WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice said kids in state custody at all five Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities have been frequently subjected to excessive force, sexual abuse and other civil rights violations.
The violations were announced Thursday by U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General of Civil Rights Kristen Clarke.
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“TJJD engaged in a 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 DOJ investigation was conducted with the cooperation of all Texas Districts of the U.S. Attorney General Offices. Other state officials concluded that systemic violations permeated all five of the TJJD’s secure facilities:
- Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex in Brownwood
- Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg
- Gainesville State School in Gainesville
- Giddings State School in Giddings
- McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility in Mart
Clarke said the U.S. Attorney General’s Office’s investigation was launched in Oct. 2021 after it received a complaint from two advocacy groups describing troubling conditions inside those facilities.
The DOJ, in turn, began taking a closer look at news reports on the facilities. Clarke said the investigation specified incidents of excessive force including physical force against kids as well as being pepper sprayed.
Clarke also said that there were children punished with isolation for days, even weeks at a time. Clarke said the children were locked in their cells and denied programming and education.
With the insight of clinicians, the report concluded that isolation was linked to an increase in the children’s depression, anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations and suicide.
Clarke said the majority of the kids sent to the juvenile facilities and subjected to having their rights violated are minorities.
“Around 80 percent of TJJD’s secure facilities include children who are Black or Latinx,” Clarke said. “This is a racial justice issue.”
The five TJJD facilities became front and center on the DOJ’s radar. Clarke said they are now looking to work with the State of Texas to come to an agreement on how they will work together to address the civil rights violations.
She said the state’s cooperation with the U.S. Attorney General’s Office can turn things around and improve the outcomes for children at these facilities.
TJJD responded to the DOJ report by releasing the following statement:
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.