By Kathleen Takamine
Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Bexar County
In the May–June 2018 edition of The Texas Prosecutor, two articles discussed specialty courts in Harris and Guadalupe Counties.[1] They both outline the general concept of specialty courts and how they are created and implemented. I highly recommend them for a basic understanding of such courts.
To summarize, in the juvenile world, specialty courts are created to tackle the issue of high-risk juveniles for whom regular supervision would not be sufficient. Each specialty court addresses specific issues and needs for juveniles where they will be closely monitored by the probation department and juvenile court. These types of courts are always non-adversarial in nature, with the judge, probation officers, defense counsel, and prosecutor working together to monitor each participant. All the courts I discuss in this article, with one exception, require that the juveniles and their parents participate voluntarily. If they do not, then they will not receive the specialty court’s services. Ultimately, the goal of these courts goes back to the main purpose of the juvenile justice system: to provide for the welfare of the juvenile, the juvenile’s family, and the community.[2]
To date, Bexar County has nine specialty courts to deal with the special needs of certain juveniles. These are:
• pre-adjudication drug court
• post-adjudication drug court
• mental health dockets: MIND Court and Crossroads
• human trafficking: Restore Court
• gang court: GRIT Court
• Crossover Court
• Family Enrichment Court (FEC)
• Strive Court
• Re-entry Court
I will briefly discuss them and address the difference between the courts outlined in the earlier articles (though overall, they function pretty much the same).
There is one important point to keep in mind. Sometimes juveniles could fit into several of these courts, but it is not practical for someone to participate in more than one at a time. The task is to tailor the outcome to that specific juvenile and find the best possible court to address the child’s most pressing need. Any other needs can still be provided within that specialty court.
How the courts are organized
Before going into the description of the specialty courts, I should outline the set-up. In Bexar County, there are three juvenile district courts: the 289th, 386th and 436th. There is also an associate judge assigned to all the courts whenever there is need for assistance in conducting detention hearings, taking a plea in certain cases, conducting certain hearings in certain cases, and running a specialty court if a district court so chooses.
In this setting, each specialty court (with one exception) is assigned to a particular district court. All of them have a Re-entry Court for reasons we will discuss later. The 289th District Court runs the human trafficking court (called Restore Court), the Family Enrichment Court (FEC), and the 289th Re-entry Court. The 386th District Court runs Strive Court, Crossover, the post-adjudication drug court, and the 386th Re-entry Court. The 436th District Court runs MIND, GRIT, and the 436th Re-entry Court. The pre-adjudication drug court is assigned to the associate judge.
Even though each court is assigned a specialty court, that does not mean that only the juveniles in that court are eligible for the specialty court. For example, even if a juvenile has a case set in the 289th, if the probation officer, defense attorney, and prosecutor agree that he will benefit by participating in the 436th MIND Court, then the juvenile will be staffed to participate in that specialty court. That child’s case could possibly end in that court. If the juvenile is removed from that specialty court, the case could either be kept in the 436th or sent back to the 289th. It will be up to both judges’ discretion. All three district courts may send their cases to the pre-adjudication drug court run by the associate judge.
Application and acceptance
The process of getting into each court is pretty straightforward. Any party in a court—a probation officer, the juvenile’s defense attorney, or the prosecutor—can indicate that the juvenile would benefit from participating in the specialty court. All three parties, along with the juvenile, his family, and the judge, must agree to sending the juvenile to be staffed for the specialty court. Once agreement occurs, the case is presented to the staffing committee[3] for that specialty court. The committee discusses whether to accept the juvenile or not. If accepted, a probation officer and the specialty court’s defense attorney go over the contract with the juvenile and his family.
This type of acceptance is the same in every specialty court except Re-entry Court. Once accepted, the juvenile is expected to follow the court’s rules. Once or twice a month, the staffing committee will meet to discuss the juvenile’s progress. If there is a need to change a part of his treatment program and all the committee members agree, the changes are implemented. The juvenile is scheduled to come to court after the staffing committee meeting, and the judge will address him and scold him if needed. There have been times when the judge deems it necessary to take the juvenile into custody (i.e., the juvenile is engaging in more criminal activities or is running away from home).
We will discuss each court next.
Drug courts
In Bexar County, the drug specialty court docket is divided between two courts, pre-adjudication and post-adjudication. Both courts have the same general criteria: nonviolent offenses, indication of a drug or alcohol problem, and the willingness of the juveniles and their parents to participate. Drug issues tend to crop up in almost all juvenile cases. Most juveniles will indicate that they have used drugs and/or alcohol at some point. These courts address those whose histories show an extensive drug or alcohol issue.
How we assess their needs comes mainly from juvenile probation. Juvenile probation officers have opportunities to interact with the juvenile that a prosecutor does not have. They can interview the juvenile and his family; they are privy to any past hospitalizations or problems at school, and they can obtain hospital and educational records. The defense attorney will often provide information from the family and can report if a lot of the juvenile’s issues come from substance abuse. As a prosecutor, there are times when I can glean information from the police reports that there is a likelihood of a substance abuse problem—for example, if the juvenile was arrested for fighting and was found to be intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. Vape pens and THC have been an increasing concern in Bexar County. In the past, crime labs have had trouble testing these, but now, there are effective methods to test for these substances, and the cases will be coming in fast. Therefore, the need to address the problem of drug and alcohol use will be a long-standing issue. We all hope that these specialty courts will curtail the rising problem.
Pre-adjudication is offered without the need for the juvenile’s adjudication for the case. In this way, juveniles can avoid a formal finding of delinquency, as their cases can be nonsuited if they successfully complete the court, very much like pretrial diversion offered in adult courts. This is a viable solution for those who do not have any prior juvenile referrals and who are charged with minor offenses, such as nonviolent misdemeanors or minor drug possession.
The post-adjudication court program allows the judge more intensive judicial supervision. Often, participants are charged with felonies or have prior juvenile referrals that indicate the juvenile needs more services and supervision.
The services would be similar in either court in terms of drug counseling. With pre-adjudication, if the juvenile is not cooperating with services, the court can only remove the juvenile from the program and return him to the court where the case was originally assigned, and the process begins all over again. This is similar to having a deferred contract closed out and the case reactivated.
For post-adjudication drug court, if a juvenile is removed from this court, the case is sent back to the court of origin and the juvenile is likely to face a motion to modify probation. Violating post-adjudication drug court conditions is usually a violation of a condition of probation. It is similar to a Motion to Revoke Probation in adult court. The consequences could be more serious for the juvenile.
Mental health courts
As with the drug court, the mental health specialty court is separated into two courts, this time divided by gender. Crossroads is offered to female youth, and MIND (Males in Need of Direction) Court is offered to the young men. The general criteria for these courts include a diagnosis of a mental illness, being charged with a non-aggravated offense, and willing participation from the juveniles and their families. The emphasis of these courts is to make sure the juvenile continues to be stabilized with medication and counseling and that the family has support and resources for him. The probation officers assigned to this court make sure that the juveniles have continuing access to psychiatric counseling through the probation department or in the community, such as the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) or the Center for Health Care Services.
Human trafficking court
For victims of human trafficking or those juveniles who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation, Bexar County offers Restore Court (short for Restore Hope Court). The juveniles who might be helped with this program are often hard to discern as they are not forthcoming about their backgrounds. In dealing with this population, we have found that it generally takes several people to detect this threat to a juvenile and, even once it is detected, the youth will not want to cooperate.
Once they are ready and willing to participate, this court is best equipped to handle such cases. Regular probation is generally not enough to supervise these juveniles, and they generally have more than one need that must be addressed. For example, human trafficking victims tend to have substance abuse problems too. Such issues can still be addressed within Restore Hope with substance abuse counseling or rehabilitation, if necessary. It can also assist juveniles with vocational and educational needs. Probation officers work closely with the juveniles, often being available at all hours should the youth feel the need to contact someone. Each juvenile is required to officially appear once a month for the specialty court. Numbers of participants vary, going from seven to 15 juveniles at any given time.
Gang court
Bexar County’s counterpart to Harris County’s YESS[4] is GRIT, or Gang Resistance in Teens. As with juvenile victims of human trafficking, experience has taught us that it really boils down to how willing the youth are to leave the gang lifestyle. This population also tends to require a more intensive supervision than regular probation can provide. Also similar to juveniles in Restore Court, juveniles in GRIT usually need more than support away from gang activities; they tend to also need substance abuse and trauma counseling. This can be a difficult court to maintain because it deals with juveniles who have gang affiliations who must be actively trying to leave that life behind. Participants in this court range from three to eight members at any given time.
Crossover Court
I will mention Bexar County’s Crossover Court briefly as it was addressed in another article in this journal, “Crossover Court helps juvenile offenders with open CPS cases.”[5] These cases involve juveniles facing delinquency charges who are also under the supervision and care of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS). The basic idea of Crossover Court is to avoid duplicating services and avoid conflict between TDFPS and juvenile district courts. In Crossover Court, the juvenile judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, and juvenile probation officer are kept aware of the juvenile’s TDFPS case. Please consult the article for more information on this court. Because this court deals with juveniles within CPS, the number of participants is fairly large, between 40 and 50 on average.
Family Enrichment Court (FEC)
FEC was created to deal with juveniles who are exposed to violence within the family setting. Often, these children come in with family violence cases, such as assault causing bodily injury to a family member. Oftentimes, juvenile probation will find out that CPS had been involved in the juvenile’s family. If CPS is still closely involved with the family, the juvenile usually does not need the services of this specialty court as CPS can provide the same counseling and services that probation offers.
Participation requires that the juvenile and his parents or guardians voluntarily participate in family counseling, allow frequent in-home visits, and appear in court monthly. If needed, substance abuse and mental health counseling can also be provided.
The defense attorney is a particular attorney assigned specifically to that court and may not have been the juvenile’s attorney appointed to the criminal case. He or she is assigned to FEC by the judge who presides over the court. However, this attorney has the same duties to act in the best interest of the juvenile as if he or she were assigned to the criminal case.
The Bexar County juvenile probation officers assigned to FEC create a treatment plan for each juvenile. They keep track of all the progress (or lack of progress). Each report is sent to the core team to consider any changes to the juvenile’s plan.
STRIVE
STRIVE Court was originally created to address the educational needs of and mentoring for juvenile offenders, but it has expanded to include employment skills, support with housing, and assistance in obtaining needed items for the transition to adulthood. STRIVE is really geared towards older youth who are 16½ years or older. Not everyone is eligible for this court. It could be useful for most kids, but it still requires a juvenile to participate.
Re-entry Court
Re-entry Court is the only specialty court where the juvenile does not have a choice to participate or not. If the judge orders it, the juvenile must join.
Once juveniles have been found “true” in engaging in delinquent conduct, they can be placed on a court-ordered deferred contract, placed on probation, or sentenced to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD). When a juvenile is placed on probation, the judge can order him to be placed on probation at home or be removed from the home and placed in a secured placement facility.[6] If the judge orders the juvenile to probation and removed from the home, he will be ordered to participate in the Re-entry Court once he is released from placement.[7]
The purpose of Re-entry Court is to support the juvenile’s transition from a secured placement to his own community—basically, re-entry into society. The whole concept of helping juveniles transition back into regular life makes sense: A youth who has spent several months in a secured placement will need more than the usual support he would receive on regular probation. During time in placement, the juvenile would have gone through intense counseling alone and with the participation of his family. He will need such support once released, too, but will lose the intensity of counseling in a secured facility.
Among the support they receive is continuing with drug or mental health counseling, help with their education up to and including college, and employment and/or vocational training. The most important goal is to prevent the juvenile from lapsing into bad habits that caused him to be sent to placement in the first place.
Conclusion
It is really easy to develop a truly cynical attitude as a prosecutor. You just see the worst in human nature. There have been many times when I thought, “Why bother?”
But then, you see and hear of juveniles who manage to turn their lives around within the system. That is the purpose of these specialty courts. Will everyone take full advantage of the programs and come out on top? No. But there is always a chance that someone will overcome his challenges and fulfill his highest potential. We had a young lady in Re-Entry Court who successfully finished the specialty court and went on to college. A young man worked his way through his drug and legal issues and managed to graduate high school. He invited the judge who oversaw his case through Re-entry Court to his graduation. That is what we juvenile prosecutors aim for. That is why I have lasted so long as a prosecutor in the juvenile system.
This is the last article in this series on juvenile law. By researching and writing these articles, even after so many years as a prosecutor in the juvenile system, I find myself learning something new. I am also reminded of why the system is structured the way it is. I hope that these articles will help or encourage you on your journey as a prosecutor.
[1] See “Specialty courts for juvenile offenders” at www.tdcaa.com/journal/specialty-courts-for-juvenile-offenders and “Juvenile drug courts are not just for big counties” at www.tdcaa.com/journal/juvenile-drug-courts-are-not-just-for-big-counties.
[2] See Texas Family Code §51.01.
[3] The staffing committee consists of the presiding judge of the district court, probation officers assigned to that specialty court, a prosecutor assigned to that district court, and a defense attorney specifically assigned to the specialty court (this defense attorney does not necessarily represent the juvenile in the criminal case).
[4] YESS stands for Youth Empowerment Services and Supervision. See “Specialty courts for juvenile offenders” at www.tdcaa.com/journal/specialty-courts-for-juvenile-offenders for more information.
[5] www.tdcaa.com/journal/crossover-court-helps-juvenile-offenders-with-open-cps-cases.
[6] Texas Family Code §54.04 (Disposition Hearing).
[7] For the sake of convenience, I will refer to a secured placement facility as simply “placement.”