Williamson County Commissioner Cook: Spotlight on transformative justice

In 2018, a program began in Williamson County diverting young adults ages 17 to 24 accused of nonviolent felonies, such as drug charges, from the traditional criminal justice system to services that address their development needs and help them make wise decisions to develop a strong foundation for adulthood.

Judge Stacey Mathews of the 277th District Court presides over the Transformative Justice Program, based on the model of stakeholder and community partnerships. The TJ program team includes court staff, prosecutors from the Williamson County’s district attorney’s office, members of the defense bar and county's Juvenile Services staff.  The county aggressively seeks grant-funding for such programs to offset costs and reduce the burden on the taxpayer. The Commissioners Court proudly partners with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and the Texas Bar Foundation to help us fund this important program.

Does a community-based program led by decision-making teams improve emerging adults’ physical and mental health and reduce recidivism compared to the current criminal justice system? I interviewed two alums of this program. I changed their real names to protect their identities.

“Laura” was born into an unstable environment in a Michigan inner-city home. Her father left the family after fathering four children in as many years. Mom, who drank heavily, moved with her three kids to a trailer home in Georgetown, leaving one son behind. When Laura was 9, CPS removed the kids from the home. She, along with the older and younger brother, were placed in a neighborhood home for two weeks and ultimately moved to a group home of strangers. While there, Laura’s mom gave up her parental rights. Later, a foster family with big hearts adopted the three children. 

Laura thrived in her first two years of high school, joining ROTC, the Color Guard and becoming active in community service. However, her fragile life foundation began crumbling during her junior year, and she lost interest in the programs she had so enjoyed. Lacking friends outside of her prior groups, she drifted. In her words, “everything became meaningless.” Then her new parents divorced, and she moved again with her adoptive dad.

She started associating with troubled kids and began making poor decisions. She was arrested in Leander with a bag containing drugs and paraphernalia (the result of a group purchase) on a felony charge to the terror of her younger brother who witnessed her being handcuffed and placed in a police vehicle.

At the jail, J.R. Hancock, a defense attorney for the Transformative Justice Program and whose position is partially funded by the Texas Indigent Defense Commission grant, contacted Laura about the new program. Unbeknownst to her, Hancock was part of Laura’s adoption legal team. Recognizing the value of joining this program, Laura agreed to become one of its early clients. The next day Laura walked out of jail to her adoptive dad and her two siblings with a business card for case manager Marc Ruiz, a juvenile probation officer with the TJ program. Although she struggled with trusting people, she called Ruiz, beginning a relationship that would be life-changing.

Ruiz became her rock; always having her back and readily available by phone.  She found the TJ team didn’t condemn the slips she experienced during her time in the program, but instead sought the root causes and helped her address those. Her weekly team sessions were her favorite times, and while she resisted counseling, she soon realized how important it was to deal appropriately with issues, such as negative self-talk, which limited her potential.

“Laura was able to build a relationship of trust with the TJ Team, which is the foundation of this program,” said Judge Mathews. “I have every confidence that she can take what she has learned and continue to build a successful and productive life. She is a shining example of what being given a supportive second chance can do. Rather than having a felony conviction, Laura is employed and volunteering in her community.”

I met the second participant – "Gabe," a recent graduate of the program, one afternoon. Born in Georgetown, Gabe grew up elsewhere in Williamson County in a large family close to their Baptist Church community. The youngest of five children, he attended church on Sundays and Wednesdays. When he was in middle school, he lost his dad, with whom he was very close, succumbing to an infection following relatively routine heart surgery. The family was financially secure because of their dad’s planning; however, Gabe felt his mom was in a grief fog of forgetfulness, odd behavior and not herself. It took one year for doctors to diagnose a brain tumor. While he was still in high school, his mother was treated with chemotherapy to hopefully shrink the tumor causing true brain fog. Gabe quit theatre and sports, but increasingly used marijuana, all while maintaining good grades. He was missing his dad and stressing about his mom.

Two years and two surgeries later, his mom died. Gabe finished his junior year, then passed the GED, and with the experience he gained in his school’s culinary program, became employed in the restaurant trade. One day he was stopped for erratic driving while vaping marijuana and was arrested for felony possession and driving under the influence.

While taking him to jail, the officers mentioned the TJ Program and encouraged him to apply, but he thought it sounded too good to be true. He was booked into the county jail and spent one night. The next morning, he met Terence Davis, director of the program, and Ruiz. They persuaded him, and he agreed to join. Unlike Laura, he had no problem sharing in group therapy or with a counselor. His problem was giving up marijuana, and over the next six months, slipped quite a bit – so much that he was facing placement in a drug treatment center. Fortunately, he realized what it took to make meaningful change and stopped using marijuana. The design of the TJ program allowed Ruiz to increase his time with him and help Gabe develop tactics to recognize his stress points and make appropriate adjustments. 

“Gabe is a great example of our commitment in the TJ Program that we won’t give up on you,” said Judge Mathews. “You must be willing to put in the work needed to be successful. Now Gabe is going to pay-it-forward and become a mentor with the program.”

Today there are 29 young adults in the program. Since its inception, nine individuals were unsuccessful in completing the program and 17 have graduated.

“We know that this program helps young adults,” said Mathews. “I am proud to be able to work with such a great team during the court process to make a difference in the lives of young adults. My hope is that this work can be replicated to provide an option for more young people.”

Researchers at Texas A&M, Harvard and the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston are gathering data on the program, the individuals in the program and those who chose the traditional jail route and will track them for outcomes up to five years. Now we wait.

Terry Cook is county commissioner of Precinct 1, which includes most of Round Rock, most of Austin in Williamson County and part of southern Cedar Park.