AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation called for reforms to Texas’ Juvenile Justice system following reports of systemic problems that continue to plague detention centers.
“The state-run youth lockups in Texas are not working,” said Haley Holik, an attorney with TPPF’s Center for Effective Justice. “While secure confinement for youths is still a necessary component of the juvenile justice system, it’s time for Texas to move away from large, remotely-located facilities towards a smaller, community-based model that fosters family connections and involvement.”
Holik described the benefits of moving to a more community-based model.
“The majority of youthful offenders in state-run facilities are high-risk, high-need and benefit from structured rehabilitative programming. As such, a closer-to-home model is better suited to meet their needs. Smaller facilities help to ensure that no child dissolves into a large, mismanaged system, while offering better opportunities for educational and vocational development in a safe environment. Smaller facilities mean better outcomes for children, safer communities, and smarter spending.”
For more information or to request an interview, please contact Alicia Pierce at[email protected] or 512-472-2700.
Haley Holik is an attorney with the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit free-market research institute based in Austin. The Texas Public Policy Foundation aims to advance a societal framework that effectively fosters human flourishing based upon cooperation and mutually beneficial exchange of ideas and speech.
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