AUSTIN – The Texas Youth Commission's new conservator said Friday he will address the use of pepper spray in juvenile prisons within two weeks – and he's looking to a panel of experts sidelined by the agency's acting executive director for guidance.
Richard Nedelkoff, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry late last month, wouldn't reveal his opinion on whether there's a place for pepper spray in youth lock-ups.
But the panel, created in the aftermath of the TYC's sexual and physical abuse scandal, released a report last year opposing use of the spray as a behavioral measure – advice acting Executive Director Dimitria Pope openly disregarded.
"There are a lot of people I want to bring to the table to be part of the solution, a lot of people I have on loan from other states," Mr. Nedelkoff said. "I want these decisions to be thorough, to be thoughtful. But they will not take a lot of time."
On Friday, Mr. Nedelkoff responded again to news reports that TYC officials had spent money intended for new guards on office relocations, renovations and furniture, saying that watching the agency's spending habits will be as much a priority "as child safety, treatment and rehabilitation."
Next month, lawmakers on the House Appropriations Corrections Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the expenditures, first reported by The Dallas Morning News.
Mr. Nedelkoff wouldn't say whether he will keep Ms. Pope, who oversaw the expenditures, on his leadership team. But he said he plans to have all his major leadership and policy changes in place by March. And he indicated that a new treatment and rehabilitation plan that stresses individual assessments, group work and specialized clinical treatment, should come together in the next few weeks.
"Hopefully every week the public will see evidence that we're moving in the right direction," he said.
Mr. Nedelkoff has brought in a team of guest experts to tackle staffing patterns, behavior management (including controversial "isolation") and a new "Girls Initiative."
Also on the agenda: determining which youth prisons need to be closed to have a smaller, more centralized juvenile justice system.
On Friday, Mr. Nedelkoff sent an e-mail to TYC staff highlighting these developments and announcing plans to start monthly conference calls with all lock-up and halfway-house superintendents.
"I will make some mistakes along the way, but I will accept responsibility for those decisions," he wrote. "My simple goal is to create a culture and an organization in which we are working as a team."
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