The Texas Juvenile Justice Department operates five secure facilities and three halfway houses serving youth up to age 18 who’ve committed felony-level offenses and been assigned by juvenile court judges to a program of rehabilitation at TJJD campuses.

Youth at TJJD have often already been enrolled in local probation programs for prior offenses and have exhausted local resources. For these youth, and some who’ve committed the most serious violent offenses, judge may view state-level care as the best rehabilitative placement for these youth with the highest needs.

All TJJD youth attend school with state-certified teachers and receive specialized therapeutic programming as determined by their courts and TJJD professionals.

TJJD also provides youth with recreational opportunities, life skills trainings, preparations for independent living and an array of incentive programs.

The Lone Star Schools at TJJD campuses offer a curriculum that mirrors public schools so youth can continue working toward a HS diploma or GED. Schools have student councils, special interest clubs and in some cases, competitive sports teams in the TAPPS league, giving students a range of ways to practice social skills, build competence and develop and mature.

The schools also offer vocational classes in horticulture, woodworking, welding, auto shop and food safety classes.

Treatment programs address substance abuse, violent behaviors, self-harm and cognitive behavioral issues. Treatment professionals and direct care staff train in and employ Trust-based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and other protocols that have proven effectiveness.

The TJJD team — mental health practitioners, JCOs, case managers, teachers — work to build healthy connections with the youth so they can authentically and effectively reach the young people, correct inappropriate behaviors, and help the youth toward a brighter future keeps everyone safer, including the communities to which the youth will someday return.

TJJD also monitors, advises, and administers state funding to county level juvenile departments and facilities across Texas, working in tandem with local probation authorities to keep youth in local care and as shallow in the system as possible. The agency’s probation and reentry professionals work to strengthen the continuum of care in Texas to best serve kids in need at every level of care, creating stronger, safer communities.