8:00pm Update: Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes released the following statement about the coming closure of Ron Jackson Unit II.
“We are very disappointed to hear that Ron Jackson Unit II will close. The closure will affect many families that are an integral part of our community. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time of transition.
We hope consolidation of activities at Ron Jackson Unit I will minimize the impact (of lost jobs), and we are grateful that Unit I will remain.
We were told that if closures occurred, local governments would have an opportunity to acquire the facilities. So, we are optimistic that something positive may be salvaged out of an otherwise disappointing turn of events.”
4:30pm Update: TYC Executive Director Cherie Townsend made a statement this afternoon regarding the announced closures and the closing process. Her statement reads in part:
“Al Price, Crockett, and Ron Jackson II have been key partners in TYC for many years and have provided critical services to both the youth and the taxpayers of Texas. These facilities have many positive attributes, including strong community support, great volunteers, and dedicated employees. The selection of these facilities for closure and consolidation was based on analysis of all facilities in key areas, including physical plant, staffing and workforce availability, youth safety and security, treatment needs, educational services, culture and climate and youth outcomes. The final decisions also included an analysis of cost effectiveness.
The transition period for closure activities will begin immediately. This afternoon I will meet with facility superintendents and their management staff in a videoconference. We are also sending a support team for the next few days to each facility identified for closure. Weekly detailed planning sessions with each facility will begin on Monday afternoon and will continue through August. Specific action plans for each facility will be finalized during June. We anticipate that the transfer of the youth at the facilities to be closed will occur during July. The transfer of youth will be to other high and medium security facilities, based on their risk factors and treatment needs or to parole if they would have otherwise met release criteria. No releases will occur simply because of facility closure. Employment separations will occur at the end of July and final shut-down activities will occur in August. We will work to make this transition period as smooth as possible, and I ask each of you to do your part to ensure this effort is successful. All of these closures will be completed no later than August 31, 2011.
TYC will do everything within our abilities to assist the employees who will be leaving the agency. Representatives from the Texas Workforce Commission will be available to assist employees at locations where closures will occur. We will also take the steps that we have previously taken with facility closures to facilitate transfers to other state agencies and to obtain other benefits. I know each of us will do his or her best to help these employees who have done so much to help TYC and the youth we serve.
All of these decisions will have significant impacts on the youth we serve and on all our employees. There may be compromises in the regional placement of youth, disruptions in treatment, relocations of families, taking on additional workloads and/or unplanned retirements. Staff looked at many options and combinations of options, all of which were shared with the TYC Board. We will do everything possible to successfully implement these decisions while also working to minimize negative consequences that may impact youth and staff. Many people’s lives are affected by these decisions, and we have not taken that lightly.”
Officials with the Brownwood Economic Development Corporation report that 110 jobs will be affected by this closure in Brownwood.
Original Story: The Board of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) today announced that the agency will close three of its 10 secure institutions by August 31, 2011, following direction from the Texas Legislature. Those facilities are the Al Price State Juvenile Correctional Facility in Beaumont, the Crockett State School in Crockett, and the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex Unit II in Brownwood. The Board also announced the consolidation of operations at McLennan State Juvenile Correctional Facility Units I and II into one facility. These decisions will affect the placement of approximately 400 youth and 700 staff currently at those facilities. The Ron Jackson Unit I, which houses female students and larger of the two units, will remain open in Brownwood.
“This was an extremely difficult decision because each of our facilities, including dedicated staff and community volunteers, does an excellent job of rehabilitating youth,” said TYC Board Chairman Scott Fisher of Bedford. “Various factors require that these changes be made, and we will work to ensure these transitions are as seamless as possible in order to continue ensuring public safety and positive outcomes for the youth in our system.”
The Board cited the agency’s budget reduction of $116.9 million for the next biennium, along with a significantly reduced youth population, as key factors in the decision to close the facilities. An additional 50 positions in the agency’s central office, and 73 positions in the regional and parole offices will also be eliminated.
Prior to making these closure decisions, the Board and TYC staff conducted community meetings in all eight communities where TYC secure facilities are located. At these meetings, Board members heard from local officials, business leaders, community residents, and TYC employees and volunteers, who expressed their concerns about the proposed changes.
The Board’s decisions were based on detailed and lengthy reviews of key indicators relating to the expected need for future youth services and anticipated funding. A summary of the indicators considered by Board members can be found at: www.tyc.state.tx.us.
Youth transfers from facilities scheduled for closure will begin this month and be completed by the end of July. No releases to parole will occur simply because of facility closure. Staff at the affected facilities will be given opportunities to transfer to similar positions at other TYC facilities where job vacancies exist. Each remaining facility’s expansion capabilities were examined to ensure sufficient physical capacity and workforce availability to operate the facilities safely and ensure positive youth outcomes.
The focus of the agency now shifts to implementing these decisions and sustaining the many positive reforms and programmatic improvements that have been implemented the past four years.
