Juvenile justice system struggles with reform

Lone Star Justice Alliance advocates for change

By Alexandra Dassopoulos | Staff Writer

Though news outlets recently have shed light on criminal justice reform, they have not highlighted the juvenile justice system nearly as much. On Nov. 10, Texas state lawmakers announced an agreement to modify the Juvenile Justice Department. But what brought about this agreement and what changes should be made to improve the broken juvenile justice system?

In November, Elizabeth Henneke, a juvenile justice advocate, spoke to a Dallas group of about 30 people to spread awareness about reform.

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department “has had the highest injury frequency rate among all reporting entities over the last decade,” according to the State Office of Risk Management.

The Sunset Advisory Commission of the state legislature has reported a 71% turnover rate for juvenile correctional officers. The committee also reported a 35% increase in suicide assessments and a 19% increase in aggressive behaviors following lockdowns at juvenile facilities in fall 2021.

One organization working to reconstruct the failed system is Lone Star Justice Alliance. Henneke founded Lone Star in 2017 to advocate for a justice system that uses appropriate responses for youth, combined with equitable and fair practices. Its stated goal is to provide real justice, combat juvenile re-offending and promote recovery in the juvenile justice system, ending the mistreatment of those in the system.

Henneke, whose father was a juvenile correctional officer in Huntsville, was inspired to start her nonprofit based on experiences during her own childhood. Every summer, at the jail where her father worked, she spent time with female inmates in the kitchen.

“I would hear their stories of how poverty and trauma had combined to lead them into the situations that had led to their convictions,” Henneke said. “I started to be really concerned that we were just cycling people in and out of those doors and not really doing anything to address the underlying condition.”

Striving to reform all aspects of the juvenile justice system, Henneke’s non-profit works in three program areas: Just Sentencing includes the representation of juveniles in court; the Reimagine Justice Institute creates policy change; and Transformative Justice pilots alternative sentencing methods.

Henneke said the pandemic worsened conditions exponentially, with staffing shortages and a high turnover rate. Because of a lack of staff to monitor the youth, detention centers implemented lockdowns,