By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications When Tanya Rosas worked as an activities director for a nursing home in Marlin, she recruited volunteers of all ages to help engage the residents. When she moved to the Texas Youth Commission as a volunteer …
The TJJD community lost a beloved, tenured employee last week when Marcus Jerome Smith, a Youth Development Coach at the McLennan County campus, in Mart, passed away Jan. 10 after being hospitalized with complications from COVID-19. Smith, 48, was a native …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications Dennis Smith, a steady, compassionate leader at Giddings State School for more than two decades, retired last week as principal at Lone Star High School at Giddings. Smith, who worked as a math teacher before …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications You notice first the Stetson, then the colorful suit, the bow tie and smooth dress shoes. The man so carefully attired is standing in military erectness at the center of a cluster of young people. The teens are …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications They aspire to be barbers, oil field technicians and game wardens. Some want jobs to help them pay their way through college. Some want to begin careers right away and have visions of owning a landscaping or auto …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications At TJJD, you probably know General Counsel Christian von Wupperfeld as the attentive leader of the legal department and top advisor to the agency’s executives and oversight board. But von Wupperfeld has another …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications Like every other veteran employee at the Ron Jackson State Correctional Complex, in Brownwood, Daniel Nix must have walked past the stage in the campus gym a thousand times. The brick-bordered proscenium facing the …
By TJJD Communications Over the past two years, the world has been focused on the coronavirus. But that other “Big C” continues to afflict Americans in large numbers even as we fight a pandemic. Cancer is the second leading cause of death of adults in the …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications TJJD is expanding its therapeutic program by providing training for selected mental health professionals in an approach known as the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. NMT, as it’s called, is an internationally …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications After working several years in case management at TJJD’s Ron Jackson campus, Sheri Coutee knew that many of the youth had multiple needs. They needed educational help and behavioral therapies and, in some cases, …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications After working several years in case management at TJJD’s Ron Jackson campus, Sheri Coutee knew that many of the youth had multiple needs. They needed educational help and behavioral therapies and, in some cases, …
In 2015, Dallas Chef Chad Houser opened Café Momentum, an upscale restaurant unlike any other in Dallas or anywhere. It was completely staffed by teens coming out of juvenile detention in Dallas County. Customers were amazed by the cuisine and the culinary …
In 2015, Dallas Chef Chad Houser opened Café Momentum, an upscale restaurant unlike any other in Dallas or anywhere. It was completely staffed by teens coming out of juvenile detention in Dallas County. Customers were amazed by the cuisine and the culinary …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications TJJD is expanding its therapeutic program by providing training for selected mental health professionals in an approach known as the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. NMT, as it’s called, is an internationally …
TJJD Staff Report Boys at Tamayo House put some good karma in the bank last week when they put their heads and hands together to help two dogs out of a fix. “We were in the back of the house playing basketball, when we all began to hear crying and …
By Brian Sweany, TJJD Communications Director The list of women serving with distinction in state government is long and impressive—from executive directors of agencies to entry-level staff members looking to make their own mark serving the people of Texas …
By Brian Sweany, TJJD Communications Director The list of women serving with distinction in state government is long and impressive—from executive directors of agencies to entry-level staff members looking to make their own mark serving the people of Texas …
By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications A split second, even a minute, can make such a difference in life. Did you make the right split-second decision? Are you able to slow down in the heat of the moment and consider the big picture? Can you envision the …
Patty Garza, Community and Family Resource Coordinator, South District Human Services Specialist Stephanie Trujillo Ramirez, fondly known at Ayres House as Ms. TR, keeps constant lookout for ways to help the youth prepare for the working world. With COVID …
By Y. Denise Caldwell, Community Resource Coordinator, Northern District Blossoms abound at Willoughby House since the students, led by volunteer Cassie Green, spruced up the flowerbeds in front of the house and in the backyard. According to Green, they …
