The Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) board of directors voted on Thursday to approve a land purchase in Ellis County for a new secure facility.
The vote is provisional and needs to be approved by the Legislative Budget Board.
It has been 25 years since the state built a new secure juvenile facility — the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility in Mart, Texas.
The facilities have often been criticized as outdated, with large campuses and multiple buildings, ill equipped for modern conceptions of juvenile detention.
The Sunset Commission recommended in 2022 that the state build any new facilities near major metropolitan areas to assist in staffing efforts.
The tract of land in Ellis County is south of Dallas. No other details were provided.
TJJD has strained to keep staff since the pandemic, even relying on National Guardmembers to shore up staff. One in four juvenile corrections positions at the agency are unfilled.
One of the reasons identified by Sunset Commission staff was the rural locations of its facilities.
The legislature approved $200 million to build two facilities with a total of 200 secure beds.
The location for a second new facility is still being sought, with several sites near San Antonio and the Houston areas identified.
One facility will focus on children with a history of violent behavior, and the other will focus on children with high mental health needs.
“TJJD has been working closely with the Legislature, Texas Facilities Commission, and local stakeholders to identify sites that can offer strong staffing and programming support. The search for a second site continues,” said Barbara Kessler, the department's director of communications.
Ellis County did not respond to TPR's requests for comment.
Some officials in the counties that were identified as possible sites for the new detention center have voiced concern over how the facility could impact the staffing in local probation offices and secure detention centers. County facilities have had similar staffing problems to the state.
Ellis County has no local detention facility for juveniles.
