In touch with the world ... at home on the High Plains

Texas Considers Closing Juvenile Prisons

Larry D. Moore

The State of Texas may soon close some of its state-run juvenile prisons, reports The Houston Chronicle.

The juvenile prisons have been the focus of controversy in recent months, and the newly installed executive director of the beleaguered Texas Juvenile Justice Department hopes to change that image.

Camille Cain said the ultimate goal is to create “smaller facilities, closer to home for as many kids” as possible.

The Texas juvenile system is still recovering from an ongoing sex abuse scandal that broke last year. Several Texas corrections officers have been accused of having sex with teenaged inmates.

Meanwhile, the juvenile prisons continue to be plagued by staffing shortages and oversight questions. The state's five mostly rural juvenile facilities currently contain roughly 1,000 kids. This new move could mean the end of prison-style lockups for adolescents in Texas.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  1. Family of dead Texas prison guard protests lack of transparency
  2. Texas prison system uses open records laws to obscure information in assault case
  3. Mother of dead Texas prison guard wants to know how and why her son died
  4. A prison beating by guards reflects staffing and training issue, something Texas denies
  5. Texas’ top criminal court halts William Speer’s execution hours before he was scheduled to die