TCJE Press Releases


Press Contact: For all media inquiries, please contact Madison Kaigh, Communications Manager, at mkaigh@TexasCJE.orgor (512) 441-8123, ext. 108.


 

Texas Criminal Justice Coalition Provides Legislative Update as Veto Period Ends

After the official end of Governor Abbott’s veto period, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) provided an update on the policies that will help to decarcerate the nation’s largest prison population, improve opportunities to divert people into programs and services that will have better outcomes, and help communities thrive statewide.

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Texas Criminal Justice Coalition Launches Dallas County Data Dashboard

Following the launch of a first-of-its-kind criminal justice data dashboard in Harris County late last year, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition is proud to announce that its Dallas County dashboard is now live.

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New Report Shares Lessons Learned from Youth Justice Visioning Sessions Across Texas

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition held a series of community visioning sessions across Texas, from July through October 2018, to answer this question: What do young people need to avoid justice system involvement and lead successful lives?

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New Report Explains the Link Between Homelessness and Justice System Involvement

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition released the final report in its "One Size Fails All" report series.  The report, Return to Nowhwere: The Revolving Door Between Incarceration and Homelessness, examines the undeniable link between homelessness and criminal justice system involvement, and the factors that contribute to both. It offers recommendations to end the chronic pattern that wastes lives and squanders resources that could be better used to address the factors leading to homelessness.

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Community Advocacy Group Opposes Harris County District Attorney’s Budget Request for 102 Additional Prosecutors

TCJC joins with others to oppose Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s budget request to fund 102 new prosecutors. TCJC urges county officials to further examine the request for more funding.

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New Report Finds LGBTQ People are Often Unseen but Frequently Incarcerated

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition released the third report in its “One Size FAILS All” report series. The report, Out of Sight: LGBTQ Youth and Adults in Texas Justice Systems, explores how the Lone Star State often fails to adequately address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Texans, and instead frequently moves them into the youth and adult justice systems at higher rates than people in the non-LGBTQ community.

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A Failure in the Fourth Degree: Reforming the State Jail Felony System in Texas

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition released the second report in its “One Size FAILS All” report series. The report, A Failure in the Fourth Degree: Reforming the State Jail Felony System in Texas, demonstrates through data and personal interviews with 140 incarcerated individuals the defective nature of Texas’ state jail system, and it puts forth actionable policy recommendations for consideration by the 2019 Texas Legislature.

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Health and Advocacy Organizations Urge the Texas Legislature to Implement Effective Strategies to Address Substance Use Disorder

A coalition of health and advocacy groups have jointly developed recommendations to address substance use disorder in Texas.

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One Size FAILS All: Why Probation Doesn’t Work for Young Adults in Texas

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition released its newest report today, which examines how Texas’ probation system continuously fails young adults. The report, Young Adults and Community Supervision: The Need for a Developmentally Appropriate Approach to Probation, reveals that traditional probation practices are ineffective with 17- to 25-year-olds on adult felony probation.

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New Report Highlights Issues Facing Women in Texas' Criminal Justice System

Today, TCJC released part two of a two-part report series on women in Texas prisons and jails. An Unsupported Population: The Treatment of Women in Texas’ Criminal Justice System explores the unique issues facing women impacted by the criminal justice system and makes recommendations for programs and policies that treat women with dignity and increase the likelihood that they can successfully rejoin their families and communities.

Read the rest of this press release here.