At the beginning of August, the U.S. Department of Justice released a report on its investigation of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, which found that children’s rights were being violated as a result of their being subjected to excessive force, harmful isolation, and sexual abuse.
The report further found that TJJD failed to provide adequate mental health care and appropriate special education and related services. The report also said the TJJD discriminated against children with disabilities.
The TJJD immediately responded to the report with a statement, which said in part:
“At TJJD we are continually working to improve our operations and services to the youth in our care and the communities of Texas we protect. We have a zero-tolerance policy toward abuse and neglect and have always fully rejected any abusive behaviors at our campuses.
“Thanks to the investment in TJJD by the 88th Texas Legislature and support from the Governor’s Office, we have already made several recent significant improvements in our staffing, mental health care and educational programs. TJJD worked closely with DOJ investigators during their site visits in 2022, the peak of the agency’s unprecedented staffing shortages. We provided extensive responsive material and appreciate the DOJ’s professionalism throughout this process.”
The Texas Newsroom reports that TJJD is now disputing the accuracy of the DOJ report. Here’s the start of the story:
The governing board of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department is disputing the accuracy of a report by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging widespread mental, physical and sexual abuse in the state’s youth facilities.
The board’s response has angered criminal justice reform advocates, who allege the state’s dismissiveness is a symptom of a decades-long problem that plagues children incarcerated in state facilities.
On Aug. 1, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division released its assessment of the five juvenile detention facilities in the state and found that “TJJD engaged in a pattern of abuse, deprivation of essential services and disability related discrimination that seriously harms children and undermines their rehabilitation,” said Kristen Clarke, the Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The report detailed how staffers at the agency used excessive physical force, including relying on chemical spray as a first resort in de-escalation. It also stated staffers kept some youths in solitary confinement for longer than necessary and ushered in “a pervasive atmosphere of sexual abuse, grooming, and lack of staff accountability and training at TJJD.”