An Analysis of the 

State and Local Impact 

of the Texas Juvenile 

Justice Reforms

Tony Fabelo, PhD

Nancy Arrigona, MPA

Michael D. Thompson

Council of State Governments Justice Center

Austin Clemens, PhD

Miner P. Marchbanks III, PhD

The Public Policy Research Institute, 

Texas A&M University

Closer to Home

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

January 2015

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BACKGROUND

Prepared at the request of Texas state leaders, this 

report examines the impact of extensive steps that 

policymakers took between 2007 and 2011 to reform 

the state’s juvenile justice system.1 The dataset used to conduct 

this study draws on more than 1.3 million individual case records 

assembled across databases maintained by three state agencies. 

After it came to light in 2007 that youth in state-run juvenile 

facilities had suffered a number of abuses, Texas state leaders 

made a concerted effort to reduce the number of youth in state-run 

secure correctional institutions and, over the course of seven years, 

invested hundreds of millions of dollars in local juvenile probation 

departments. (See Figure 1) Other states can point to similar 

efforts to address youth incarceration, driven by a combination of 

research, advocacy, litigation and fiscal considerations. 

To some extent, what distinguishes the reforms implemented in Texas from other states where 

there has been a decline in youth incarceration is that Texas elected officials were explicit in their 

goals of moving youth closer to home and shrinking one of the largest state juvenile correctional 

systems in the United States. 

FIGURE 1. REFORM HIGHLIGHTS WITH AVERAGE DAILY POPULATION IN STATE-RUN 

 SECURE FACILITIES

To see the full report, visit 

csgjusticecenter.org/youth/

publications/closer-to-home.
2 | C L O S E R T O H O M E

But what truly sets Texas apart from most states is its history of investing in and maintaining a 

robust information system that makes it possible to track youth referred to the juvenile justice 

system, regardless of whether they are incarcerated in a state-run correctional facility or are under 

the supervision of a local juvenile probation department. Furthermore, state policymakers have 

repeatedly leveraged this capacity to measure the extent to which state agencies are reducing 

reincarceration and rearrest rates among youth coming into contact with the juvenile justice system.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS STUDY

The findings in this report are essential reading for any state policymaker, local official, or advocate in 

Texas who seeks to determine the impact of the reforms and to build on the efforts to date. But this 

report is not written for a Texas audience only; findings presented here have national significance.

First, the questions Texas state officials posed are highly relevant everywhere, but are unanswered in 

most states. In all but three states in the nation, the number of youth incarcerated in secure juvenile 

facilities declined dramatically between 1997 and 2011.2 This trend gives rise to numerous questions: 

Why has the population declined? If youth coming into contact with the juvenile justice system are 

now less likely to be committed to a secure facility, what is happening to them instead? Are youth 

who would previously have been committed to state incarceration but are now adjudicated to 

community supervision less likely to be rearrested, referred again to the juvenile justice system, or 

reincarcerated soon after they reach adult age? In no other state to date have legislative, judicial, and 

executive branch officials come together seeking data-driven answers to these questions. 

Second, analyses conducted for this study draw on a statewide dataset unlike any ever compiled 

before. State officials extracted 1.3 million records corresponding to approximately 466,000 youth 

who were in contact with the juvenile probation system, who were committed to and released 

from a state-run juvenile correctional facility, and/or who were arrested over an eight-year period. 

By drawing on three distinct databases, the research team had extensive information about each 

youth’s history of contact with the juvenile justice system. Furthermore, the research team had data 

that tracked whether the youth had contact with police, probation, or corrections after his or her 

adjudication and after the youth reached adult age. 

Third, the number of records involved in the dataset, and information available in each of these 

records (such as demographic information, risk factors, offense, disposition, and programming 

and placement), made it possible to conduct multivariate analyses. Using this approach, 

researchers could control for dozens of variables not only pertaining to the characteristics of the 

youth, but also the characteristics of the county (crime rates, unemployment rates, per capita 

income, etc.) where the youth resided. Consequently, when comparing rearrest rates for juveniles 

under community supervision from one county to the next or when gauging differences in rearrest 

rates between youth released from a state-run secure facility and youth under community 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 3

supervision, researchers could be confident they were making apples-to-apples comparisons. 

Furthermore, this methodology enabled researchers to measure the relationship between 

particular factors, such as differences in spending or type of program, and recidivism rates for 

youth under juvenile justice supervision.

KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY THIS REPORT

1. How have state reforms affected the number of youth incarcerated in 

state-run secure correctional facilities? And what happened to juvenile crime 

in the meantime?

Between 2007—when state lawmakers enacted the first set of laws aimed at reducing the state’s 

use of state-run secure correctional facilities for delinquent youth—and 2012, the number of youth 

incarcerated in these facilities has plummeted 66 percent, from 4,305 to 1,481. Close inspection of 

pre- and post-reform trends regarding the admissions of youth to state-run correctional facilities 

and their length of stay once incarcerated demonstrates that the changes in state law were at least 

a key factor and likely the principal driver of this change. During the same time period, juvenile 

crime (as measured by arrests) declined close to 33 percent, from 136,206 arrests in 2007 to 91,873 

arrests in 2012. Although it is impossible to attribute that development to the reforms or any other 

particular policy change, the sharp reduction in juvenile crime that occurred demonstrates that in 

making it harder for local governments to commit a youth to a state-run correctional facility, the 

state did not compromise public safety, and possibly became safer.3

2. What impact did state policy restricting the commitment of youth to state custody 

have on local juvenile probation departments? 

Between 2007 and 2012, the average number of youth under supervision by a local juvenile probation 

department declined 30 percent, from 35,353 to 24,674. Of the 165 juvenile probation departments, all 

but a few, which were among the smallest in the state, experienced a dramatic reduction in the number of 

youth referred to juvenile probation supervision. Some of the largest departments experienced a decline 

exceeding 50 percent. The research conducted for this study did not explore what, if any, relationship there 

was between the reforms and the decline in the number of youth under community supervision, which 

appears to be driven largely by the decline in arrests and fewer referrals to the juvenile justice system.

Because only 3 percent (in 2005, 2,677 out of 92,668) of all dispositions resulted in a youth being 

committed to a state-run correctional facility prior to the reforms, it was nearly impossible for the 

reforms to have significantly increased the volume of youth adjudicated to the supervision of local 

probation departments. Closer examination of these numbers did reveal, however, that since the 

reforms, a larger percentage of dispositions to probation have resulted in placement in countybased secure and non-secure residential facilities.4

 (See Figure 2) 
4 | C L O S E R T O H O M E

3. To what extent did the state allocate additional resources to county juvenile 

probation departments, and what did counties do with that money?

Between 2007 and 2012, the state shuttered 8 state-run juvenile correctional facilities, reducing 

appropriations for state-run secure facilities from $469 million during the 2006–2007 biennium 

to $290 million during the 2014–2015 biennium. The state has reinvested heavily in local juvenile 

probation departments, which are responsible for coordinating the supervision, treatment, and 

delivery of services to youth adjudicated to probation. In doing so, the Texas Juvenile Justice 

Department went from being an agency whose dollars were dedicated primarily to the operation of 

state-run correctional facilities to an agency whose dollars are dedicated primarily to the funding of 

local juvenile probation departments to provide community supervision, services, and treatment. 

Even with the increased investment from the state, funding for most juvenile probation departments 

continues to come from local county governments. For example, in 2012, large urban counties in Texas 

funded as much as 82 percent of the budget of their local juvenile probation departments.5

The combination of fewer youth referred to and under the supervision of juvenile probation 

departments, and additional funding made available from the state and to a lesser degree by counties 

to juvenile probation departments, resulted in a significant increase in spending, per capita, on 

youth served by these departments. Adjusting for inflation, annual spending on a youth under the 

jurisdiction of juvenile probation departments increased 68 percent (from $4,337 to $7,304) between 

2005 and 2012. (See Figure 3)

Non-­‐

Adjudicated	
  

Disposi2ons	
  

63,341	
  

68%	
  

Adjudicated	
  

Proba2on	
  

26,650	
  

29%	
  

Adjudicated	
  

Commitment	
  	
  

2677	
  

3%	
  

Non-­‐

Adjudicated	
  

Disposi2ons	
  

45,436	
  

70%	
  

Adjudicated	
  

Proba2on	
  

18,669	
  

29%	
  

Adjudicated	
  

Commitment	
  

872	
  

1%	
  

Percentage	
  of	
  disposi2ons	
  to	
  proba2on	
  resul2ng	
  in	
  placement	
  in	
  

local	
  secure/non	
  secure	
  facili2es	
  has	
  increased	
  since	
  reforms.	
  

County	
  

Secure	
  

Placement	
  

3,445	
  

13%	
  

County	
  

Non-­‐Secure	
  

Placement	
  

3,200	
  

12%	
  

Community	
  

Supervision	
  	
  

20,005	
  

75%	
  

County	
  

Secure	
  

Placement	
  

3,038	
  

16%	
  

County	
  Non-­‐

Secure	
  

Placement	
  

2,549	
  

14%	
  

Community	
  

Supervision	
  

13,082	
  

70%	
  

Total	
  Number	
  of	
  	
  

Disposi2ons,	
  

FY2005	
  

N=	
  92,668	
  

Total	
  Number	
  of	
  	
  

Disposi2ons,	
  

FY2012	
  

N=64,977	
  

FIGURE 2. PERCENTAGE OF DISPOSITIONS TO PROBATION RESULTING IN PLACEMENT 

IN COUNTY SECURE/NON-SECURE FACILITIES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 5

In making additional funding available to juvenile probation departments, the state placed few parameters 

on how those dollars could be used. Counties applied a large percentage of the new state dollars toward the 

costs associated with placing youth in local secure and non-secure residential settings. Between 2008 and 

2012, counties increased the allocation of state dollars toward community-based programs for youth 

under juvenile probation department supervision from $10.6 million to $16.8 million, an increase of 57 

percent. But counties’ allocation of state dollars toward county-based secure and non-secure facilities 

grew nearly twice as much during the same period, from $14.2 million to $29.7 million, or 109 percent.6

4. Were youth who were adjudicated to community supervision less likely to be 

rearrested than youth committed to a state-run juvenile correctional facility? 

As is the case across the U.S., rearrest and reincarceration rates for Texas youth in contact 

with the juvenile justice system are high. Sixty-four percent of youth under juvenile probation 

supervision in 2010 were rearrested within three years, while 77 percent of youth released from a 

state-run juvenile correctional facility in 2010 were rearrested during the same period. The 3-year 

reincarceration rate for these youth was 13 percent for juveniles beginning probation supervision 

and 44 percent for juveniles released from a state-run juvenile correctional facility. 

These particular statistics do not make the case that the nearly 25,000 youth under local juvenile 

probation department supervision in Texas in 2012 will do better than the nearly 1,000 youth 

released from state-run secure facilities in 2012, as the statistics don’t account for the possibility 

that youth under community supervision may have characteristics that make them less likely to 

reoffend than youth committed to state-run secure facilities.

FIGURE 3. PER CAPITA FUNDING FOR JUVENILE PROBATION DEPARTMENTS, 

FY2005 AND FY20127
6 | C L O S E R T O H O M E

With the use of multivariate modeling, however, researchers were able to make comparisons of youth 

eligible for state commitment, controlling for offense history, age, demographics, and treatment 

needs, and also controlling for characteristics of the county to which the youth returned. In doing so, 

the research team could determine whether the youth adjudicated to community supervision or the 

youth committed to state custody was more likely to be rearrested. Youth released from a state-run 

juvenile correctional facility were 21 percent more likely to be rearrested than youth adjudicated to the 

supervision of a local juvenile probation department. Furthermore, a youth released from a staterun juvenile correctional facility who reoffended was nearly three times as likely to be rearrested for 

a felony-level offense as a youth who reoffended while under community probation supervision. (See 

Figure 4)

 

Although youth committed to state-run secure facilities may have had the same characteristics of 

youth adjudicated to probation supervision in the community, these data do not suggest that public 

safety is always better served by placing a youth under supervision instead of in a secure facility; 

indeed, there are undoubtedly cases where incarcerating a youth may be in the best interest of 

public safety. But these data do show that the state is getting better results (and certainly saving 

a lot of money) adjudicating certain types of youth who previously would have been committed to 

state custody to the supervision of local juvenile probation departments. 

FIGURE 4. YOUTH INCARCERATED IN STATE-RUN FACILITIES VS. YOUTH 

 SUPERVISED IN THE COMMUNITY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 7

5. When looking at youth under community supervision across the state, how do 

rearrest rates compare among youth placed in different types of programs? 

The research team compared the probability of rearrest among youth who were previously eligible for 

state commitment who were placed in residential facilities as well as in non-residential treatment, 

skill-based, and surveillance programs.8 When controlling for a broad spectrum of variables, the team 

found that the likelihood of rearrest among these youth—regardless of the program in which they 

were placed—was comparable. (See Figure 5) Furthermore, youth who were not placed in any program 

were no more likely to be rearrested than youth who were placed in a treatment or surveillance 

program. In other words, the majority of approaches employed at the local level, ranging from 

the highly restrictive nature of placement in a secure or non-secure facility to a non-residential 

treatment program, are not having any more impact on rearrest rates than no intervention. 

This does not suggest that youth under the supervision of a local juvenile probation department 

do not benefit from treatment or community supervision, or that any particular program does not 

work. In fact, there is some evidence that youth who participated in skill-based programs in the 

post-reform period had better outcomes than youth who were placed in county-based residential 

facilities or received no intervention. Moreover, other rigorous research has shown that there are 

interventions and models that do work when implemented effectively.9 Along with the additional 

data described below, these data underscore the opportunity that exists to improve the return on 

investment being made in community-based programs and services for youth who are under the 

supervision of local probation departments. 

FIGURE 5. REARREST RATES FOR PRE- AND POST-REFORM STUDY GROUPS BY TYPE OF 

 INTERVENTION
8 | C L O S E R T O H O M E

6. How do rearrest rates for youth adjudicated to the supervision of juvenile probation 

departments differ across counties? What explains the differences in rearrest rates?

Although the likelihood of rearrest for youth under community supervision, when controlling for all variables, 

are considerably better than the likelihood of rearrest for youth released from state custody, youth under 

community supervision in 2012 were as likely to be rearrested as youth under community supervision in 

2007. What this statistic masks, however, is how much variation there is one from county to the next. 

Comparing recidivism rates of youth who were previously eligible for state commitment who were under 

probation supervision from one county to the next was problematic, because both county characteristics 

and the characteristics of the youth under probation supervision vary by county. Using multivariate modeling, 

researchers were able to predict the rearrest rates of youth under probation supervision in 30 of the largest 

counties in Texas. They found that approximately one third of these counties had higher than expected rearrest 

rates and approximately one third of the counties had lower than expected rearrest rates. (See Figure 6) 

Although these and further analyses could 

not pinpoint explanations for these variations, 

the research team was able to rule out some 

possible reasons, including how much counties 

spent per youth (higher spending did not 

necessarily show better results) and what 

programs they required a youth to complete. 

7. What opportunities exist to improve 

recidivism rates for youth under 

juvenile probation supervision?

With actual rearrest rates in some counties lower than expected, and with numerous examples of innovative 

programs across the state, there are many reasons to believe recidivism rates can be reduced among youth 

under juvenile probation supervision. In-depth analysis of eight counties—which represented a cross-section 

of large and mid-size counties across the state—revealed that there is a significant gap between existing 

practice and what the research has shown is necessary to reduce recidivism. For example, of 275 programs 

examined in these jurisdictions, all but 2 served a mix of youth who were assessed as being at a low, medium, 

and high risk of reoffending. In most of these eight counties, youth who were at low risk of reoffending spent, 

on average, more days in programs than youth who were at high risk of reoffending. Further, youth who did 

not demonstrate particularly high needs were placed in programs while the acute needs of other youth often 

went unmet. For example, less than a third of youth in the 8 counties who were under supervision and had 

substance use treatment needs received any type of substance use programming. These and other practices 

minimize the impact that a program can have and miss important opportunities to reduce recidivism. They 

can also increase the likelihood a youth will come into contact with the justice system.10

FIGURE 6. COMPARISON OF PREDICTED 

AND ACTUAL REARREST RATES 

IN 30 LARGE COUNTIES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 9

THE VIEW FROM THE GROUND LEVEL

The research team did not rely solely on quantitative analyses to inform their understanding 

of the impact state reforms had on local juvenile probation departments. In each of the eight 

counties where in-depth quantitative analyses were conducted, the research team used the 

Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center’s white paper, Core Principles for Reducing 

Recidivism and Improving Other Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System, to assess 

local policies and practices according to what research shows works to reduce recidivism. The 

research team participated in more than a dozen in-person meetings with administrators 

and line staff in each county’s juvenile justice system and administered detailed written 

questionnaires to stakeholders in each county’s juvenile justice system. 

Consistent with the results of the quantitative analyses, the research team found some gaps 

between what the research shows works to reduce recidivism and existing policies and practices: 

■ Local juvenile probation departments conduct risk and need assessments, but typically 

information about the youth’s offense and prior history is used to make disposition and 

programming decisions.

■ Programs funded by counties often cite the use of interventions that have extensive 

research demonstrating their effectiveness, but these interventions are not necessarily 

implemented with fidelity to the model. For example, staff may not be trained 

appropriately or the intensity or dosage of services is less than what the model prescribes.

■ Standardized processes and policies do not exist in most jurisdictions to govern how and 

when assessments are conducted and how the results of those assessments 

should be used to drive program referral and development.

■ Most programs lack a written framework that describes the program’s goals, target 

population, and measurable outcomes for youth the program serves. 

■ Youth participating in programs often do not meet the criteria established for that 

program’s target population.

■ Data describing the number of youth served by programs, the number of youth who complete 

programs, and whether program participants have subsequent contact with the justice system 

is collected, but rarely used to assess the overall performance of the program, to improve the 

program, or to hold the program accountable for particular results. Nor is information about 

youth characteristics, including their risk and need factors, used to ensure that the department 

is providing appropriate programs and services to the youth under their supervision.

To its credit, Texas has used the results of this qualitative assessment to develop a system-wide 

improvement plan, an approach that can be replicated by juvenile justice systems everywhere.
10 | C L O S E R T O H O M E

KEY TAKEAWAYS

■ As a result of state reforms enacted between 2007 and 2011, Texas has 

made good on its promise to reduce the number of youth incarcerated in 

its state-run juvenile correctional facilities without compromising public 

safety. 

■ The closure of eight juvenile correctional facilities has generated 

hundreds of millions of dollars in savings. A significant portion of those 

savings has been reinvested in county juvenile probation departments to 

support and serve youth under community supervision. 

■ Thousands of youth who would have been committed to state custody 

prior to the reforms are now being supervised closer to home. Their 

rearrest rates are significantly lower than similar youth released from 

state-run secure facilities.

■ Data show that youth who would previously have been committed to 

state-run secure facilities can be supervised safely and achieve better 

outcomes in the community. Yet there are still youth who are being 

committed to state-run secure facilities with profiles that are nearly 

identical to youth who are adjudicated to county probation supervision. 

Texas has a significant opportunity to further reduce the number of 

youth incarcerated in state-run correctional facilities, as well as focus on 

strategies to reduce stubbornly high rates of rearrest and reincarceration 

for the youth released from these facilities. 

■ Texas is not realizing the full potential of its investment in communitybased supervision and services. Greater guidance, increased training 

and technical assistance, and improved approaches to performance 

measurement are necessary to maximize the impact of the programs and 

practices that research shows can improve outcomes for youth involved 

with the juvenile justice system. 

■ States and local jurisdictions across the country should assess whether 

they are collecting the data necessary to analyze recidivism and other 

outcomes for youth, whether youth are being provided with the type 

of supervision and programs appropriate to their needs and risk of 

reoffending, and whether such supervision and programs are being 

delivered as effectively as necessary to improve outcomes for these 

youth.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 11

This report, Closer to Home, follows on the heels of two publications recently 

issued by the CSG Justice Center to help policymakers and professionals who 

work on the front lines of the juvenile justice system to reduce recidivism and 

improve other outcomes for youth.11

Measuring and Using Juvenile Recidivism Data to Inform Policy, Practice, 

and Resource Allocation reviews the results of a 50-state survey of 

states’ current approaches to measuring recidivism rates among 

youth involved in the state juvenile justice system.12 It also provides 

state and local policymakers with recommended approaches to 

improve the measurement, analysis, collection, reporting, and use of 

recidivism data for youth involved with the juvenile justice system. 

Core Principles for Reducing Recidivism 

and Improving Other Outcomes for 

Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

distills and synthesizes the research 

on what works to reduce recidivism and improve 

outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system 

into four core principles.13 This white paper also 

provides information about lessons learned from 

research and practice on how to implement the 

principles with fidelity. 

PREVIOUS RESEARCH BY THE CSG JUSTICE CENTER 

THAT INFORMS THIS REPORT

ENDNOTES

1 Data used for this study included youth disposed to juvenile probation between 2005 and 2012, and, as such, 

allowed for the examination of outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system since reforms were 

adopted in 2007, 2009, and 2011. Because the data used for this study do not extend beyond 2012, the findings in 

this report do not reflect any impact of additional reforms adopted in 2013, which are occasionally referenced in 

this study.

2

 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential 

Placement. Available at ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp. 

3

 In Texas, commitments to state facilities made up an average of only three percent of all juvenile 

dispositions prior to the reforms. Post-reform, commitments dropped to one percent of all dispositions. 

Because these numbers were so small, they could not have had a significant impact on statewide arrest or 

recidivism rates.
12 | C L O S E R T O H O M E

Suggested citation: Tony Fabelo et al., Closer to Home: An Analysis of the State and Local Impact of the 

Texas Juvenile Justice Reforms (New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2015).

4 By 2012, the total number of youth held on any given day in county-based secure and non-secure facilities 

(2,204) exceeded the total number of youth incarcerated in state-run correctional facilities (1,481).

5 Expenditure information provided by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD).

6 Information received by TJJD.

7 Expenditure information provided by TJJD and adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 

CPI Inflation Calculator, data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?.

8 The state currently organizes its programs into 34 categories, and the overlap among these categories 

is considerable, making the assignment of a program to a particular category somewhat arbitrary. 

Furthermore, just because a program is assigned to a particular category does not mean it necessarily 

adheres to the criteria associated with such programs—or that it employs the policies and practices that 

the research demonstrates are essential to success.

9 Mark W. Lipsey et al., Improving the Effectiveness of Juvenile Justice Programs: A New Perspective on 

Evidence-Based Practice (Washington, DC: Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, 2010).

10 James Bonta and Don A. Andrews, Risk-Need-Responsivity Model for Offender Assessment and 

Rehabilitation (Ottawa, ON: Public Safety Canada, 2007).

11These publications were made possible through funding provided by the John D. and Catherine T. 

MacArthur Foundation, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, and the support of 

the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

12 Council of State Governments Justice Center, Measuring and Using Juvenile Recidivism Data to Inform 

Policy, Practice, and Resource Allocation (New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2014).

13 Elizabeth Seigle, Nastassia Walsh, and Josh Weber, Core Principles for Reducing Recidivism and Improving 

Other Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System (New York: Council of State Governments Justice 

Center, 2014).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 13

This report was prepared by the Council of State Governments Justice Center in partnership with the Public Policy 

Research Institute at Texas A&M University, and with the generous support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the 

Public Safety Performance Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts, and by Grant No. 2012-CZ-BX-K071 awarded by 

the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, 

which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice 

and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the Office for Victims of Crime, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, 

Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. The opinions and findings of this document are those of the 

authors and do not necessarily represent the official positions or policies of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Pew 

Charitable Trusts, the U.S. Department of Justice, OJJDP, Texas A&M University, members of the Council of State 

Governments, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, or the State of Texas. 

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and OJJDP reserve the right to reproduce, publish, 

translate, or otherwise use and authorize others to use all or any part of the copyrighted material in this 

publication. Websites and resources referenced in this publication provided useful information at the time 

of this writing. The authors do not necessarily endorse this information, the sources of this information, 

nor other materials produced by these sources.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private philanthropy that creates a brighter future for the nation’s 

children by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity and transform 

struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow. 

The Public Safety Performance Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts helps states advance data-driven, 

fiscally sound policies and practices in the criminal and juvenile justice systems that protect public safety, 

hold offenders accountable, and control corrections costs.

The CSG Justice Center is a national nonprofit organization that serves policymakers at the local, state, 

and federal levels from all branches of government. The CSG Justice Center provides practical, nonpartisan 

advice and evidence-based, consensus driven strategies to increase public safety and strengthen 

communities. For more information see csgjusticecenter.org.

© 2015 by the Council of State Governments Justice Center. All rights reserved.

About the Public Policy Research Institute of Texas A&M University: Established by the Texas State 

Legislature in 1983, the Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI) at Texas A&M University is a multidisciplinary 

government and social policy research organization. Since its inception, PPRI has provided scientific research 

and evaluative services to more than nearly 100 public and private sponsors. PPRI research informs decision 

making in a variety of policy areas, including education, juvenile justice, the courts, public health, the 

workforce and employment, and child and family well-being.