Texas Youth Commission Caucus
. . . . . . . . . TSEU Organizer contact: Seth Hutchinson

TYC OVERVIEW: 81st Legislature

All TYC field staff will get 7% raise - Central office staff will get $800 bonus
All field staff in institutions, halfway houses and district offices, except for teachers, will receive a 3.5% raise in September and another 3.5% raise in September of 2010. TSEU fought hard for this raise to include EVERY state employee; TYC was only one of few agencies to receive any pay raise at all. Teachers will recieve a pay raise depending on their local school districts.

20-year LECOSRF Retirement bill dies in committee
TSEU’s bill, sponsored by Rep. Dora Olivo, to include TYC JCO’s and Case Managers in the 20-year Law Enforcement and Correctional Officers Special Retirement Fund didn’t make it out of committee for a vote. This was because of a state law making it impossible for ERS to expand benefits for any group of employees while it is not actuarially sound. Currently, ERS needs an additional $400 million. TSEU will not give up on this bill and will continue to push for passage in the next legislative session.

Legislature cuts TYC staff, gives Pyote and Vernon one more year
While cutting TYC’s overall budget and staffing levels by 500 FTE’s over the next two years, the legislature provided full funding for Vernon Victory Field and the West Texas State School until September of 2010. The legislature increased funding for the Juvenile Probation Commission to expand county run pilot programs in Dallas and Travis County. Their plan is to divert more delinquent youth from TYC by keeping them in community programs. Pyote and Vernon need to stay open past the September 2010 deadline for the following reasons:

Vernon Victory Field and the West Texas State School have dedicated, qualified staff
TYC facilities around the state are struggling to fill vacant JCO and Case Manager positions as injury and turnover rates remain very high. Maintaining the 12:1 JCO to youth ratio mandated by the legislature has meant forced overtime and 12-hour shifts for many staff. Eliminating experienced staff at a time when there are too few already doesn’t make sense.
The pilot programs need time to work
The pilot programs funded by the legislature through the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission are meant to divert youth from TYC over time. However, they won’t succeed overnight and in the meantime Texas’ delinquent youth will still be in need of placement in a secure, rehabilitation facility. Setting an arbitrary deadline for these pilot programs to succeed could be setting them up for failure.
The Vernon & Pyote facilities are the only ones in West Texas
Eliminating these institutions means that the only TYC facility West of the I-35 corridor will be in Brownwood. According to agency data, 149 youth have been committed to TYC from the West Texas region so far this fiscal year. Without Pyote and Vernon, relatives of committed youth from El Paso, Lubbock, or Amarillo would have to drive anywhere from 5-7 hours one-way to see their family member. With TYC’s new rehabilitation program Connextions, family involvement is critical in helping reduce recidivism. This geographic obstacle will seriously hurt that effort.