By John McGreevy, TJJD Communications

TJJD researchers conducted focus group meetings with youth at the Giddings State School this month.

The purpose was to get feedback from youths who had completed the therapeutic Capital and Serious Violent Offender Group program, also known as COG. COG is a series of therapy sessions in which therapists and youth meet in a group over several months. The goal is to help the youth better understand how the events of their life relate to how they came to be incarcerated -- n effect, to see how their “life story” resulted in their “crime story,” as it’s called in the sessions. COG is run by treatment professionals who see the youth regularly.

“The capital offender program has been around since 1988,” said Dr. Evan Norton, TJJD Sr. Director of Integrated Treatment and Intervention Services. “It was designed by psychologists to look at how a kid’s life story impacts their crime story. It works on identifying unmet needs that create future offending cycles. The key to this is incorporating lived experience. Getting the youths’ voice in our treatment program is very important.” 

“The model, while it gets updated over time to fit the times, remains largely unchanged in its analysis and effectiveness,” Norton said. “The data supports that it’s a helpful program.” 

Still, TJJD treatment professionals want to make sure that “all elements of the program are trauma-informed and we’re doing the best we can with credible messengers and lived experience,” Norton said.

A “credible messenger” is someone who has been incarcerated. Their insight from their experiences can help keep the program up to date.

That’s where the focus groups come in. The research team wanted to get the youths’ viewpoints to help treatment staff make the COG program as effective as possible and be informed by the youths’ experiences.

Spencer Washington, Clinical Director for Forensic Mental Health Services at Giddings State School oversaw the focus group and Alejandro Ramirez-Cano, a research specialist with the treatment team, and Claire Boudrot, a research specialist with the research team, conducted it. 

“We’re looking to continue to modernize the program with the latest research available,” Norton said. “A big piece of taking this to the next level is ensuring that people with lived experience and youth voice is incorporated. That’s why we hold focus groups to hear directly from the youth. How was this helpful? What do they need/ How can this be better?”

“I think it’s so important and valuable to be getting honest feedback from the youth,” Boudrot said. “We ask if they’re getting what they think they need to get out of COG. We want to do everything we can to make sure the main points of COG are being reached and making sure everything is being directly communicated.” 

“Getting youth voices in our treatment program is very important,” Norton said.

“The youth are often eager to talk, but understandably have difficulty in knowing who they can trust,” said Ramirez-Cano. During the focus group at Giddings, two of the youth said there were only a small number of the staff they trusted for fear that telling their story would lead to future reprisals.

“By the time the youth have completed the program, they tend to be more open when it comes to sharing their experiences and opinions,” Ramirez-Cano said. “This has given the staff valuable insight for updating the program as well as finding better ways to run the focus groups.”

“In preparation for the focus group, I have a script that I’ll stick to, but there will be questions that present themselves along the way,” Ramirez-Cano continued. “I think the things they said that I could relate to personally surprised me. One youth told me we don’t ask the right questions. That stuck with me. So, we dig deeper, we ask them what they think we should be asking them.”

The list of youth selected to participate in these focus groups included those who have completed COG, are enrolled in COG, or are out on parole. The staff stresses the importance of getting as many different perspectives and points of view as they can.

One youth in the focus group said he found it difficult to open up to someone who wouldn’t be sharing anything from their own life in return. The other youths agreed with this sentiment. Washington explained to the group that while there were ethical and professional reasons for therapists not sharing their life stories, keeping the focus on the youth during their session was the foremost consideration.  

The focus group gives the youth the chance to share what they liked and didn’t like about the program “It was great to learn where the disconnectbetween the youth and the therapists was on some elements,” Boudrot said. “Mr. Washington was reminding us ‘This is how this was supposed to go, but the youth weren’t seeing it that way’, and that’s exactly what we need to be getting at.”

Overall, the staff seemed encouraged by the results of the focus group. “I thought it went great,” Ramirez-Cano said.

The process continues and the data and feedback from these focus groups will help the staff move forward with refinements to the COG program.

“Initially, a lot of these kids are scared to get into (COG) therapy,” Norton said. “They’re scared to get into treatment. And it’s incredible to see the transformation over the six to nine months they’re in this program. They are more confident, more resilient, they have better skills. They end up being mentors on the facility a lot of the time and helping their peers see that engaging in therapy is a good thing.”

By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications

Mosey down the main hallway at Lone Star High School West, at TJJD’s Ron Jackson campus, and you’ll be stopped by a splash of colors that dance across the otherwise white-painted cinderblock walls.

Get closer and you’ll see drawings of Disney princesses, Sponge Bob, the Lion King, hearts, confetti and caps and gowns in joyful explosion of bright pinks, purples, blues, and reds. The colors virtually leap from the concrete and the words beckon too as you pause to appreciate these compact, lively artworks.

“Your talent is who you are. You should be proud of it,” reads one message in scrolly letters. It’s attributed to and features a depiction of Tinkerbell, arms raised and ready to fly away on purple wings.

Each brick features a different picture, with inspirational messages from the graduate who made it as they passed through Lone Star HS West. The students who created this collective mosaic have indeed flown onward. They finished their high school education here at Lone Star HS West and won the privilege of stamping one cinder block space with their thoughts and designs, a legacy for them and an invitation to future students.

“It started it in 2019 when I became principal that spring,” said Principal Helen Spearman. “We had been talking at our campus about how to get more things on the walls for the kids, murals maybe. We wanted something that would recognize our graduates better, because they’re not all here to walk at graduation.”

It’s the nature of juvenile corrections that youth may be discharged (a good thing!) before the bi-annual graduation ceremony takes place.

Spearman and the staff wanted something meaningful for those students who did so often graduate with little fanfare, and they wanted that something to permanently honor the students’ accomplishments -- not have to be rolled up and discarded later.

“I wanted to have a way for the kids to leave their positive mark on the place and have a spot to brag about their accomplishments to the other kids,” said Spearman, who returned to her hometown of Brownwood in 2012 to teach at LSHSW after teaching English in Waco at The AJ Moore Academy.

And so began “The Graduation Wall,” an incentive, reward and beautification project rolled into one.  

Now, four years into the project, Spearman says the youth don’t let anyone forget when they’re in the queue for the next brick. It’s become almost as important as the cap and gown photos that the school takes so the students have keepsakes.

“That’s one of the first things they ask when they get their GED or diploma, they’ll ask, can I paint my brick now?”

“We give them a sheet of paper so they can sketch out what they’re going to do to make sure nothing inappropriate,” Spearman said. “. . . We have learned some shortcuts to help them get their design on the brick by shading it with pencil and pressing the back onto the brick.”

Each student gets some time to design their contribution and then one full day out of class to render it on the wall.

“It’s a fun thing. They get attention while they’re out there working on it,” Spearman said.

The results have been nothing short of wonderful. Spearman pointed to the work of their latest graduate, who depicted the cartoon characters Rick and Morty. The artwork is amusing, with Rick yanking Mort’s eyes open. But the message is a solid, positive, even profound one: “Keep your eyes open so you can move ahead with your goals.”

By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications

Gainesville State School Superintendent Darryl Anderson and his campus find themselves in a happy place this fall.

Anderson visited Austin in August to attend the TJJD Board meeting, where we heard that Gainesville State School, which currently serves about 140 youths, is close to fully staffed with Juvenile Correctional Officers. That wasn’t the case – for hardly any facility -- coming out of the COVID years with their challenging quarantines and volatile schedules, followed by the period of the "great resignation" in 2021-22 that stretched employers everywhere, including TJJD.

Today, though, the numbers at the Gainesville campus, tell a story of recovery. The just-enacted five percent raises for state employees and JCOs (who also got a bump in 2022) undoubtedly helped. This was backed by a mighty team effort by HR recruiters and staff who promoted the campus, improving retention as well as recruitment.

Meanwhile, campus leaders have striven to build a positive culture marked by respect, collaboration, and communication. And at the center of this invigorated campus vibe, adding bonhomie and direction is Anderson, a leader who exudes calm, models respect, and knows how to empower his team.

“He problem-solves a lot,” says Assistant Superintendent Michelle Washington Hawkins. “If there’s a problem, he’s open to all solutions. He’ll let the staff create our own culture. It’s so positive and uplifting.”

Anderson arrived at Gainesville in the fall of 2019 after a two-year stint as assistant superintendent at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex in Brownwood. He immediately sought out community leaders to address what he discerned was a brewing disaffection toward the campus.

“We had to reestablish ties with the local community,” he said, after some employees who’d been terminated were painting an inaccurate picture of the state school operations. “We met with the mayor, the county judge, the chief of police, the county commissioners. We introduced ourselves and said we had a new administration. They were very receptive and said themselves that this facility is a cornerstone of the community.”

Anderson’s next step was to set a good tone and reach out to everyone on campus, something that Washington Hawkins says appears to come naturally to him. He touches base with everyone on campus regularly, from dorm staff to treatment teams to educators at the school, she said. He does not lead from his office, but strolls the campus, praising the good things he sees and making himself available to help with difficulties.

“He is very firm and fair and consistent in what he does. He has a lot of experience behind him, and you can tell,” she said.

Family Enrichment Specialist Stephen Claybrook echoed Washington Hawkins' assessment, saying Anderson's greatest attribute is his consistent approach to staff and unwavering commitment to the agency, which inspires the staff to want to stick with their work helping youth and their families.

"He is a leader by nature," said Claybrook, who previously worked as a chaplain at TDCJ. "I have worked under many wardens and administrators and I rank him up there with a few of the best."

Community Resources Coordinator Kevin Hill sees Anderson as the glue that keeps the Gainesville team together. "What impresses me the most is that he is a man of the people. Mr. Anderson takes time to know all of the staff and youth at GNS. His job is very demanding, yet he never turns down an opportunity to visit or participate in campus activities." And he apologizes for those events he has to miss. 

Anderson's democratic approach seems key to the loyalty he instills. Hill recalled a recent day he was trying to safely move volunteers to a campus event. "I recognized that the Superintendent golf cart would be a great alternative for transport," he said. "I felt like I was asking my dad to borrow the car for a Saturday night date! Mr. Anderson loaned me the cart without any hesitation."

A winning combo of education and experience

A Nacogdoches native, Anderson went to college at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia where he lettered in football, though he completed his degrees at Texas A&M University – Commerce (a master’s in counseling education) and Huston-Tillotson University in Austin (a bachelor’s in physical education).

He boasts three decades of corrections and residential care experience, working with adults and youth in various settings. He was a client care specialist at Promise House in Dallas, supporting activities to help youth reduce stress and build life skills, and served as director of the Austin Transitional Center, a 420-bed facility for justice-involved adults needing substance abuse treatment.

Earlier in his career, he served as a Sr. Warden for several Texas correctional facilities, ranging from minimum to maximum security and up to 1,200 beds. These included the North Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility, Kyle Correctional Center, Lockhart Work Program, and the Willacy County State Jail. Before that, he was a Deputy Warden at the Travis County State Jail and Kyle Correctional Center.

Anderson worked outside of Texas briefly at mid-career -- as a Sr. Warden at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility and as Assistant Facility Administrator at the Florida Civil Commitment Facility for sexually violent predators, a unique 600+ bed facility where he developed expertise in administering the PREA law.

He returned to the classroom to teach criminal justice classes at Remington College and the University of Texas at Austin, and he maintained his Red Cross certification for First Aid and CPR.

Education is a big part of his family’s life. His wife, Denise, teaches education counseling at Texas A&M. Their daughter went to medical school and became a gynecologist. Their oldest son is a computer programmer, and their youngest son is a junior in high school at Gainesville. (Darryl and Denise also have four grandchildren, the latest one, Felicity, was born Sept. 10.)

Anderson himself is a lifelong learner, having honed managerial skills and an engaged leadership style that helped him transition smoothly from adult corrections to the juvenile side.

It’s been a great move, he says, reflecting on how he so often heard adult prisoners say they wished someone had intervened in their life when they were younger and showed them better options.
Now that’s what Darryl Anderson and his team are committed to doing, helping TJJD youth find their North Star, a positive, productive path forward through the treatment, education, and life skills they learn at Gainesville State School. Anderson knows how to inspire youth and staff, says Washington Hawkins. “He teaches, he molds, and he believes in the mission statement,” she said.

“Darryl has done a tremendous job promoting trauma informed correction care at Gainesville,” said Alan Michel, Sr. Director of State Facility Operations. “Under his leadership Gainesville is demonstrating a positive campus culture which is reflected in higher numbers of employed staff, a safer campus and effective treatment.” 

A campus on the upswing

The campus has not had a serious disruption to programming – a period in which staffing shortfalls require that youth stay in their rooms part of the day – in over a year. And HR stats show that staff retention has improved.

The campus does still have a few open slots for JCOs, but that's because it has added beds and expanded the numbers of the youth in residence. It also recently launched a canine program, and trained staff especially for that dorm. The campus is now so well staffed that it contributes to a small travelling team that can help at other TJJD campuses when they experience a staffing shortfall.

Another factor that helped lift the campus, is that Anderson assembled a strong leadership team, says Washington Hawkins. Anderson demurs on that, however, saying he “inherited” a strong team because the campus had so many experienced staff ready for leadership roles.

Furthermore, Anderson says, the campus feels embraced by the community and draws on a wide labor pool that extends from just north of Gainesville, into Oklahoma, and sweeps in Sherman, Denison, Denton, and the northern D/FW metroplex. Anderson says they staff members commuting from all those communities.

“We are sitting in a very centrally located area. We compete with the sheriffs’ departments in Denton and Dallas. But we have had the raises and that has made us competitive,” he said. “We’re at the point where we can be selective in hiring.”

That’s a great milestone to reach because corrections work is not for everyone. It takes the right person – someone who’s quick-thinking, collaborative, and compassionate with a strong motivation to help others and serve public safety -- to be successful in the field.

When the job is a good fit, juvenile corrections can be highly rewarding because direct care staff play such a vital role in helping turn young lives around.

“Our kids, they test us daily,” Anderson says with a chuckle, “and staff can be challenging at times too!”

The job requires that employees be disciplined, remain calm in the face of provocations, and keep flexible because new scenarios arise all the time, Anderson explained.

Staff must also devote themselves totally to the work while on duty. “They have to leave personal issues at the gate and for 12 hours, they have to flip the switch and turn off their personal life and the emotions that they’re going through,” Anderson said. “They have to come in and focus and keep their radar up, because every day is different.”

“This place is never going to be on remote control. You’re going to have problems and you must have a plan for how you’ll handle it and not panic,” he said. “And you learn from every situation you go into.”

(Photos: Top, Anderson with TJJD Board Chair Scott Matthew; Lower left, Anderson presents an appreciation award to Gainsville State School staffer Ryan Mayfield; Anderson grabs a treat for Baxter, a dog in the canine program at the campus.)