These are the minutes, agenda and attachments to the minutes from meetings of the Texas State Youth Development Council (TSYDC), the Texas Youth Council (TYC), and the Texas Youth Commission (TYC). Dates covered are 1949-1957, 1961-2003. Minutes from May 1957 to October 1961 are not present either here or at the Youth Commission. Beginning in the mid 1970s, the minutes also contain a number of attachments, including transcripts, correspondence, memos, reports, charts, sub-committee meeting agenda, resolutions, contracts, internal audit reports, legislative reports, Morales court settlement agreements, TYC responses to Morales Consultant Committee reports, summaries of investigation reports, research proposals, deeds, plats of land, budget materials, planning documents, etc. Meeting agenda are filed with the minutes beginning in 1974. Minutes from TYC committee meetings are present beginning in mid-1996.

Some early issues covered in the meetings were the creation of the State Youth Development Council (1949); the move of the Brady State School for Colored Girls (1949-1950); how to handle feeble-minded children at the youth facilities, especially black youth (1949-1950); and surveying youth detention facilities in counties (1950). Other topics discussed include the establishment and maintenance of youth facilities, improvements at and construction of facilities, inspections of facilities, the budget, new programs or program changes, classification of juvenile delinquents, establishment of community services programs, parole supervision of juveniles, legislation, rules and regulations, policy and procedural changes, research proposals, approval of contracts, internships, master plans and long-range planning goals, closing of facilities, investigation results, and lawsuits against the agency or facilities, such Morales v. Turman. The Morales case was a class action lawsuit filed in 1971 against the agency, its officers, and staff by children confined in the juvenile corrections facilities. Changes initiated in response to the lawsuit led to significant improvements in the way juvenile correction facilities were operated.

Supporting documents sent to commission members for review prior to the meetings can be found in the series Meeting supporting documentation.

For meeting files and board actions of the agency that administered youth facilities during the period 1920-1949, see the records of the State Board of Control, housed at the Archives and Information Services Division. For the minutes of the agency that managed the state homes between 1949 and 1957, see the records of the Texas Board for State Hospitals and Special Schools.

Meeting agenda for the most recent Youth Commission board and committee meetings is regularly posted on the agency's web site, at http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/index.html. Minutes are posted back to 1999.

Meeting supporting documentation consists of minutes and agenda of the Texas Youth Commission and some of its committees, guest registration cards, memoranda, correspondence, remarks of the executive director, drafts of policy and procedural changes, summaries and highlights of legislation, construction estimates, floor plans, contracts, status reports from facilities, budget data, statistics, reports on employee grievances, alleged mistreatment reports, and other reports and materials presented to commission members prior to meetings for their review. Dates covered are 1994-1996. Meetings covered are those held in 1995-1996, some materials present date back to 1994.

Topics discussed at meetings include the establishment and maintenance of youth facilities, improvements at and construction of facilities, inspections, the budget, changes in policies or procedures, new programs or program changes, development of the agency's strategic plan, legislation, rules and regulations, research proposals, approval of contracts, internships, alleged mistreatment reports, self-evaluation of the alternative education system used by the agency, and work of the joint Texas Youth Commission/Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TYC/TJPC) subcommittee. This subcommittee was investigating the feasibility of these two agencies sharing some administrative duties, such as training, research, and management information services.

This series consists of organization charts of the Texas Youth Commission, dating 1998-1999. The charts were formerly published in the agency's biennial budget requests, from 1969/70 - 1992/93. Copies of the organization charts have been published in the agency's strategic plans, dating 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998. The latest chart is also mounted on the agency's intranet web server, and will likely be added to their internet web page in the future: We hold loose copies of the organization charts for 1998-1999. Copies of the biennial reports and the strategic plans of the agency are located in the Texas Documents Collection of the Library and Archives Commission.

Organization charts graphically illustrate the administrative structure of the different functional units within an agency.

This series contains outgoing correspondence and memoranda of the executive director of the Texas Youth Commission, Steve Robinson, dating 1995-2000. Topics covered include policy changes, proposed rules, legislation, agency programs, budget, and problems at facilities. Also present are responses to inquiries about programs, funding, specific situations at schools, etc., from legislators, governor's staff, other officials, and parents of youth at the schools. Correspondents include agency staff, officials in other state agencies, legislators, local officials, out-of-state agencies, parents of students, and others.

There are three other correspondence series described in this finding aid. Correspondence of two deputy executive directors can be found in the series Administrative correspondence, deputy executive director. Memoranda concerning administrative policy issues are in the series Administrative policy files. Some correspondence of the Texas Youth Council can be found in the series Correspondence and administrative files of the Texas Youth Council.

Correspondence concerning the operation of the state schools and orphanages formerly under the State Board of Control can be found the records of the Texas State Board of Control, housed in the Archives and Information Services Division.

This series contains outgoing correspondence and memoranda of the deputy executive director of the Texas Youth Commission, Jay Lindgren, including minutes of several internal agency groups and interagency committees, dating 1992-1995; and outgoing correspondence and memoranda of deputy executive director Sandra Burnam, 1995-1996. Dates of the series are 1992-1996. Topics covered include youth programs and issues, such as allowing some youth to go hunting while excluding others, substance abuse, sex offender registration, direct care issues, and juvenile probation; policy changes; proposed rules; legislation; alleged mistreatment of youth; status of release hearings; approval of extensions of stay for specific youth; escapes; technical assistance proposals; employee grievances; conferences and meetings attended by staff; and other issues concerning the management of the agency. Also present are letters of appreciation, condolence letters, and letters of recommendation for applicants. Correspondents include agency staff, officials in other state agencies, legislators, local officials, out-of-state agencies, parents of students, and others.

Internal groups whose actions are noted in these files include the TYC Direct Care Team and the TYC Juvenile Justice Group. Interagency committees discussed in these files are the TYC/Travis County Design Team, a group formed to pursue new and better processes for dealing with delinquent youth in the Travis County area; and the Texas Youth Commission/Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TYC/TJPC) subcommittee, a group formed to investigate the feasibility of these two agencies sharing some administrative duties, such as training, research, and management information services. The materials concerning the internal groups and interagency committees are only present in Jay Lindgren's correspondence.

There are three other correspondence series described in this finding aid. Correspondence of the executive director can be found in the series Administrative correspondence, executive director. Memoranda concerning administrative policy issues are in the series Administrative policy files. Some correspondence of the Texas Youth Council can be found in the series Correspondence and administrative files of the Texas Youth Council.

Correspondence concerning the operation of the state schools and orphanages formerly under the State Board of Control can be found the records of the Texas State Board of Control, housed in the Archives and Information Services Division.

This series consists of correspondence of the Texas Youth Council with the Texas Attorney General (AG) and Attorney General opinions regarding requests by the Youth Council for AG opinions on a variety of issues, and opinion request procedures. Dates covered are 1933, 1959-1963, 1967, and 1974, the bulk dating 1963. There are also two requests, from 1933 and 1974, that do not concern the Youth Council but were perhaps maintained for reference purposes. Subjects of the opinion requests and opinions include whether the TYC could charge for the support and maintenance of wards of the Waco and Corsicana State Homes; whether the TYC could pay certain employees for rent in lieu of providing housing and utilities if such facilities were non-existent at the institution; whether the TYC could construct and operate another school for delinquent boys at Gatesville, separate from the existing Gatesville State School if funds were available; and whether the TYC could appoint a man as superintendent of the girls state schools at Crockett and Gainesville if no qualified woman could be found to fill the position.

There is an index to the opinion letters for 1963 in the files.

This series consists of memoranda from the executive office and other agency officials regarding new policies or changes in policies of the Texas Youth Commission. Dates covered are 1977, 1981-1993. A cover sheet is present for each year that lists the policy number, date issued, subject, and originator of the memo. The policy memoranda give the policy number, date issued, date effected, termination date (if applicable), who received it, who sent it, subject, TYC manual rules affected, and the text of the policy. Legislation causing policy changes is listed and summarized. A wide range of policy changes is reflected in these files. Subjects directly relating to youth include release of violent offenders, use of physical force, release of illegal aliens, length of stay at facilities, student reclassification, apprehension of students, death of students, authorizing use of chemical agents, personal possessions of youth, etc. Other policies concern personnel issues and various agency management changes. A few early memos concern incidents at TYC facilities, directly related to policies in place at those institutions.

An early policy memo contained names of youth in detention facilities involved in specific incidents; the names of the children were redacted at some point in the past by the Texas Youth Commission (names, home addresses and other identifying information of juvenile offenders in the agency's juvenile delinquent system and of dependent and neglected children in any facilities operated by the Texas Youth Commission (V.T.C.A., Texas Family Code, Section 58.005). We do not have a copy of the unredacted memo.

There are three other correspondence series maintained at the Archives and Information Services Division. Recent files are those found in the series Administrative correspondence, executive director and Administrative correspondence, deputy executive director. Correspondence of the Texas Youth Council can be found in the series Correspondence and administrative files of the Texas Youth Council. Policy and procedural manuals of the Youth Commission can be found in the series Policy and procedure handbooks and manuals.

Correspondence and administrative policies concerning the operation of the state schools and orphanages formerly under the Texas State Board of Control can be found in the records of the State Board of Control, housed in the Archives and Information Services Division.

This series contains correspondence and administrative files of the Texas Youth Council, dating 1958-1973. Topics include changes to policies and admittance standards, employment of students, conditions in the schools, staff changes, social events at facilities, deaths at the schools, volunteer programs, construction quality, education and/or research project proposals, proposals for programs at schools and homes, screening of students at the state schools, approving leaves of absence for children, and acknowledgments. Also present are results of research projects, a speech by the executive director to a group of students in 1971, lists giving statistical breakdowns of children in the facilities, goals for homes and schools - including notes from planning sessions and evaluation reports on objectives, correspondence with and newsletters of the Waco Ex-Students' Association and the Corsicana Ex-Students' Association, lists of ex-students from the orphan homes, monthly hospital reports, and a special study done in 1963 on the Corsicana State Home. Correspondents include TYC staff at the administrative offices and at several of the youth facilities, state agencies, local officials, and the general public. A couple of letters concern incidents at TYC juvenile correction facilities.

Recent administrative correspondence of the agency held in the Archives and Information Services Division can be found in the series Administrative correspondence, executive director, Administrative correspondence, deputy executive director and the series Administrative policy files.

Older correspondence concerning the state orphanages and juvenile schools can be found in the records of the Texas State Board of Control, housed in the Archives and Information Services Division.

These records are speeches given by officials of the Texas Youth Commission, dating 1994, 1996-2000. There are eight speeches - two by Judy Briscoe, then the Director of Prevention; one by Deputy Executive Director Dwight Harris, four by Executive Director Steve Robinson, and one with the speaker not identified, though it is likely given by the executive director as it was received with his speech. Ms. Briscoe's speeches concern preventing abuse and neglect of children and breaking the cycle of violence in families that leads to continuing patterns of abuse and/or neglect. Mr. Harris' speech concerns the operation of the agency, consisting largely of charts, graphs, and statistics. Mr. Robinsons' speeches concern juvenile crime and prevention and an overview of the Youth Commission. The last speech gives an overview of the agency.

These are press releases covering the activities of the Texas Youth Council and the Texas Youth Commission, dating 1961-1962, 1966, 1972-1991, 1997-2001. Topics include the settlement of the Morales lawsuit; organization of a committee to oversee TYC operations re: the Morales settlement; issues to be discussed at upcoming TYC meetings; legislation affecting TYC facilities or juveniles; opening of a new facility; escapes from youth facilities; expansion of facilities; construction of new facilities; naming of new executive staff or superintendents; results of studies undertaken by the TYC, such as ice hockey violence or reducing recidivism rates for youth; and the presentation of awards to the agency or individuals in the agency, such as the executive director receiving a criminal justice award. Press releases dating from 1998 forward are available on the agency's website at http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/news/index.html.

Press releases about activities at some of the youth facilities from the 1940s can be found in the records of the State Board of Control, housed in the Archives and Information Services Division.

This series contains policy and procedure manuals and handbooks of the Texas Youth Council and the Texas Youth Commission, dating 1953-1985. There are manuals and handbooks covering agency wide services, individual programs, and some for managing specific youth facilities. Types of manuals and handbooks include the Manual of Casework Services, Cottage Life Manual - Giddings State School, Group Manual - Brownwood State Home and School, Crockett Wilderness Program Orientation Manual, Administrative Organization of the Texas Youth Council, General Operating Policies and Procedures, and a Volunteer Handbook. An old handbook of procedures on handling Interstate Compact on Juveniles cases can be found in the series Interstate Compact on Juveniles files.

Older outreach publications by the agency that discuss treatment programs and/or services available at specific facilities operated by the agency can be found in the series Youth Commission outreach and informational publications. Reports and evaluations of some programs that may include a manual as part of the report can be found the series, Reports and studies.

Older manuals and handbooks from some of the orphan homes and state schools can be found in the records of the Texas State Board of Control, housed in the Archives and Information Services Division.

The current General Administrative Policy Manual of the Youth Commission is available on the agency's web site, at http://austin.tyc.state.tx.us/Cfinternet/gap/. Selected policies from the General Administrative Policy Manual for working with the Interstate Compact on Juveniles are on the Youth Commission's web site, at http://austin.tyc.state.tx.us/cfinternet/icj/.

This series contains primarily reports and studies conducted by the Research and Planning Division, or the Division of Evaluation and Research of the Texas Youth Council (later Texas Youth Commission). Also present are a few reports by other agencies or organizations, and a research proposal presented by a consultant to the Youth Council. Dates of the reports are 1963-1989. Topics include research studies, program evaluations, minimum standards for some programs, and a master plan for youth development services. Titles of some of these reports are Special Study, Corsicana State Home, 1963; Review of Research on Delinquency in Texas, 1975; TYC Foster Care and Adoption Services - Minimum Standards for Child Placing Agencies, Certification Study, 1977; Texas Master Plan for Youth Development Services, 1975; Texas Youth Commission - Historical Statistical Data, Summary of Operations, 1962-1989; and Services to Youth in Texas - A Preliminary Report of the Senate Youth Affairs Committee, 1969.

The Texas Documents Collection holds several research studies and reports of the Youth Council/Commission from the 1970s-1990s, most in the 1990s. Titles of some of these catalogued reports are Summary of the Results of the National Recidivism Methods Study Conducted by the Texas Youth Commission, 1998; Research Report Regarding 1:8 Caseworker to Youth Ratio in the Texas Youth Commission, 1994; The Relationship Between GED Attainment and Recidivism - TYC - Executive Summary, 1994; Recommendations for a Substance Abuse Treatment Evaluation Design, 1993; Outcome Evaluation of TYC Chemical Dependency Treatment Programs, 1992; Female Offenders in the Texas Youth Commission, 1992; A System for Juvenile Data Analysis and Youth, 1972; and A Proposed Model for an Outcome Evaluation of the Chemical Dependency Treatment Program, 1989.

Other reports concerning some of the youth facilities from the 1920s-1940s can be found in the records of the Texas State Board of Control, housed in the Archives and Information Services Division.

This series consists of brochures, pamphlets, and directories that describe the programs and facilities operated by the Texas Youth Council/Commission, dating 1953, ca. 1966-1985. They were produced by the agency and many include pictures of the facilities and youth housed there, either in school or engaged in recreational activities. Items present include child care pamphlets, Gatesville State Schools for Boys brochures, Brownwood Reception Center for Girls brochure, a historical marker dedication program, and the Waco State Home Annual Report (1952-1953). The agency provides information about its facilities and programs on its web site - http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/programs/index.html.

This series consists of two scrapbooks of clippings and other materials about the formation and early years of the Texas State Youth Development Council, dating 1949-1955 (bulk 1949-1951). These scrapbooks were created and maintained to document the creation of the State Youth Development Council, early activities of the agency, and issues faced by the agency. They contain primarily clippings, but also include photographs of the governor and original members of the Youth Development Council, copies of dedication programs, news bulletins/newsletters issued by the council, and some other printed material. Topics covered include creation of the agency, appointment of the original council members, opening of and news from state schools and homes, news of council activities, and various issues pertaining to the problems of juvenile delinquency. Many of the clippings are no longer attached to the pages and will be eventually be photocopied as a preservation measure:

This series consists of several notebooks of materials compiled to provide a narrative history of some of the schools and homes operated by the Texas Youth Commission and to highlight functions and some programs and/or activities at those facilities and in the agency. The materials in the notebooks are dated 1886-1892, 1902, 1932, ca. 1932, 1941-1990, undated. According to data found in some of the notebooks, they were compiled by the agency in 1990. The notebooks about specific facilities usually contain a narrative history of the facilities, excerpts from annual reports or other agency publications about activities at the facilities, clippings, and copies of pertinent legislation. Other items present for some facilities include rules, policies or procedures for that facility, brochures, photographs, and programs for special events, such as a dedication ceremony. Photographs where specific children can be identified in the state schools have been removed as they are confidential under V.T.C.A., Texas Family Code, Section 58.005. If a child in a juvenile facility operated by the Texas Youth Council/Commission can be identified from a photograph, that image is confidential unless the image was published, such as in an annual report or a brochure about the programs at a facility. If published in an agency publication, it is assumed the child would have granted permission for his image to be taken. Information is present for these facilities: Texas Blind, Deaf and Orphan School, Brady State School, Brownwood State School, Crockett State School, Corsicana State Home, Evins Center, Gainsville State School, Gatesville State School, Giddings State School, Mountain View School, Parrie Haynes Ranch, Statewide Reception Center at Brownwood, Waco State Home, and the West Texas Children's Home.

There are also two notebooks that focus on programs and functions of the agency as a whole. One notebook is arranged topically by the issues of parole, group homes, halfway homes, Morales-Turman litigation, and Board member orientation. The other notebook provides descriptive information about the different divisions and some programs within the agency. Within the latter notebook is a thesis on the history of the Interstate compacts, titled - An Historical Analysis of the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, Roger H. Voltz, 1982, Sam Houston State University.

This series consists of several sets of reports related to juvenile court activities, most created by the Texas State Youth Development Council or the Texas Youth Council, with one set created by the Texas State Department of Public Welfare: Dates covered are 1948, 1950, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1964, and 1967-1975. These reports discuss and/or present statistical analyses of juvenile cases, Texas statutes related to children's legal issues, related services for Texas children, and juvenile court reporting. Another series containing collections of state laws pertaining to juveniles and the courts can be found in the series Ombudsman files. The set of juvenile court reports is also available in the Texana Collection of the Archives and Information Services Division, see Texas Juvenile Court Research Reports, State Department of Public Welfare, volumes II-VII, 1948, 1950.

This series consists of a notebook of files the Ombudsman of the Texas Youth Council, containing Texas laws pertaining to juvenile delinquency, courts, and training schools; a publication on the duties of the ombudsman; an ombudsman and hearing procedures handbook; copies of state legislation concerning ombudsmen; and reports and publications on the duties of the ombudsman, the function of the program, and handling grievances in correctional facilities. Dates covered are ca. 1951, ca. 1972-ca. 1977. The notebook on laws contains annotated statutes, including the historical notes and decisions re: laws dating ca. 1914 through 1951. Some early publications on juvenile courts are present in the series Juvenile court reports.

The Ombudsman of the Texas Youth Council was initially appointed by the Executive Director on February 1, 1974. He had the responsibility to help ensure the protection of children's legal rights and to control abuse of administrative discretion through investigation, mediation or representation in administrative hearings. He could not institute a suit on behalf of any child against the state or against any employee, but could, after exhaustion of administrative remedies and after giving notice to the Executive Director, refer a child to an appropriate outside source for resolving a grievance or remedying an alleged wrong. Today, the General Counsel of the agency has the responsibility for youth rights.

This series contains correspondence and memoranda between staff of the Texas Youth Council, the staff at the Gatesville State School for Boys, local officials, and parents of students at Gatesville; clippings; background information about the school; and legislation, including a draft of a bill transferring the facility to the Texas Department of Corrections. These materials are dated 1978. The Gatesville State School for Boys was shut down by the Texas Youth Council in 1979 and the facilities were transferred to the Texas Department of Corrections. These materials generally concern a workplan developed by the Youth Council for phasing out operations at Gatesville and concerns over where to place the more serious juvenile offenders within the Youth Council system of juvenile correction facilities.

Discussion of the reasons behind the shut down of the facility and the planning process may also be found in the minutes of the agency, see the series Meeting minutes and agenda. See also the series Morales case files, since the shutdown was in part a result of a court order resulting from this litigation. The Morales case, litigation brought against the agency by some students, eventually resulted in changes in the way juvenile correction facilities are operated. Orders from the case also resulted in shutting down the Mountain View School for Boys.

This series consists of five notebooks containing field survey notes and sketches of the Gatesville facility grounds, dating 1934. The Gatesville State School for Boys was operated by the Texas State Board of Control in 1934. The Texas State Youth Development Council took over operation of the facility in 1949.

This series contains memos between staff of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), copies of rules sent to the staff of halfway houses operated by the TYC to review re: compliance with the Morales agreement, copies of rules in use at these homes, and comments on the rules. These materials are dated 1983-1984. One letter concerns an incident at a TYC juvenile correction facility that led to procedural changes. There was one letter containing the name of a youth in a state school; it had been redacted at some point in the past by the Youth Commission. We do not have a copy of the original letter. The names, home addresses and other identifying information of juvenile offenders in the agency's juvenile delinquent system are confidential under V.T.C.A., Texas Family Code, Section 58.005.

For more information about related changes resulting from the Morales litigation see the series Morales case files. The Morales case, litigation brought against the agency by some students, eventually resulted in changes in the way juvenile correction facilities are operated.

This series consists of loose photographs and photograph albums of facilities of the Texas Youth Council and children and staff at the facilities operated by the Council, including state juvenile training schools and the state orphanages. Dates covered are ca. 1960-ca. 1978. The loose photographs include some 8-by-10 inch black and white photographs mounted on a display-type board with captions. The name of the school/home is on the reverse side of the board for most images. Other loose photographs are 8-by-10 inch and smaller black and white images, usually with no identifying information. Views include children in classrooms or in training areas - such as machine shops or beauty salons; children engaged in recreational activities - such as singing groups, gym classes, swimming, or playing sports; views of construction at the Mountain View school; interior and exterior views from the Gainesville school; and a couple of photos of Texas governors - Governor Beauford Jester and Governor Price Daniel. The facilities identified in the photos are Gainesville, Gatesville, Mountain View, and Crockett schools; the state orphans homes in Corsicana and Waco; and the Blind, Deaf and Orphan School. The loose photographs are largely undated, but by analyzing the styles of dress, furnishings, and items seen in the photos, most of the pictures were likely taken in the early-mid 1960s.

There are two sets of photograph albums. The first set consists of three albums of pictures from the West Texas Children's Home, most taken in the early-mid 1970s. These views consist of color snapshots of Christmas celebrations, a Halloween party, children swimming, prom shots, and shots from student council trips. Also present are several black and white 5-by-7 inch shots of Governor John Connally and Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes at outdoor events, likely taken in the early-mid 1960s.

The second set of albums consists of two identical albums of color snapshots from the Crockett Wilderness Program dating from 1978. Views shown are camp scenes, including setting up camp and participating in a variety of camping activities.

Some of these photographs are confidential under V.T.C.A., Texas Family Code, Section 58.005. If a child in a juvenile facility operated by the Texas Youth Council/Commission can be identified from a photograph, that image is confidential unless the image was published, such as in an annual report or a brochure about the programs at a facility. If published in an agency publication, it is assumed the child would have granted permission for his image to be taken.

Earlier photographs (these are also confidential) at orphan homes or state training facilities can be found in the records of the Texas State Board of Control, housed in the Archives and Information Services Division. Also, early annual/biennial reports from the late 19th and early 20th centuries from the Gatesville State School for Boys (formerly the House of Correction and Reformatory, then the State Juvenile Training School) contain a large number of pictures of the facilities and the students. The location of the original photographs used in these annual/biennial reports is unknown.

The series contains minutes, meeting materials, and other files of the Texas Commission on Services to Children and Youth, dating 1972-1974. The executive director of the Texas Youth Council served as an ex-officio member of this commission. Materials present include minutes, reports on juvenile issues presented at meetings or forums, testimony heard by the Governor's Interagency Task Force on Youth Care and Rehabilitation, drafts of legislation, legislative recommendations, rules and regulation changes, correspondence and memoranda, newsletters, new member appointments, policy resolutions, budget data, and the constitution and bylaws of the Commission. Correspondence is largely composed of memoranda from staff to commissioners informing them of upcoming meetings, forums, and other issues.

Minutes of some meetings of the Texas Commission on Services to Children and Youth can be found in the Archives and Information Services Division.

This series consists of minutes from the annual meetings of the Association of Juvenile Compact Administrators and from its annual mid-winter workshops. Dates covered are 1955-1996. The minutes and workshops cover issues concerning multi-state problems involving runaway juveniles. Topics include proposed legislation, court decisions, return of juveniles to their home state, supervision of juveniles in another state, expenses involved, ages of juveniles, agreements, etc. Other materials present in the minutes include committee reports, resolutions, reports of the treasurer and secretary, and the report of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

The Texas Youth Commission administers the Interstate Compact on Juveniles for the state of Texas. The Council of State Governments drafted a compact agreement in 1955 to address the need for interstate agreements to cover multi-state problems involving runaway juveniles. The need was evident for procedures to permit the return of non-delinquent juveniles who ran away from home to other states, and for a system under which juvenile offenders could be supervised in other states. The first organizational meeting of the Compact was held in 1956. In 1965, the 59th Legislature of Texas enacted House Bill 531, The Uniform Interstate Compact on Juveniles. By adding a new section to the Texas Youth Council Act, Texas joined the compact in 1965. The executive director of the Youth Commission is the compact administrator for Texas. The Compact (ICJ) provides for the cooperative supervision of juvenile probationers and parolees who move from state to state. It also provides for the return of non-delinquent runaway youth, parole and probation absconders, and escapees to their home state. The administrators of each state compact are members of the Association of Juvenile Compact Administrators that meets yearly to discuss issues pertinent to its endeavors. It also holds mid-winter workshops for members on relevant juvenile issues.

A related item is a thesis about the Interstate compacts filed in the series Youth Commission facilities and programs history and information notebooks, titled An Historical Analysis of the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, by Roger H. Voltz, 1982, Sam Houston State University. An older handbook of procedures on handling Interstate Compact cases can be found in the series Interstate Compact on Juveniles files. Cases handled through the Texas Interstate Compact on Juveniles can be found at the Youth Commission.

Rules and regulations concerning the Association of Juvenile Compact Administrators and information about the Interstate Compact on Juveniles can be found on the Youth Commission's website, at http://austin.tyc.state.tx.us/cfinternet/icj/.

This series contains a practices and procedures handbook for fulfilling the functions of the Texas Interstate Compact on Juveniles, dating ca. 1965; and a summary report from the 1967 National Governor's Conference on Juvenile Delinquency. The handbook also contains a copy of the Texas legislation creating the Uniform Interstate Compact on Juveniles for Texas. Cases handled through the Texas Interstate Compact on Juveniles can be found at the Youth Commission.

The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) administers the Interstate Compact on Juveniles for the state of Texas. The Council of State Governments drafted a compact agreement in 1955 to address the need for interstate agreements to cover multi-state problems involving runaway juveniles. The need was evident for procedures to permit the return of non-delinquent juveniles who ran away from home to other states, and for a system under which juvenile offenders could be supervised in other states. The first organizational meeting of the Compact was held in 1956. In 1965, the 59th Legislature of Texas enacted House Bill 531, The Uniform Interstate Compact on Juveniles. By adding a new section to the Texas Youth Council Act, Texas joined the compact in 1965. The executive director of the Youth Commission is the compact administrator for Texas. The Compact (ICJ) provides for the cooperative supervision of juvenile probationers and parolees who move from state to state. It also provides for the return of non-delinquent runaway youth, parole and probation absconders, and escapees to their home state. The administrators of each state compact are members of the Association of Juvenile Compact Administrators that meets yearly to discuss issues pertinent to its endeavors.

Related materials are minutes from meetings of the Association of Juvenile Compact Administrators, found in the series Association of Juvenile Compact Administrators. Another related item is a thesis about the Interstate compacts filed in the series Youth Commission facilities and programs history and information notebooks, titled An Historical Analysis of the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, by Roger H. Voltz, 1982, for Sam Houston State University.

Information about the Interstate Compact on Juveniles can be found on the TYC's website at http://austin.tyc.state.tx.us/cfinternet/icj/. Selected policies from the TYC's General Administrative Policy Manual pertaining to working with the Interstate Compact on Juveniles can be found on the Youth Commission's website, at http://austin.tyc.state.tx.us/Cfinternet/icj/gaptoc.html.

This series contains two theses on the broad topic of juvenile corrections, dating 1958 and 1978. The first is titled The Measurement of Employee Absenteeism and Turnover in a Wilderness Therapeutic Camping Program, by Gary Selman, 1978, Stephen F. Austin State University. The next is Interrelationships Among Developmental Characteristics of Institutionalized Delinquent Boys, by B. Bryce Davis, 1958, Texas Christian University. Another thesis concerning Youth Commission activities relating to the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, can be found in the series Youth Commission facilities and programs history and information notebooks, titled An Historical Analysis of the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, by Roger H. Voltz, 1982, Sam Houston State University.

These records are minutes of the Texas Juvenile Corrections Master Plan Advisory Council, 1974. An agenda is present for August 1974, with minutes present for December 1974. A three volume master plan and a summary report, written in 1975, are present in the series Reports and studies, see Texas Master Plan for Youth Development Services, A Summary Report, Texas Youth Council, 1975; and Texas Master Plan for Youth Development Services, Texas Youth Council, 3 volume set, 1975.

Records include correspondence, statements of accounts, an inventory of goods on hand, annual statements of school funds, contracts, invoices of textbook purchases, architectural drawings of a proposed dormitory, list of boys buried at the Gatesville State School, list of discharge money paid to a few boys, lists of accounts, pedigree charts for livestock and dogs, and registration certificates and transfer of ownership certificates of registered cattle. Records are dated 1909-1944, 1949 and undated (bulk 1911-1927). These are financial records and some correspondence of the State Juvenile Training School, also known as the State Juvenile Training Facility (formerly known as the House of Correction and Reformatory, later known as the Gatesville State School for Boys). Topics include financial status of the overall facility and of the school at the facility, routine financial transactions, land leased or purchased for the facility, construction at the facility, and livestock management. Correspondents include the governor's office, the Board of Control, the Attorney General and the Comptroller.

Types of material found in the Morales case files include legal documents, reports, correspondence, memoranda, trial proceedings, testimony, depositions, charts, drafts, publications, administrative records, photocopies, clippings, manuals, field notes, and eight photographs. The records range in date from 1949 until 1990 and undated (bulk 1969-1989). These are records from the Morales v. Turman lawsuit, filed by students in several state juvenile correctional institutions against the Texas Youth Commission. The materials document the entire thirteen-year history of the Morales lawsuit, from its inception to the final report of the Consultants Committee.

The records have been arranged in file drawer order with undesignated material at the end remaining in the order in which they arrived. Drawers 1-9, with the exception of Drawer 3, appear to be materials gathered as evidence and in basic preparation for the 1973 trial and the 1974 memorandum opinion and order - some of the materials did become court exhibits. Drawer 3, however, particularly regards the immediate aftermath of the trial and the 1974 Memorandum and Opinion. Following Drawer 9, the complete 1973 trial proceedings are listed. Drawers B-1 through B-4 appear to contain materials concerning the appeal process, changing conditions at TYC, and information gathered for the potential re-hearing, such as the 1979 and 1981 interrogatories. An exception to this tendency exists among the files marked with roman numerals found in Drawer B-2. These materials generally document the process of the litigation from the initial complaint (regarding lack of access to attorneys and failure to provide the children with due process) up until the actual trial on the second amended complaint (charging major constitutional deprivations). Finally, the undesignated materials primarily concern processes of negotiation, settlement, and the creation and functioning of the Morales Consultants Committee. Some files appear to be numbered according to an unknown system, possibly the date of creation, and their relationship to the surrounding records is unclear, thus they remain in the order in which the Archives Division received them. Some records from earlier periods are found randomly among these undesignated materials; some documents are duplicates of earlier records.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

This series was removed from this finding aid due to the electronic file size limitations imposed by the online finding aid web site (TARO). If you are reading this electronically, click on the following link to access the finding aid for the first group of case files - Texas Youth Commission, Morales case files. If you are reading this in paper, the Morale case files are found in separate dividers within the binder.