08/21/2026
Today's board meeting covered the continued work to strengthen operational safety, youth and staff accountability, and rehabilitation practices across the agency.
Director Shandra Carter updated the board and the public regarding the recent brutal staff assaults we have been seeing due to a rise in acuity and violence of youth and the response we are taking as an agency. Before we provide the necessary details, let us be clear that staff and youth safety is the number one priority of the agency. Everyone working and living in our facilities has the right to a physically and psychologically safe environment and that is what we strive for everyday. For effective rehabilitation and treatment to take place, safety first must be established.
With that being said, we want to address the reports of lockdown procedures taking place across our five secure correctional facilities. The lockdown, shut down, and slow down procedures currently being implemented across TJJD secure facilities is a deliberate and coordinated safety reset and operational assessment, taking place to ensure the safety of all youth and staff. This is not punishment, nor is it intended to simply restrict youth movement. This is about safe correctional practices.
This coordinated reset is happening on a dorm by dorm basis, with 80% of dorms already out of lockdown and into less restrictive programming after showing their adherence and understanding of core correctional practices and safety protocols. Executive Director Carter and agency leaders are all monitoring this progress closely to bring individual dorms out of these procedures as it is proven safe to do so, within the clear directives that define the requirements to reduce these protocols.
Throughout this process, we want to be unequivocally clear that youth rights are not being violated. We are closely working with OIG, the independent ombudsman, and teams across the state to ensure youth and staff are safe and well. Phone calls are being offered, visitation is resuming this weekend, and during these restrictions youth are still receiving proper hygiene and shower routines, DBT and Behavioral groups, recreation, and medical care based on their individualized needs.
Lastly, in todays meeting we touched on the continued priority to focus on staff wellness. This career is difficult and these recent incidents have impacted staff in every part of the agency. We thank TDCJ for their steadfast partnership and offering their chaplains services to our facilities and to our wellness team for being incredible resources for staff. Director Carter visited Gainesville this week to hold a townhall to debrief the incident and lockdown procedures; we are continuing to visit facilities to observe these procedures and ensure we are resetting operationally in a way that properly reflects our values and pillars.
In addition to the above updates, Director Carter spoke about the great things that are still taking place at TJJD despite the recent incidents. We are moving forward with the two new secure facilities, with groundbreakings planned for early October. We were honored to celebrate Scott Friedman at the board meeting for his 33 years of service and upcoming retirement from TJJD. His career-long dedication to youth in the system is truly remarkable and we thank him for his service. Lastly, we reflected on ACA accreditation work which is going smoothly, and our continued success in being recognized as one of the leading agencies in the nation for the work being done in juvenile justice.
We thank the board, our staff, and partners for their continued support and dedication as we continue to strive to keep youth, staff, and communities safe. This industry requires much out of the professionals who do this work and we cannot do it properly without safety, accountability, and transparency. We continue to rely on the teamliness and integrity of our staff to be excellent and grow everyday so we can properly serve youth and meet our mission space.
Any questions about current operations and facility procedures can be routed to our [email protected] email to be addressed. Questions will not be answered via comments or direct messages.
