AUSTIN (KXAN) — The federal government is calling on Texas to make changes or face consequences over how it treats children in state custody. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a scathing report Thursday morning accusing Texas of having unconstitutional conditions at five of its state-run youth facilities.
During a virtual news conference, federal prosecutors said they concluded an investigation that began in October 2021 into a handful of Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) facilities. The facilities in question are the Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg, the Gainesville State School in Gainesville, the Giddings State School in Giddings, the McClennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility in Mart and Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex in Brownwood.
Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s civil rights division, said the state did not uphold its promise to provide treatment and rehabilitation to the children committed to its facilities.
“Children are committed to TJJD facilities to receive treatment and rehabilitation so that they may return to their communities as law-abiding, productive citizens,” Clarke said Thursday. “Our investigation provides reasonable cause to believe that far from achieving those objectives, TJJD engaged in pattern of abuse, deprivation of essential services and disability-related discrimination that seriously harms children and undermines their rehabilitation, all in violation of their rights under the Constitution, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Clarke said the report details abuse that kids faced while in custody at these five TJJD facilities. That included staff members using excessive force, like pepper spraying children in the face. One example in the report details how in July 2022 investigators said a worker at the Giddings State School pepper sprayed a child directly in the face for “slamming the washing machine door.”
Federal prosecutors also said the agency subjected kids to “prolonged periods in isolation” in their cells, alleging that those lasted at times from 17 to 22 hours a day. The report also identified a “persistent pattern of sexual abuse” at these facilities, often perpetrated by workers.
A spokesperson for TJJD issued a statement Thursday afternoon in reaction to the DOJ’s findings about the facilities’ conditions.
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
The investigation further alleged that kids in TJJD custody did not receive the appropriate mental health treatment or special education services they needed.
“Texans know that our children are our future, and together I’m confident that we can implement practices that results in a better rehabilitative environment at TJJD and ensure a pathway for children in their care to grow, heal and reach their full potential as productive adults in our communities,” Leigha Simonton, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said.
Much of what the DOJ found is nothing new to many state lawmakers as well as advocates like Texas Appleseed. It was one of the two groups, along with Disability Rights Texas, that filed a complaint asking for the feds’ help looking into violations in 2020.
Brett Merfish, the director of youth justice at Texas Appleseed, said Thursday, “I think that we’ve sort of kicked the can down the road with our juvenile justice legislative solutions, and so my hope is that this is a wake-up call that we really need a system change and that what we’re doing isn’t working.”
Clarke said the DOJ met with Texas leaders Thursday and presented them with the report, which also offered reforms for the state to work toward implementing. Federal prosecutors said those proposed changes include requiring staff to do verbal de-escalation instead of using force, training staff on restraint techniques, prohibiting isolation as a use of punishment and resulting to isolation only to kids who are a serious, imminent threat.
The statement TJJD shared Thursday made no mention about some of the reforms suggested by the federal government’s report. However, the agency wrote, “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.”
Around that time two years ago, the state did report employee turnover at facilities as high as approximately 70% and that not having enough staff led to teens spending up to 23 hours in their cells. TJJD said over the last two years, though, it’s taken steps to increase safety at their campuses.
That includes things like salary bumps of 20% for some employees, hiring more mental health professionals, improving training and adding a new rehabilitative project that TJJD said is already reducing disruptions and self-harm incidents.
The DOJ did conclude its report by warning Texas it may face a lawsuit if it does not work within the next 49 days to start addressing issues the feds identified.