CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Earlier this month, the Texas Tribune reported that the Texas Juvenile Justice system is in bad shape and in need of immediate reform.
Similar to teachers, juvenile supervision officers are responsible for overseeing multiple youths at a time. However, their jobs focus on youth who are being processed through the juvenile justice system, which can create its own share of hurdles and obstacles for employee retention.
In a previous report, 3NEWS spoke with Homer Flores, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer for Nueces County. Flores said that employee retention is a key issue in his department.
"We're having problems recruiting, hiring, and retaining staff," Flores said.
For Nueces County, a full-time juvenile supervision officer for the post-adjudication department makes $15.52 an hour, which equals some $31,040 annually. The application lists multiple responsibilities and certifications/licenses that officers must meet or acquire within 30 days to six months of employment.
Desiree Taylor was a former juvenile supervision officer who said there were many challenges that came with the job. For one, she would often have to file large amounts of paperwork after conducting a restraint on a juvenile, which sometimes could take hours at the end of her already long shift.
“Most of the time, paperwork is done at the end of the shift, which means that instead of me getting home in enough time to get my kids ready for school, or pick them up from wherever they are in the morning, I'm staying an extra hour just doing paperwork," Taylor said. "It messes up the whole schedule.”
Being a mother herself, Taylor had to juggle the responsibilities of supporting her own family of three as well as the troubled youth she had to supervise at work in the midst of a global pandemic.
"We don't get breaks like every other job, we eat when the kids eat," Taylor said.
Even though Taylor understood the responsibilities of her job, the inconsistency made it difficult for her to properly schedule other familial obligations.
"From a staffing point of view, it was almost like I had no control over how long and how often I worked. I signed on with this schedule and toward the end of me working there, my schedule was completely different," Taylor said.
"Yes, they would give me somewhat proper notice before I switched from days to nights, but not when I'm going to be having to work seven days straight with no days off."
The pay for juvenile supervision officers varies across the state, with Corpus Christi sitting on the lower end of the spectrum. Here is a list of salaries for some other full-time juvenile officer positions around the state, according to governmentjobs.com:
- Midland: $44,294.76 Annually
- Lubbock: $33,176.00 Annually
- San Marcos: $36,164.04 - $54,245.52 Annually
- Galveston: $35,705.00 Annually
- Texas City: $35,705.00 Annually
- Denton: $39,915.00 Annually
Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales said that the work juvenile supervision officers perform can be draining and making sure they're compensated accordingly is an issue the County has struggled with for a long time across multiple departments.
"There's no doubt that we all recognize, when we did the group compensation study over a year-and-a-half ago, that countywide we had historical neglect in our salary increases," Canales said. "And so it's not one department. It's all departments."
Flores said the department is meeting the required ratio of staff to residents; but in order to meet that required ratio, they've had to pull from other departments, like probation staff who work in the field.
"We've had to use them in order to cover supervision ratios, supervision ratios in the institutions," Flores said.
According to Judge Canales, the problem of retention extends well beyond Nueces County with staff shortages being present on a state level. Canales said the position needs adequate pay to better accommodate the workers who sacrifice a lot of their time.
"Across the state of Texas, there is a shortage of juvenile officers. So, you're right to note it is a hard job. It's an important job, and it's a calling that no doubt needs to be compensated," Canales said.
Due to the nature of the job, juvenile supervision officers can be in charge of multiple youths, often making it difficult to make sure each youth receives adequate attention.
3NEWS spoke to another former juvenile supervision officer who wanted to remain anonymous. They shared that, for them, the job was nothing short of a calling. However, while their working conditions were standard, a core issue lied in the treatment of the juveniles.
“They just want respect, and inside that facility, depending on the JSO, they didn't get it,” said the former officer.
The former officer detailed how, due to rules and regulations, officers were not able to physically touch the juveniles, which in some cases may cause more harm than good.
“You can't put your hands on them. You can't give them a hug when you know they need one. You can't do that. You can't help the girls, put their hair in a ponytail. You can't do none of that,” the former officer said.
The officer said she wanted nothing more than to help those she supervised, but some of those rules and regulations made it difficult to feel like she was making a difference.
Canales said that preventative action can play a large role in helping juveniles in Nueces County. She added that there are plans in place to try and deter youth from entering the system and getting the assistance they need.
"I can also tell you that because of the crisis care center we just approved in court on Friday, we think that there can be an adolescent component to that crisis care center," Canales said. "So, before (an) arrest even occurs there might be ways we can assist our juveniles by not sending so many and overloading the system, but by addressing their very needs."
On Friday, Aug. 5, Nueces County Commissioners approved funding to create a Mental Health Restoration Program through the use of the American Rescue Plan Act, according to a press release from the City.
"American Rescue Plan Act funds totaling $5 million will be used to fund infrastructure for jail diversion, with $4 million going to crisis care and sobriety and $1 million going to transitional recovery housing with the goal to get people the help they need rather than ending up in jail," Xavier Gonzalez, Director of Nueces County Mental Health Programs said.
Canales added that the center will also bring new jobs to the county, and will help bridge that economic gap in pay that she and county leaders are trying to address.
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