Texas Youth Commission 101

Because Margaret and I are going to be talking about House Bill 1915 and Senate Bill 103, we thought it would first be important to give you some background information about the Texas Youth Commission.  Before proceeding with TYC history and operating information, here are some important concepts:

• A “juvenile” is a child who is at least ten years old but not yet seventeen years old at the time he or she commits an act of “delinquent conduct” or “conduct in need of supervision”
• “Delinquent conduct” is conduct that could result in imprisonment if committed by an adult
• Dawson (2004) added to the definition of delinquent conduct by stating that it includes “conduct that constitutes driving, boating, or flying while intoxicated, intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter…” or other conduct “that violates a penal law of this state”
• “Conduct in need of supervision” is conduct that could result in a fine (i.e. truancy, running away from home, violating a school district’s previously communicated written standards of student conduct, etc.) It is frequently referred to as a CINS violation
• “Blended sentencing” occurs when a criminal sentence is blended with a juvenile court disposition, allowing youth to serve the first part of their sentence in a TYC institution and then transfer to an adult facility to complete the sentence.

History of TYC

The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) is an agency in Texas that operates all juvenile correctional facilities in the state.  TYC was created in 1957 (then called the Texas Youth Council).  The name changed to Texas Youth Commission in 1983.   According to the Shaw and Penn (2004) in their discussion of the purpose and scope of the Texas juvenile justice system, there was a 69% increase in juvenile probation referrals and a 161% increase in referrals for violent offenses from 1988 to 1993.  There was also a 285% increase in youth committed to TYC for violent offenses.  Because of the extreme increase in youth crime, Texas adopted blended sentencing. 

Texas Youth Commission and Juvenile Justice

According to the agency’s website, the TYC’s mission statement is to “promote public safety by operating juvenile correctional facilities and by partnering with youth, families, and communities to provide a safe and secure environment where youth in the agency’s care and custody receive individualized education, treatment, life skills and employment training and positive role models to facilitate successful community reintegration” (TYC website).  In order to be sentenced to a TYC institution, a youth offender must be in between the ages of 10 and 17 and has committed an act of delinquent conduct or a CINS violation.  At juvenile court, the judge can decide to do a multitude of things; the county can request that the juvenile be tried as an adult and thus removed from the juvenile justice system.  If the judge decides to try the offender in the juvenile system and is adjudicated for delinquent conduct, he or she will have 3 possible outcomes:  probation, TYC determinate sentence, and TYC indeterminate sentence.  Most offenders who are sentenced to stays in a TYC institution because of felony offenses receive indeterminate sentences, meaning there is no set end date to the sentences.  A juvenile who is sent to TYC with a determinate sentence may be transferred to an adult prison depending on the progress in the TYC program. 

TYC Demographics in 2010

·       93% were boys.

·       7% were girls.

·       44% were Hispanic.

·       34% were African-American.

·       21% were Anglo.

·       44% admitted at intake that they are gang members.

·       Median age at commitment was 16.

·       Median reading achievement level was 6th grade (four years behind their peers).

·       Median math achievement level was 5th grade (five years behind their peers).

·       32% were identified as eligible for special education services.

·       5% of the TYC new arrivals were English language learners.

·       83% had IQs below the mean score of 100.

·       72% had high or moderate need for alcohol or other drug treatment.

·       42% had high or moderate need for mental health treatment.

·       79% had parents who never married or who divorced or separated.

·       36% had a documented history of being abused or neglected.

·       56% came from low-income homes.

·       72% came from chaotic environments.

·       44% had families with histories of criminal behavior.

·       11% had family members with mental impairments.

·       38% had more than one felony adjudication.

(Taken from http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/research/youth_stats.html)

The Numbers

     In 2010, the average cost per day for a youth in TYC was $359.58.  This is a significant increase from the 2003 average of $154.94.  In 2010, TYC committed 1,056 juveniles for an average stay of 17.1 days.  At the end of 2010, 1,798 juveniles were in a TYC institution.

For more information on the numbers, go to:  http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/research/index.html   

State Partners

     Currently, TYC partners with the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TJPC) in juvenile justice matters.  TJPC’s role in the juvenile justice system is to work with county juvenile probation departments to aid and enhance juvenile probation services.  TJPC provides “funding, technical assistance, and training; establishing and enforcing standards; collecting, analyzing and disseminating information; and facilitating communications between state and local entities” (TYC website). 

 

Dawson, (2004). Texas Juvenile Law (6th Ed). Austin, Texas: Texas Juvenile Probation

Commission

Shaw, R. and Penn, E. B. (2008).  Chapter 5. Purpose and Scope of the Texas Juvenile Justice System [Review of Juvenile Justice: A Guide to Theory, Policy, and Practice(6th Ed.)]. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.

Texas Youth Commission (2011). Texas Youth Commission. Retrieved April 11, 2011 from http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/index.html