happening at our Halfway Houses” gave various updates and included a tally of Achieve youth who’d moved on to halfway houses. It was one of many explicit messages aimed at enticing the youth to consider their future and stick with the program.

“We’re giving them something to look forward to, to transitioning to a halfway house, and then home,” said Juanita Lopez, the team leader for the dorm.

The focus on the future and forward-looking positive messages are almost a musical patter. Down a hallway to the youths’ sleeping quarters, the doors to the rooms are covered with “attaboys” and affirmations.

One door, pretty typical, was plastered with “Woohoos!” and “Congratulations” certificates for sticking with timely morning and hygiene routines. On another door, a certificate lauded a youth for completing ART (Aggression Replacement Training).

“When they were on O&A, some of them had anger issues or lacked coping skills,” said Lopez, who’s worked as a Juvenile Correctional Office for 13 years. “Now that they’ve transferred to us, they’re working on it. They’re learning coping skills, how to handle their feelings and talk about it and not shutdown.”

“They are setting goals for the future.”

We’d caught up with Lopez at the campus gymnasium where the Achieve youths -- a collection of gangly, stocky, graceful, awkward, mop-haired adolescents - were lobbing basketballs at the net on a half court during their recreation period. It was a competitive but friendly game. Across the way, JCOs were mediating a dispute among another group of youth, though no voices were raised.

Like V.O., Lopez says that providing a feeling of safety is an overarching goal of Achieve. Once they have that, the youth become more settled, more receptive to guidance from staff and significantly more motivated.

"We had one youth who received his GED (while in the Achieve program) and his mom was impressed. She told me he had never looked to the future. Now he's considering college or the Marines," Lopez said.

Of course, all youth need that “felt safety." It may just be a tad easier to attain within the boundaries and eligibilities set for Achieve. And it's clearly part of the secret sauce.

Staff work hard, Lopez and Flores said, to help the young men in Achieve build camaraderie, encouraging them to trust their dorm mates and staff and showing them that trust is reciprocated and deserved. Grouping Achieve youth together ignites this process, but the JCOs and treatment teams must stay vigilant to cultivate and maintain the necessary positive environment.

“We shut down any bullying. And they know they cannot earn their stages that way,” Lopez says, speaking with the quiet authoritativeness of a parent discussing her own kids.

Youth at TJJD must move through four stages to advance toward discharge. Once they've attained Stage Four, they can qualify to move to a halfway house and for certain privileges, such as off-campus work programs.

To move through their stages youth must follow the rules, make amends when they don’t, stay up to speed in school and engage fully in their prescribed treatment programs. At Ron Jackson, the treatment team -- case managers and mental health professionals -- works closely with the Achieve dorm and tightly tailors the youth’s treatment programs to their risk factors, said Autumn Lord, clinical director for forensic mental health treatment services.

“We are being highly intentional with the youth by telling them about the programs and services they can receive,” Lord said. “The kids become more goal oriented . . . and more optimistic about their future.”

“We’ve seen a lot of success with the program,” she said. “We’ve had youth on O&A and they’re “385.45 eligible” to participate in the Achieve program but they’re mixed with higher risk kids. We start to see some higher risk behaviors. But when we move them to the Achieve dorm they’re better behaved and more engaged in treatment.”

Youth report what works for them: Building trust, making friends, a calm setting

For youth D.E., 18, building trust with others was the key to his full involvement and successful stay at Achieve. He transferred to Tamayo Halfway House, in Harlingen, and was on the cusp of going home in late September.

An affable youth who says he struggles with bouts of depression and bursts of anger, D.E. became friends with everyone in his Achieve dorm.

“That’s something I didn’t expect,” he said, because when he first arrived at TJJD he was sent to a general population environment and “I got in with some kids who didn’t care about anything.”

The kids in Achieve were different, more supportive, he said. “They wanted to make friends.”

“It was kind of fun. They kept us busy. We had tournaments. We played video games, basketball, and football,” he said.

The activities helped the youths build team spirit and that set everyone up for productive exchanges in group sessions where they learned to cope with their feelings of anger, he said.

“They would tell us to open up about it. It was hard for some of us to open up, but because we trusted the other kids there, we seen that we could open up and they (the staff) could help us.”

 “We felt we could trust them,” he said. 

D.E., who has been committed to TJJD twice for breaking and entering, viewed the staff at his Achieve dorm as highly competent, attentive and reasonably relaxed.

“It felt like they knew what their job was, and they didn’t have to worry about kids wanting to fight all the time and do (hurt) them and not care what the consequences was.”

That calmer environment enabled him to learn better emotional control and specific coping skills, like doing pushups or running, that he now uses to dissipate angry feelings. He also set goals. He wants to go to welding school after getting his high school diploma and walking across the stage, “finally doing something nobody in my family got to do.”

V.O.’s recollections mirror D.E.’s. He was grateful for the calmer setting and remembers that staff kept the youth busy all day. There were regular rewards for small wins. A quiet day with no disturbances might bring a treat of Airheads or M&Ms. A full week of good behavior at school by the entire cohort might be capped by an event with popcorn and games on the weekend.

“When I got there, I had a lot of anger,” V.O. said. But over the course of his anger management and substance abuse treatments, he adopted ways to cope, such as walking away from an aggravating situation, picturing calming imagery, or going to his room to read.

He likes adventure books, like “The Maze Runner” series. “It helps me forget I was mad,” he said. “I’m calmer too. I’m chillin’.”

V.O. also stacked up accomplishments during this period. “When I got there, I only had like 10 credits in school, and now I have like 16 or 17. And I got my GED too, that’s something I never thought I would have,” he said.

As he transitions home, he plans to continue practicing his coping skills and get a job to earn money to support his 1-year-old son. He’d like to be a house painter, like his older brother.

“It’s a good program. You get through your treatment quick,” V.O. said. “I thank Ms. Lopez for helping me get here.”
Tell her I said I made it through, I’m going to go home.”

Photos: Top: Achieve Dorm day room and poster; Middle: Notices about Halfway Houses and certificates and rewards on a room door; Achieve youth playing basketball; Bottom: Juanita Lopez talks with Asst. Supt. Robert Flores.