Posted 11:34 pm Sunday, September 02, 2012
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State juvenile justice program funding cuts cause worries
Tyler lawyer Sara Maynard said she can sum up the importance of state funding for juvenile mental health in two words: Byron Truvia.
Truvia stands accused of brutally stabbing a John Tyler High School teacher to death in 2009.
Ms. Maynard, who represents juveniles in Child Protective Services cases in family court and serves as juvenile prosecutor for the city of Tyler, said Truvia's case underscores why proposed state funding cuts pose a public safety threat.
“That case represents a major failure of the mental health system in both Louisiana and in Texas,” Ms. Maynard said of Truvia, who has documented mental health issues in both states. She believes the court system has become the “stop of last resort” for many juveniles who have mental problems.
Truvia, now 19, is accused of stabbing and killing John Tyler High School teacher Todd Henry in 2009, when Truvia attended the school as a juvenile. After Truvia was certified as an adult in the legal system, Smith County Judge Christi Kennedy found him incompetent to stand trial in February after a court hearing. She ordered that Truvia remain committed at Vernon State Hospital in northern Texas. His next hearing is in February 2013.
Three quarters of county juvenile probation departments in Texas say their current funding is insufficient or very insufficient, according to a July survey conducted by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.
Benet Magnuson, a policy attorney with the coalition, said the funding gap raises significant concerns for public safety and the future of youth in the system.
“Many counties have great programs that reduce childhood recidivism, but they're dangerously underfunded,” Magnuson said in a press release.
The coalition is a nonprofit organization that conducts research policy and analysis and helps educate key stakeholders to help promote management, accountability and best practices that increase public safety, according to the website.
Truvia stands accused of brutally stabbing a John Tyler High School teacher to death in 2009.
Ms. Maynard, who represents juveniles in Child Protective Services cases in family court and serves as juvenile prosecutor for the city of Tyler, said Truvia's case underscores why proposed state funding cuts pose a public safety threat.
“That case represents a major failure of the mental health system in both Louisiana and in Texas,” Ms. Maynard said of Truvia, who has documented mental health issues in both states. She believes the court system has become the “stop of last resort” for many juveniles who have mental problems.
Truvia, now 19, is accused of stabbing and killing John Tyler High School teacher Todd Henry in 2009, when Truvia attended the school as a juvenile. After Truvia was certified as an adult in the legal system, Smith County Judge Christi Kennedy found him incompetent to stand trial in February after a court hearing. She ordered that Truvia remain committed at Vernon State Hospital in northern Texas. His next hearing is in February 2013.
Three quarters of county juvenile probation departments in Texas say their current funding is insufficient or very insufficient, according to a July survey conducted by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.
Benet Magnuson, a policy attorney with the coalition, said the funding gap raises significant concerns for public safety and the future of youth in the system.
“Many counties have great programs that reduce childhood recidivism, but they're dangerously underfunded,” Magnuson said in a press release.
The coalition is a nonprofit organization that conducts research policy and analysis and helps educate key stakeholders to help promote management, accountability and best practices that increase public safety, according to the website.
Ross Worley, director of the Smith County Juvenile Attention Center, completed the survey. Worley said he also is concerned that current mental health funding might be a detriment to public safety. He said the state now has mandated that his department cut 10 percent more from the FY 2013-14 budget.
He said the county, for the past few years, has sent about 35 to 50 kids per year to the Texas Youth Commission, now known as the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. Now, that number has been cut to 10.
In 2011, state lawmakers enacted reforms designed to keep as many youth as possible in their home counties. That legislation abolished the Texas Youth Commission and Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and created the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to oversee the reforms. Legislators were guided by research showing that rehabilitation is more successful when delinquent youth receive treatment in their home communities.
In the past two biennium budget periods, Texas gave the Smith County Juvenile Attention Center a total of $713,000. The state provided $306,000 for fiscal years 2009-10 and 2010-11.
The money only could be used for juveniles diverted from prison and into programs such as The 180 Project, Worley said. The 180 Project, which Worley implemented in 2010, is for youths whose next stop is the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
The program, named because of its aim to turn around lives, involves intensive monitoring by a team of volunteers, mental health providers and truancy and probation officers. A GPS system monitors the juveniles so authorities know their whereabouts.
Now, the state has cut the cap in half, and the maximum number of youths that can be sent to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department is 10, Worley said. The state gave $248,959 for fiscal 2011-12, a more than 60 percent cut in funding.
He said his staff has worked hard with the youths to keep them from going to prison, but not all of them are candidates for The 180 Project. “Some kids you can't rehabilitate,” Worley said.
He said the county, for the past few years, has sent about 35 to 50 kids per year to the Texas Youth Commission, now known as the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. Now, that number has been cut to 10.
In 2011, state lawmakers enacted reforms designed to keep as many youth as possible in their home counties. That legislation abolished the Texas Youth Commission and Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and created the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to oversee the reforms. Legislators were guided by research showing that rehabilitation is more successful when delinquent youth receive treatment in their home communities.
In the past two biennium budget periods, Texas gave the Smith County Juvenile Attention Center a total of $713,000. The state provided $306,000 for fiscal years 2009-10 and 2010-11.
The money only could be used for juveniles diverted from prison and into programs such as The 180 Project, Worley said. The 180 Project, which Worley implemented in 2010, is for youths whose next stop is the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
The program, named because of its aim to turn around lives, involves intensive monitoring by a team of volunteers, mental health providers and truancy and probation officers. A GPS system monitors the juveniles so authorities know their whereabouts.
Now, the state has cut the cap in half, and the maximum number of youths that can be sent to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department is 10, Worley said. The state gave $248,959 for fiscal 2011-12, a more than 60 percent cut in funding.
He said his staff has worked hard with the youths to keep them from going to prison, but not all of them are candidates for The 180 Project. “Some kids you can't rehabilitate,” Worley said.
The state gives Smith County Juvenile Services $900,000 each year, which covers salaries, benefits and all juvenile probation services. “That amount has not gone up in 10 years,” Worley said.
Other funding sources are national and state grants, and the 180 project has some volunteer mentors. “They help us very much. They are priceless,” Worley said of the volunteers.
Smith County Court-at-Law No. 3 Judge Floyd Getz said the funding issue is one which the county has been dealing with for several years. The state has been steadily increasing the regulations and requirements with which local juvenile probation departments must comply, which includes mental health services.
These requirements have mostly been unfunded mandates and have impacted the local budget, he said. Getz said that he is concerned that along with the unfunded mandates, that the state keeps reducing the annual number of serious juvenile offenders that can be sent to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, formerly the Texas Youth Commission. He said his concern is that “all of this together will eventually have a negative impact on community safety.”
“Our juvenile services folks here in Smith County have been able so far to do an outstanding job with what we have, but we may reach a point where spending funds on state-mandated (but not funded) services keeps us from doing the successful things that help keep our local juvenile recidivism rate one of the lowest in Texas,” Getz said.
The Tyler Police Department declined comment on the funding cuts, saying the reduction in funding juvenile programs did not affect what they do. Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham also declined comment on the state's funding cuts to juvenile mental health services. “Because of some currently pending juvenile cases, he did not think it would be appropriate to respond to the survey results,” Bingham said in a prepared statement.
Other funding sources are national and state grants, and the 180 project has some volunteer mentors. “They help us very much. They are priceless,” Worley said of the volunteers.
Smith County Court-at-Law No. 3 Judge Floyd Getz said the funding issue is one which the county has been dealing with for several years. The state has been steadily increasing the regulations and requirements with which local juvenile probation departments must comply, which includes mental health services.
These requirements have mostly been unfunded mandates and have impacted the local budget, he said. Getz said that he is concerned that along with the unfunded mandates, that the state keeps reducing the annual number of serious juvenile offenders that can be sent to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, formerly the Texas Youth Commission. He said his concern is that “all of this together will eventually have a negative impact on community safety.”
“Our juvenile services folks here in Smith County have been able so far to do an outstanding job with what we have, but we may reach a point where spending funds on state-mandated (but not funded) services keeps us from doing the successful things that help keep our local juvenile recidivism rate one of the lowest in Texas,” Getz said.
The Tyler Police Department declined comment on the funding cuts, saying the reduction in funding juvenile programs did not affect what they do. Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham also declined comment on the state's funding cuts to juvenile mental health services. “Because of some currently pending juvenile cases, he did not think it would be appropriate to respond to the survey results,” Bingham said in a prepared statement.
Representatives from Van Zandt and Gregg counties also completed the Coalition survey and reported dissatisfaction with the level of state funding for juvenile services and voiced concerns about public safety.
Erin Yohn, of Gregg County, said their juvenile services department would like to be able to hire an in-house counselor instead of contracting for services with mental health care providers.
Robert Colacino of the Van Zandt County Juvenile Department said although he is unhappy with the state funding levels; he realizes their options are limited. “We're making do — we've got to work with the cards we're dealt,” Colacino said of the budget cuts. One of the biggest effects on his department has been that they laid off a probation officer two years ago, and they have had to cut some hours in prevention and intervention programs.
The Tyler Police Department declined comment on the funding cuts, saying the reduction in funding juvenile programs did not affect what they do. Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham also declined comment on the state's funding cuts to juvenile mental health services. “Because of some currently pending juvenile cases, he did not think it would be appropriate to respond to the survey results,” Bingham said in a prepared statement.
The Texas Juvenile Justice Department staff recognizes the struggle the counties face in providing mental health services. The staff is recommending to the board that the agency submit an exceptional item request to the Legislative Budget Board to help fund mental health services for the counties throughout the state. “The amount we are seeking is $7.6 million for each year of the FY 2014-2015 biennium – a total of $15.2 million,” Jim Hurley, spokesman for the department said.
“If our board approves this exceptional item request, this will help juvenile probation departments provide mental health services to juveniles under their jurisdiction, with special focus on the more than 12,000 mentally ill juveniles held in secure pre- and post-adjudication facilities each year,” Hurley said.
Ms. Maynard, who works on the front lines every day of the juvenile justice system, said it's much more cost effective to treat youth for mental health issues so they can receive their education and become productive citizens in society. She describes herself as a fiscal conservative.
“Until the juveniles get the help they need, they will continue to be incarcerated for things they are not responsible for,” she said of the necessity for mental health treatment.
Erin Yohn, of Gregg County, said their juvenile services department would like to be able to hire an in-house counselor instead of contracting for services with mental health care providers.
Robert Colacino of the Van Zandt County Juvenile Department said although he is unhappy with the state funding levels; he realizes their options are limited. “We're making do — we've got to work with the cards we're dealt,” Colacino said of the budget cuts. One of the biggest effects on his department has been that they laid off a probation officer two years ago, and they have had to cut some hours in prevention and intervention programs.
The Tyler Police Department declined comment on the funding cuts, saying the reduction in funding juvenile programs did not affect what they do. Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham also declined comment on the state's funding cuts to juvenile mental health services. “Because of some currently pending juvenile cases, he did not think it would be appropriate to respond to the survey results,” Bingham said in a prepared statement.
The Texas Juvenile Justice Department staff recognizes the struggle the counties face in providing mental health services. The staff is recommending to the board that the agency submit an exceptional item request to the Legislative Budget Board to help fund mental health services for the counties throughout the state. “The amount we are seeking is $7.6 million for each year of the FY 2014-2015 biennium – a total of $15.2 million,” Jim Hurley, spokesman for the department said.
“If our board approves this exceptional item request, this will help juvenile probation departments provide mental health services to juveniles under their jurisdiction, with special focus on the more than 12,000 mentally ill juveniles held in secure pre- and post-adjudication facilities each year,” Hurley said.
Ms. Maynard, who works on the front lines every day of the juvenile justice system, said it's much more cost effective to treat youth for mental health issues so they can receive their education and become productive citizens in society. She describes herself as a fiscal conservative.
“Until the juveniles get the help they need, they will continue to be incarcerated for things they are not responsible for,” she said of the necessity for mental health treatment.
