Ellis County is building opportunity before youth go deeper into the system

By TJJD Communications —

When a youth begins to struggle, the most important question is not only what happened, but what happens next to get them on the right path. 

In Ellis County, the juvenile services department is building an answer around providing a way for youth to take accountability while also creating opportunities to learn, foster relationships that hold them to a higher standard, and connect with people who continue to believe in them when they are struggling to believe in themselves. 

That philosophy is taking shape across a growing continuum of education, restorative practices, behavioral health, mentorship, career preparation and real-world skill building. It is also shaping how the county prepares to serve youth who do enter secure detention. 

As the Texas Juvenile Justice Department moves forward with plans for a new state-of-the-art secure facility to serve youth at a state level, located in Ellis County, the work already happening in the community offers an important look at what a comprehensive juvenile justice system can accomplish.  

The goal is not to wait until a youth reaches a secure facility to begin changing their trajectory. It is to create meaningful opportunities to change course much earlier. 

Accountability Without Writing Youth Off 

At the Ellis County Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP), this philosophy is visible every day. 

Since its initial start in 2021, the program has worked to create an environment where youth are held accountable for the behaviors that brought them there while continuing to receive education, treatment, skill development, and support. 

Alicia Davidson, the JJAEP Administrator and a licensed special education teacher, has been part of the program since its beginning. Originally hired as the program’s special education teacher, Davidson became administrator in November 2024. Kevin Grimes who has been a teacher with JJAEP since the beginning and is also a certified RP practitioner  has played a huge role in implementing restorative practices as a central part of the program. 

Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all response, the JJAEP begins by getting to know each student and understanding their academic, mental and emotional needs. 

Every student participates in a morning Restorative Practice Circle and an afternoon Character Development Group. Weekly treatment team meetings bring staff together to discuss student progress and determine how to address challenges. Students also work through a four-level point system that connects their choices and behavior to privileges and opportunities. 

When a student loses points, the process does not end with punishment. They have an opportunity to earn them back, and that distinction really matters. The message is that accountability is real, but so is the opportunity to repair, improve, and move forward. And this approach has been effective. 

During the 2025-2026 school year, Ellis County JJAEP served 65 students, its highest enrollment to date. Of those students, 95% completed their JJAEP placement.   

Since the program opened in 2021, only four students have returned to JJAEP. There has also not been a physical fight among students at the Ellis County JJAEP in its five years of operation. An impressive statistic for this population. 

Staff attribute the success of the program in large part to the relationships they build with students from the moment they arrive. In addition to clear expectations from the beginning, students are taught the skills necessary to succeed within the program and beyond it. 

And, according to the county, some families have even asked for their children to remain at JJAEP because it is the first educational environment where they have experienced meaningful success. That may be one of the clearest measures of the program’s impact. 

Building Relationships and Skills With Diverse Programming  

The county’s approach is built around the belief that these outcomes begin with relationships. Teachers provide daily direct instruction alongside individualized digital learning through Imagine Learning. This year, the program also expanded its educational resources through EdgeEX to provide additional tutorials, lessons and opportunities for student engagement. 

For Ellis County, education does not stop at academics. Students participate in community-based programming throughout the week, including Reach Council, Impact Communities, 4-H and expressive arts. Monthly workshops introduce students to financial literacy, Texas State Technical College, Texas Workforce and other resources that can help them envision life beyond the program.

The county’s work also extends to focus on preparing youth for what comes after they exit. Independent living activities help students practice skills they will eventually need as adults, including budgeting, paying rent, navigating employment, communicating effectively and making responsible decisions. The goal is to make the future tangible. 

The JJAEP team also creates opportunities for students to experience success in less structured settings through activities such as Fun Day Fridays, art and fitness programming, FFA opportunities and other hands-on experiences. 

Even Mr. EC Snuggles, the program’s resident bunny donated by 4-H, has become part of the environment! It may seem like a small detail, but it reflects that by creating an environment where youth feel connected, valued, and invested in, we can make accountability more meaningful. 

Someone in Their Corner 

For many youth, one of the most important parts of this environment is having someone they can count on. Through the Mentors Care Program, every student who has attended Ellis County JJAEP since 2022 has been assigned a mentor. 

Dena Petty founded the Mentors Care program in 2009, which places a full-time coordinator at the JJAEP and connects each student with an individual mentor. Mentors meet with students weekly and, approximately 85% of the time, they continue that relationship after the student returns to their home school.  

The program serves students from all 10 school districts in Ellis County, and each year, students also have an opportunity to share their experiences directly with the Ellis County Juvenile Board, speaking about what JJAEP and Mentors Care have meant to them.  

One former student described the impact this way: 

“Having a mentor gave me someone I could talk to who wasn’t there to judge me or tell me what I did wrong. They actually listened and showed up for me every week. It helped knowing I had someone in my corner who believed I could do better, even when I didn’t always believe it myself.” 

The county’s approach recognizes that progress can be fragile. Youth may succeed in a structured environment and still face significant challenges when they return to their school and community. That is why continuity is built into the process. 

In addition to mentors often continuing their work after a youth exits the program, JJAEP staff maintain communication with school districts throughout a student’s placement. Quarterly parent-teacher conferences, open houses, weekly treatment team meetings, restorative exit meetings and continuity-of-care meetings all help keep families, educators and juvenile justice professionals connected. 

Carrying the Continuum Into Detention 

The philosophy established through the Ellis County JJAEP is beginning to shape the county’s detention operations. 

The county has spent the past year working with the state to transition its detention facility from a holdover operation toward certification as a long-term detention facility. The Ellis County Juvenile Board approved that transition in April 2026, and the county has submitted the required documentation, policies and licenses to the state. 

The planned transition is an opportunity to strengthen the educational and rehabilitative services available to youth who require secure care. 

Youth in detention attend school every day, receiving approximately 5.5 hours of academic instruction that is tracked daily. Their education incorporates Imagine Learning, direct instruction and the same morning restorative practice and afternoon character development groups used at JJAEP. 

The detention programming also incorporates real-life skills and personal responsibility to help youth practice making positive choices. Through a structured level system, youth earn points based on their behavior and accomplishments, which translate into a weekly “salary” using Monopoly money that they can use to pay rent and access additional privileges as they advance through the levels. The approach provides youth with practical lessons in responsibility and financial literacy while giving them meaningful incentives to make good choices. 

Alan Hemmle, the facility’s Educational Compliance Coordinator and a certified teacher, helps oversee the educational program. With more than 33 years of experience in education, Hemmle works across education, court coordination, enrollment and records to help ensure youth experience continuity in their education when they enter or leave detention. 

Community partners, including Impact Communities and Reach Council, are also preparing to bring programming into the detention setting. The county is developing additional systems to encourage positive behavior and compliance, reinforcing the same principles found throughout its juvenile justice programs. 

Building the Continuum 

For TJJD, the work happening in Ellis County is significant.  A strong juvenile justice system cannot be defined by a single facility or intervention. It depends on a continuum that begins before a youth enters a secure facility, as well as the services we provide after. 

Some youth can change course when given the right support early enough. Others may require more intensive intervention. And some will require a secure environment designed to protect youth, staff and the community while providing treatment, education and rehabilitation. The important part is that we try to educate and redirect at every step of the process. 

Staff in Ellis County describe the growth in programming offered as significant. What was once a system with no JJAEP, a rarely used holdover facility and fewer staff has developed into a broader network of education, detention, mentorship, programming and community partnerships.   

The work underway in Ellis County, and counties across the state, demonstrates what becomes possible when a community invests in the spaces between the points of contact in the system. It is helping build a juvenile justice system focused not only on correcting behavior, but on creating safer communities by giving youth a meaningful opportunity to choose a different path. 

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