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Texas
NJJN Member
Juvenile Justice Initiative, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
510 S. Congress, Suite 206
Austin TX, 78704
Phone: 512-441-8123
Fax: 512-441-4884
Home Page: Go
Isela Gutiérrez
Phone: 512-441-8123 x111
Email: IGutierrez@criminaljusticecoalition.org
NJJN Member
Texas Coalition Advocating Justice for Juveniles
P.O. Box 6237
Austin TX, 78762
Phone: 512-472-9921
Fax:
Home Page: Go
Susana Almanza
Email: poder@austin.rr.com
Erika Gonzalez
Organization Profile
Founded in 2004, the Texas Coalition Advocating Justice for Juveniles (TCAJJ) is a statewide network of community- and faith-based organizations, juvenile justice experts, youth advocates, civil rights advocates, legislators, young people, and families leading the effort to rebuild the Texas juvenile justice system into a more effective and humane rehabilitative system for our youth. Over the last decade, Texas has seen a steady increase in and high racial disparity among youth committed to TYC, abusive conditions of confinement, and a lack of community-based alternatives to incarceration – revealing a broken system.
Current TCAJJ efforts are focused on reform of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), the least effective, most costly aspect of the state juvenile justice system, which currently houses approximately 4,300 youth. TYC is responsible for rehabilitation of Texas’ most serious and chronic juvenile offenders, yet 64% of youth incarcerated at TYC are non-violent offenders. With reports of youth abuse, staff assaults, and annual employee turnover as high as 46%, it is clear that the current structure of TYC is not working for youth or taxpayers.
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Approximately 2/3 of males and ¾ of females in Chicago’s Juvenile Detention Facility meet the diagnostic criteria for one or more psychiatric disorder. [ more facts]
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