Twitter helps keep us safe

A man in Oklahoma was arrested in connection to making threats via Twitter.  The social network allows users to update personal and business statuses in real time.  Daniel Hayden, 52, was taken into custody by the FBI after posting several alarming messages indicating he would commit violence against local and federal government agencies.

Twitter has been a hot topic in the news lately.  Some see Twitter as a beneficial advanced way to communicate instantly to a relevant large community, while others suggest that perhaps such an bombardment of personal information leaves users vulnerable to identify thief and privacy issues in regards to personal safety.

The arrest of this individual argues on the side of beneficial.  It was because of this man’s frequent posts that athorities were alerted to his potential violence.

Mr. President, one question….

Ex-felons often re-offend out of frustration because of social stigma that allows potential employers to refuse employment because of any type of criminal history.  What can your administration do to help find a solution agreeable to all?

Youth found Dead in Cell

A youth detained at Crockett State School, a Texas Youth Commission facility located in East Texas, was found hanged in his cell last week.

On March 16, at about 2am, a TYC staff member found the 14-year old after he had strangled himself with his underwear.  Efforts were made to revive the youth and he was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.  Authorities did not disclose the youth’s information or the circumstances surrounding his death pending ongoing internal investigation into the case. 

The incident comes at a time when state legislation is calling for drastic budget cuts for the troubled agency.

This was the first suicide since the 2006 death of a young man confined at the now defunct Coke County Juvenile Center in Bronte, Texas.

Shoestring Quaility Management

Cutting of the proposed TYC budget will affect the quality of the staff hired, and the performance of the services rendered to youth.  Competitive pay is a must for these specialized staff.  If the State wants the agency to perform to the highest standard, it must be willing to pay for it.  Competitive pay ensures that employees feel appreciated and in turn perform better.

Without the previous increase in budget stemming from the mandated reforms, TYC would have not been able to establish an Ombudsman office, and would not have been able to identify and rectify problems with underperforming detention centers.  The closing of The Coke County Juvenile Justice Center in October of 2007 demonstrated the necessity for well educated and well paid employees.  The facility was shut down immediately after an unannounced audit and youth were immediately sent to other facilities without a moment of hesitation concerning the agency’s finances.  The youth came first.  These types of administrative employees are in that number that lawmakers seek to reduce. 

youth bunks without clean sheets

Dirty shower with backed up plumbing in the drain

A filthy toilet and sink

A light fixture with smeared feces and dead bugs

 

 

 

I was once a resident of Coke County Juvenile Justice Center when it was an all girls facility.  I hope that lawmakers will have the same courage to put the welfare and rehabilitation of all the young people in the care of the Texas Youth Commission first.

 

  

 

Keep up the great work for less money!

As Will Harrell,Texas Youth Commission’s new Ombudsman, highlighted positive changes in the agency’s policies and procedures last week, lawmakers in Austin were working to drastically reduce TYC’s two year budget.

Lawmakers argue that since the agency has reduced the number of youth by half, the number of staff should also be reduced.  Projected numbers for the next two years per year are 2,300 youths and 4,000 employees, which is a significant drop from 2007 when there were 4,100 youth and 4,600 employees.  In the wake of recent abuse scandals, State legislation mandated that the agency have a ratio of 12 youth to 1 staff member.   In order to meet this, the agency must have at least 200 employees.  This is assuming these 200 employees are security staff who directly supervise the youth.  That would leave 3,800 other employees of TYC who lawmakers are deeming unnecessary.  These employees are the specialized staff such as case managers, teachers, medical staff, maintenance workers and administration.

The cost of incarcerating youth compared to an adult is much higher because of the rehabilitative and educational programs provided.  These services require more staff than the basic 12 to 1 security ratio.

Pennsylvania Judges Sell Children for 2.6 million

 

Two judges plead guilty last week in Pennsylvania for receiving kickbacks in the amount of $2.6 million for sentencing juveniles to privately owned detention centers in an effort to increase the head count at those facilities.  The majority of juveniles appearing before the judges were convicted of minor offenses but received lengthy sentences not appropriate for those convictions.

 

The Texas Youth Commission is no stranger to private prison scandals itself.  The closing of the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center owed by Wackenhut, now known as the GEO Company, highlighted problems with privately owned facililies that house young offenders.

Poor Counties, Few Resources

 

Texas Youth Commission Ombudsman, Will Harrell, recently responded to a recent article in the Houston Chronicle concerning the limited treatment options for confines of the Texas Youth Commission who suffer with mental health issues.  Harrell reiterates that TYC has made great improvements and that it is out of the agency’s hands the number of children entering TYC with these conditions.  He goes on to point out that the rise in number regarding mental health is largely because poorer counties have few, if any, interventions and or services for these youth and have no other choice but to send them to TYC.

 

The Texas Youth Commission is not designed primarily for youths suffering from severe mental illness.  It is a correctional/rehabilitation institution for minors who have committed criminal offensives and who need moderate behavioral modification.

TYC suffers with mental health problems

The Texas Youth Commission continues to have deficiencies that hinder the agency from adequately caring for the youth it detains.  Although TYC has made great strides in the past year to resolve issues of abuse and neglect of youth by staff, more than half of the children who are diagnosed with mental health disorders are not able to receive the intensive treatment and supervision they need.  TYC operates only one mental health facility located in  Corsicana with a bed capacity of 200.  Will Harrell, TYC ombudsman and previous head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, spoke at the 22nd Annual Juvenile Law Conference in Houston last week about this problem.  Harrell estimates that up to 40% of the TYC youth population has mental health issues.  In 2008, the Texas Youth Commission youth population totaled 1582.  Forty percent or about 630 of those children according to Harrell suffer with mental health issues, yet only 200 are able to benefit from the services provided at the facility in Corsicana.

My father called me a Socialist

When I told my deeply devout Republican father that I thought that the idea of bank nationalization didn’t sound so bad, he unleashed a fury of obscenities that included dirty words like radical liberalism, and communism.  “This is the problem now, they want to twist your thinking, and bring our county into socialism.  They want to control everything.  I don’t want the federal government telling me how to manage my money, they don’t have the authority, they don’t have the right to tell us, the people, the states what to do.”  I considered reminding him that the federal government had won the Civil War and that yes they do kinda have a right, but judging from his reaction, I kept it to myself.

I am embarrassed to admit after all my education I can’t give a definition of Communism or Socialism.  I began investigating.  I chose to investigate not just because I was bemused by my father’s intensity but because the term is being thrown around so much I wondered if people really understood what it meant.

I found a great article I wanted to share that helped me.  There is a difference by the way, the two terms are not interchangeable.  

After reading this, I have a better understanding but I am now more confused about my father’s rant.  I don’t think anyone in the Democatic party, who I am assuming is who he meant by “they” , wants the federal government to wash away individuality and control ever facet of life down to the price of bread.   I think Democrats,including our president, want to make sure everyone at least has a chance of being as successful as other people who are born into better circumstances. 

There is a sense of paranoia about this idea of conversion to socialism as evident in another article by the Christian Science Monitor.  There is a subtle suspicion, that as my father said, we are being pushed towards socialism.  I don’t know how to make that connection.

I don’t know how that got there…

A beloved teacher is unfairly picked on for her innocent baggie of prescription drugs.

 

 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/arts/gray/6237623.html

 

It is the responsibility of a citizen to know and understand the law.  Texas law mandates that any controlled substance must be kept in a labeled container at all times.  The excuse that her other family members use her car is completely null and void.  In the eyes of the state, her car, her Xanax.

 

I am interested to know the ethnicity of this woman.  My concern is that if this story was about a minority teacher, no matter how beloved, and who worked at a lower performing school, would there be such a sympathetic tone to this story?  Would the story have even been written?

 

There appears to be a lack of responsibility on the part of this teacher, not on the school district or the police.