By John McGreevy, TJJD Communications

TJJD staff at secure facilities work hard to help the youth in our care better handle their emotions and interact in positive ways. It’s critical that this work continues as a young person re-joins their community and that’s why the agency reaches out to families and caregivers in a variety of ways as a youth transitions home.

One example of this outreach returns in July, when TJJD initiates the latest session of its virtual Texas Model Training for TJJD Youth Caregivers and Families. This six-week interactive program offers parents and caregivers a thorough understanding of the Texas Model and how it helps youth progress while they are at a TJJD facility. The target of this training is to help parents and caregivers learn skills and techniques they’ll be able to use in their daily lives to limit conflict and ease communication so they can guide and support their teen.

This will be the third session of these classes for 2022 and runs every Tuesday, starting at 6 p.m., July 12 to Aug. 16. There will be a fourth session later this year that will run Oct. 11 to Nov. 15.

The training can equip families to address situations and questions that may arise as they welcome their TJJD youth home. Questions such as: What is the best way to respond to a stressful situation? How do you talk about your feelings and impulses in a healthy way? Where do you turn when you are feeling angry or dysregulated?

The sessions include information about Texas Model topics like healthy coping skills, emotional and behavioral regulation, the importance of connection, behavioral correction strategies, and the principles of trauma-informed care. Each session is hosted by a TJJD staff member who has expertise in a certain area. For example, Desiree Cortinas, who is a Family Enrichment Specialist, leads a conversation on “Creating a Trauma Informed Lens.” This is all designed to give family members a better idea of the strategies and skills the youth have been learning during their time spent in the facility. There also is time at the end of each session for questions or to share experiences. Each time a parent, caregiver or family member participates in one of these six sessions, the youth’s file is updated to reflect that.

Ms. Cortinas has been encouraged by the way the classes have gone. “I was pleasantly surprised at the response of some of the parents after the trauma lens training,” she said. “Not only were the parents engaged throughout the training by asking questions, but some even stayed longer to discuss their situation as they began to connect the information we discussed to their child or even what they had been through as a family.”

“As a Family Re-Entry Enrichment Specialist it’s my hope to not only inform and educate our families, but to make them feel that they have a place in their child’s rehabilitation/treatment process and to empower them to participate in the best possible way that will help their child on their journey to positive change and success,” Cortinas said.

One of the mothers participating in the last session of the training told Cortinas that the training was helpful because she had been struggling with her son’s behaviors for so long that she had forgotten everything he’d been through, Cortinas said.

As the parents progress through the sessions, staff members may reach out to schedule a virtual meeting with them and their youth to discuss how the Texas Model strategies have impacted them.

“The youth can share which regulation tools are working and which portions of the Texas Model programming might be helpful upon returning home,” says Lisa Broussard, TJJD’s Director of Texas Model Leadership Development.

The aim of TJJD is that each youth committed to the agency’s temporary care will leave with a fresh outlook and a sound plan for future success, and that these training sessions will go a long way toward helping the youth meet that goal. This will in turn lead toward safer communities.

Any parent or caregiver who is interested in attending one of the free training sessions is encouraged to reach out to their case manager to register. Find out more on the Texas Model Training Page.