November 2022 | Vol. 1, Issue 2 |
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In This Issue
From the Directors
November
Awareness Month
HCJPD Org Chart
The Equity Team
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Division Updates
Administration
Human Resources
Budget & Operational
Support
Health Services
Education Services
Residential Services
Intake & Court
Services
Youth Development
& Diversion
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As fall arrives and reminds me of the Thanksgiving season, I can’t help but reflect on the things I’m most grateful for, and on the top of my list is the talented team of employees that make up this department. Thanks to your commitment, creativity, and high standards, juvenile justice professionals across the country are recognizing HCJPD as a model juvenile probation department.
We are defying the perception that we are part of a system that harms young people more than it helps them. We are proving that we afford system-involved young people opportunities to thrive.
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Henry Gonzales
Executive Director & Chief Juvenile Probation Officer
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Our focus on changing how we do things is building a system dedicated to improving the lives of the young people we work with. For these things, and for your willingness to go above and beyond to accomplish them, I thank you. This could not be possible without all of your efforts.
Everything that has already been accomplished goes to prove that we have the right people in place to make the right things happen. Just as we have made this a better system for those we work with, it’s time to make HCJPD a better place for those who are doing the work.
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We want to ensure we retain our great staff and attract others like them. While we work on ensuring deserving compensation for staff, your input is invaluable to come up with other ways to make this a better place. It is our priority to ensure HCJPD is a place where people want to work.
Finally, it’s time to get back to normal! Our General Staff Meeting & Awards Ceremony is back, (on Thursday, November 17th) followed by our long-time, much missed traditional Holiday Pancake Breakfast (on Friday, December 9th.)
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More details to follow. Until then, have a safe and happy fall season! |
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Back in September, I discussed our goal of conducting salary surveys for all HCJPD positions, including our plan to use the surveys to support department wide implementation of a more competitive salary structure.
The survey results are in, and as anticipated, they reveal our pay grades are below that of other probation departments similar to us in size and organizational structure.
Despite recent budget challenges, please know that your executive leadership team remains engaged in our effort to implement competitive salaries throughout the department.
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Dr. Diana Quintana
Assistant Executive Director
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Moving forward, we will continue to use the salary surveys in our ongoing work with the county on this endeavor. Take care, everyone. Have a safe and happy holiday season! |
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Thanksgiving Day · November 24th |
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Veterans Day, observed annually on November 11th, is a tribute to military veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Let’s remember all of the men and women who have served our country with honor and bravery.
Thank you for your service!
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November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly referred to, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people.
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National Runaway Prevention Month is spearheaded by the National Runaway Safeline with the support of the Family and Youth Services Bureau.
Each year, approximately 4.2 million young people experience homelessness in some form for a variety of reasons, leaving many young people without a safe place to stay.
Let’s take this time to learn more about how we can support our young people and help them navigate under unprecedented times.
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HCJPD Organizational Chart |
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Have you ever wondered how our department all fits together? If so, you're not alone!
The HCJPD Organizational Chart pictured here was created for new and existing employees to see how we are currently structured.
The eight Divisions that compose our agency are listed on the top with their units listed below.
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HCJPD Organizational Chart
Current - August 1, 2022
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Houston Astros · World Champs! |
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Congratulations Houston Astros! |
Congratulations to the Houston Astros on their 2022 World Series win!
HCJPD celebrates with our numerous staff who are Astros fans in their excitement and enthusiasm for our hometown team!
Gooooo, 'Stros!
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Legal Services & Public Affairs |
The Legal Services & Public Affairs SharePoint page has a whole new look! Click the image to the left to view the new page.
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The Programs and Contracts Database allows you to search for HCJPD vendors and their programs. |
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The Programs, Services, and Vendors Feedback Form is place where you can provide feedback about HCJPD vendors and their programs, both of which are located on the LSPA SharePoint homepage and in QuickLinks on the SharePoint homepage menubar. |
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Assistant Deputy Director Andrea Rice and Personnel Administrator Sandra Cortes recently attended the Correctional Management Institute of Texas Human Resources Conference.
They were able to meet HR Professionals with fellow Criminal Justice Agencies, exchange ideas for recruitment and retention strategies , and receive updates on traditional HR topics such as ADA and FMLA.
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Personnel has been busy hiring for several positions in the department while continuing to find ways for continuous improvement by streamlining our hiring process.
Last month, we created a processing day at Youth Village where our applicants completed several steps of the hiring process in one day. This was a successful event, and we plan to continue and schedule processing days like this in the future.
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Personnel also conducted a large-scale salary recalculation exercise for pay equalization on several of our positions in the agency. We are in the testing phase of a new, Human Resources Information System which will help us store and locate information in one, central system.
We are actively hiring for Youth Development Coach,
therapist, and teacher positions, so please refer your friends!
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In our efforts to recruit great candidates, we connected with Workforce Solutions agencies and participated in several career fairs.
Our very own Michael Prince is featured in the video below!
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Budget & Operational Support |
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Budget & Operational Support, in conjunction with Legal Services, strives for the continuous improvement of our internal procurement processes to comply with granting agencies and Federal and County level procurement policies and procedures.
This is key in order to maintain funding, essential services, and supplies for our department and the young people in our care.
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Legal Services will conduct training and informational sessions for financial services and administrative facility staff in the very near future. Stay tuned for future updates! |
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We are also pleased to introduce our new, Budget & Operational Division staff! Please welcome:
Tamara Taylor, our new Budget Specialist;
Priya Sharma and Matthew Cortes, our new Payroll Specialists, who are both brand new to our department;
And last, but certainly not least, join us in welcoming Nina Smith, our new Restitution / Supervision Fee Coordinator, who recently moved to Houston from Buffalo, New York.
We are excited to have you all join our team!
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A quick reminder of the shuttle schedule for the Nance Street Parking Lot & Shuttle Service located at 2202 Nance Street:
Monday: 5:00AM - 12:30AM
Tuesday: 6:00AM - 11:30PM
Wednesday: 6:00AM to 11:30PM
Thursday: 6:00AM to 11:30PM
Friday: 5:00AM to 12:30AM
Saturday: 6:00AM to 11:30PM
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HCJPD staff are also allowed to ride the Precinct 1 Constable van and the Sheriff Department
bus or van. Please adhere to the guidelines they have established on their shuttles.
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As we enter the last few months of the year, Health Services is taking stock of the work we have done in 2022. Continuous improvement is our goal as we strive to end string in 2022 by looking for ways to finalize our year end stats on a high note.
Health Services had an award-winning couple of months! Since last we reported, Health Services was awarded a Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) grant to launch the Foundations Program that will provide therapeutic programing to youth awaiting transfer to TJJD.
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Secondly, the SOAR and GRIP specialty courts were collectively awarded a $159,000 grant to provide additional services to youth in their programs.
Lastly, one of our own, Jennifer Lane of MST, was awarded the MST Whatever It Takes award by the National organization. This award highlights incredible efforts to overcome barriers to provide excellent services to youth and families. Congratulations, Jennifer!
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Education Transition Center |
The Education Transition Center (ETC) takes a youth centered, student-first approach, placing student need before everything else.
To better their education, we address their hierarchy of needs and build connection before correction in all we do.
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We make it a priority to serve all of those in need by leveraging numerous community partners as we serve students and families across Harris County. In addition to our normal school hours, we host several family and community engagement events including open houses, evening classes, career fairs, and holiday markets.
Our school is data-driven. As an effort to show continuous improvement, we use numbers to tell us what works. We pivot, adapt and focus on how we can continuously improve for the betterment of our young people.
Every ETC team member understands and embraces the value of connecting with our young people. We provide equity and meet them where they are, ensuring all students receive the services and education they need and deserve.
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We spent the summer moving into the former Burnett-Bayland Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) building and making it into a school. Fresh coats of paint, new furniture, and a lot of color really transformed the space!
School kicked off August 22nd, and we were ecstatic to welcome our students back to their new, academic home.
Students enrolled at the ETC can work towards their GED and receive vocational training, (welding, culinary, and logistics) enrichment opportunities, (athletics, art, spoken word) and wrap around services, (drug counseling, therapy, social work) with more opportunities coming!
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These services are offered in collaboration between school staff and community partners. |
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School Hours
School hours are from 9:15am to 3:00pm Monday-Thursday and on Friday from 9:15am to 12:00pm. Visitors are welcome during lunch (11:23am to 11:53am.)
Our first graduation of the 2022-2023 school year is Thursday, December 15th.
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Upcoming Events*
Family Thanksgiving Dinner • Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Winter Market • Saturday, December 10, 2022
Fall Graduation • Thursday, December 15, 2022
Mother’s Day Brunch • Friday, May 12, 2023
To be confirmed!
Father’s Day BBQ • Friday, June 16, 2023
To be confirmed!
*Please contact Stacie Brady for
additional information on these events.
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In April 2022, Transformation Team members had the opportunity to welcome two additional TBRI Practitioners to the department:
Dr. Danielle Madera (Clinical Director, HCYV)
and Dr. Caryn Darwin (Clinical Director, HCLA)
We're excited you're here!
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The Transformation Team - Left to Right:
Zymryck Frazier, Kevia Montgomery, Darius Payne, Raymond Livingston, Hollis Cooper, Mohamed Sallam
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About the Transformation Team
The Transformation Team provides weekly training during Annual Residential Training (ART) for the department’s residential staff. This year, they focused on Nurture vs. Structure and Finding the Balance, where the goal is to increase instances of positive, staff-youth interactions and decrease instances of behavioral dysregulation, while helping the young person build social competence (life skills.)
We also provide monthly, new employee training during Youth Development Coach Academy (YDC.) In this training, staff are given an overview of Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) and how it will be used in their new roles. New hires are asked to model what they learned and put it into practice through a series of activities and role plays.
We focus on bridging the gap from the classroom to the floor by modeling TBRI strategies with staff, in real-time, to empower and support them in utilizing those strategies.
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Yolanda Foster, our team's Staff Services personnel, recently attended the Leadership for Support Staff Conference in Galveston, Texas. She had the opportunity to gather amongst surrounding counties’ leaders and specialists, they shared their knowledge about leadership, teamwork, and strategies they use to create the ideal workplace.
Transformation Team members Mr. Darius Payne and Mrs. Kevia Montgomery conducted a TBRI Overview training in conjunction with TJJD for Hidalgo County and surrounding Juvenile Probation Departments in August.
During this training, the team members had the opportunity to share their TBRI implementation journey with other departments and discuss the many ways TBRI has been integrated into HCJPD.
Our goal is to educate the department on TBRI practices and use our expertise to provide a framework for developing and maintaining healthy relationships.
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Harris County Leadership Academy |
Since the beginning of the year, 20 young people received their GED at HCLA. This milestone wasn't possible without our amazing teachers and staff.
HCLA is open for JPO visits! Our youth are involved in many different activities, so please schedule through Juan Guzman to ensure the youth is available.
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We are excited to recognize Jeral Adams, Youth Development Coach, who from start to finish provides the young people in our GED program with encouragement, tutoring, and coordination. |
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Jeral Adams
Youth Development Coach
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The Leadership Academy A-Team
Left to Right — Tyree Roberts, Mark Glover, Benjamin Bass
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HCLA would also like to thank the "A Team" who help coordinate graduation ceremonies
for our young people and their families to celebrate their outstanding accomplishments.
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Rhithm Training
The caseworker and therapist team recently participated in a training for Rhithm, which is a web-based automated check-in with coping skills videos and resources young people can use to note daily emotional functioning to garner the support of trusted adults during crises.
The HCLA caseworker and therapist teams are looking for innovative ways to partner with HCLA educators at Excel Academy to support youth using this evidence-based technology tool.
Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports
Ms. Warren (Principal at Excel Academy) and Dr. Darwin (Clinical Director) attended the National Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) forum in October 2022, to explore how PBIS practices integrated with TBRI provide structure and nurture our young people.
Suicide Trainings with JJC Therapists
HCLA post adjudicated therapy team has partnered with the JJC pre-adjudicated therapy team to provide county-wide suicide training during Annual Recertification Training (ART.)
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Mental Health Minute
During staff meetings, the therapy team at HCLA partners with the Behavior Specialist team to present the Mental Health Minute. This involved a brief psycho-education about a mental health topic and its relationship to TBRI principles.
Presentations so far have included Behavior 101 ,(basic principles of behavior) Bias and Empathy, and a representative from Cigna who discussed accessing services through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Future topics include Ally-ship and working with LGBTQIA+ youth, culture and mental health, and the power of positive affirmation.
TBRI Training
A selection of HCLA Youth Development Coordinators, Therapist, Youth Development Coaches and supervisors attended a Virtual TBRI training in August 2022, to learn how to integrate it into daily practices.
Larry Hopkins, Unit Supervisor at HCLA, recently attended training in Memphis Tennessee to become a TBRI Practitioner.
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The Intake & Court Services Division would like to extend a warm welcome to our new team members! Help us welcome them aboard!
Markesha Drayden | PAT Case Aid
(Transfer from Youth Village)
Lindsey Johnson | Court Services JPO
(Transfer from DET)
Stephanie Carney | Interim Supervision Officer
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Corrections From Last Newsletter
• Damita Phillips transferred from Youth Village.
• Latricia St.Jules, Willie Thomas, Iris Lewis, Maurice Hobson, Jr., and Edward Baldazo
were additional contributors of their time, planning, and support to the
3rd Ward Community Resource Fair: Deeply Rooted in the Community at Jack Yates High School.
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Intake JPO, Rick Adamus, is retiring after 27 years of service to the department.
Rick began his career with HCJPD on May 24, 1995, starting as an Institutional/Child Care Worker at Burnet Bayland Home and later as a Detention Diversion Officer at JDC.
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In 1996, Rick was selected for an Intake JPO position, and in 2003 he transferred to CUPS 8 where he worked for a few years before returning back to Intake in 2006.
During his time with the department Rick took on additional roles including several years as the assistant detention hearing coordinator, a Handle with Care and MANDT Instructor and most recently monitoring all certified youth.
Rick also acted as a Lead Officer and regularly assisted with training new Intake staff.
Rick's favorite memories are his first few years working at West Dallas. Seeing firsthand the many challenges youth and families were dealing with was eye opening, and as a young adult it helped to prepare him for life professionally and personally.
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Rick truly enjoyed meeting and helping every young person and family with whom he worked .
As a Spanish speaking JPO, Rick interviewed thousands of young people and their families during his career.
Rick's plans for retirement are to take care of himself and continue being the best taxi driver he can be to his three kids, two grandchildren, and their mother.
Rick will be greatly missed by all of his friends and colleagues, and we with him all the best!
Thank you, Rick, for your many years of service to youth, families, the community, and to HCJPD.
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Pre-Court Staffings
Pre Court Staffings are held virtually on Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30 pm. If needed, staffing may also be scheduled for Monday and/or Wednesday.
Pre-Court Staffing recommendations expire after six months. If the recommendation is expiring, please email Roberta Wise and Rosemary Reyes to request an updated recommendation.
Community level cases needing a pre-court staffing should be requested as soon as possible to ensure there is adequate time to schedule testing and to conduct the staffing prior to the scheduled court date.
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Detention Hearings
In person detention hearings have resumed for most youth in detention.
Hearings via Zoom will remain an option for youth at Harris County Psychiatric Center, (HCPC) new intakes/youth in quarantine, medical isolations, and for those with severe, disciplinary challenges that require them to remain on their respective unit.
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District Court Schedules |
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313th Court
Monday and Thursday
314th Court
Monday and Wednesday
315th Court*
Tuesday and Thursday
*With attorney approaches monthly on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays.
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In person court appearances are strongly encouraged; however, Zoom appearances remain an option upon request.
Be on the lookout for upcoming District Court holiday closures. Submit or request in
advance any documents you may need that require a judge's signature!
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Youth Diversion & Development |
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The Therapeutic Connections Unit |
The Therapeutic Connections Unit (TCU) emulates the department's cornerstone values by being youth centered in all aspects of case management.
The Special Needs Diversionary Program (SNDP) provides mental health treatment and specialized supervision to youth with significant mental health needs.
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Our JPO's and therapists target services that meet the youth's mental health challenges and support stabilization of our young people through a community-based approach.
In the spirit of giving, TCU is providing a Thanksgiving Feast to the families within our unit. Families in need will be selected and will receive a turkey with all the trimmings. We anticipate dropping boxes of Thanksgiving goodies the week before Thanksgiving.
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CMIT Mental Health Conference |
SNDP JPOs, Ashala Connley, Nick Morales, and Jennifer Castillo, and Administrator Sylvia Latapie, recently attended the Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT) 9th Annual Mental Health Conference in Allen, Texas, October 10-14, 2022.
The conference provided extensive tracks involving various aspects of Mental Health. The TCU team thoroughly enjoyed the conference and gained knowledge they can apply to their case management.
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CUPS 2 is supporting youth and families by operating a Baby Closet!
What started off as just a one-time Diaper Drive has flourished into a Baby Closet where diapers, wipes, and gently used baby and toddler items are donated. HCJPD staff, vendors and volunteers can donate items, and also refer young people to receive available items from the Baby Closet.
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In addition, this gives us another opportunity to involve our youth who need community service hours. Young people can assist in the operation of the Baby Closet by sorting clothes into sizes, labeling diapers packages, arranging items on shelves, and creating an organization system with pink and blue labels.
To date, we have distributed items to over 20 families in need. It has been a joy to promote the kind of community support network our families need and give our youth opportunities to be involved in helping others.
As a reminder, anyone can donate their gently used or new items, diapers, and wipes! If you have a young person who is need of items for their child on your caseload, don't hesitate to call.
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