AUSTIN, Texas — Texas youth prisons were placed under lockdown procedures last week after a youth seriously assaulted a correctional officer at the Gainesville State Juvenile Correctional Facility and another assault occurred at a halfway house, Texas Juvenile Justice Department Executive Director Shandra Carter told agency board members Friday.
Carter said the Gainesville assault left a female juvenile correctional officer hospitalized. The officer, identified as JCO Hernandez, has since been discharged.
The youth involved had been at the facility for about two weeks after violating probation for stealing his mother’s gun. Carter said his record did not indicate that he posed a high risk of violence.
The youth was transferred to a maximum-security unit in Mart, near Waco, where he will remain, Carter said.
The TJJD imposed “lockdown, shutdown and slowdown” procedures separately at dorms across its five secure facilities. Carter said staff evaluate each dorm several times a day, and she must approve moves between the three levels.
An Aug. 14 email sent to families said the lockdown suspended in-person and virtual visitation as well as personal-property deliveries at all five facilities. Youth could still receive phone calls according to their dorm schedules.
Carter described the measures as an operational assessment intended to strengthen safety and correctional practices.
However, Elizabeth Henneke, founder and CEO of the Lone Star Justice Alliance, said parents had reported strict restrictions during the lockdown. One mother told her that her son was allowed out of his cell for only 30 minutes a day, while a staff member at the Giddings facility reported that youth were allowed out only while shackled and handcuffed for bathroom breaks.
Henneke said both sources feared retaliation and declined to be identified. TJJD has not responded to questions seeking confirmation of those accounts.
A 2023 Sunset Advisory Commission report said TJJD lockdowns can require youth to remain in individual rooms except for basic needs when backup staff are available. The report said bathroom waits during previous lockdowns sometimes lasted more than three hours.
The current lockdown comes after years of scrutiny of conditions in Texas youth prisons. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice found that TJJD exposed children to excessive force, prolonged isolation and sexual abuse at five facilities, violating their constitutional rights.
TJJD has also imposed statewide lockdowns in the past because of staffing shortages.
Manny Ramirez, chair of the TJJD board and a Tarrant County commissioner, said youth in the state juvenile justice system and county detention facilities appear to be becoming more violent and aggressive.
Youth justice advocates, however, said prolonged lockdowns could create additional problems.
Brett Merfish, director of youth justice at Texas Appleseed, said the restrictions come amid concerns about youth mental health and staffing. A Texas Appleseed report released this month found an increase in suicide risk assessments among youth in TJJD facilities over the past three years and reported continued losses of experienced juvenile correctional officers.
“All of these things kind of combine to create an environment that is not ideal for youth,” Merfish said.