Mid-Week Intermission Friend Edition: Transformative Youth Justice with Judge Hernández
Sometimes trying something new has a big impact, and that’s exactly what’s happening at the Long Center! Once a month Transformative Youth Justice takes over one of our spaces to create a safe, holistic environment for ages 17-20 as they participate in this innovative court-led diversion program, led by Judge Denise Hernández. Read on in this Mid-Week Intermission to learn a little more about the creative ways Judge Hernández and the TYJ team are making big impact!
Learn more about Transformative Youth Justice with Judge Denise Hernández
Long Center: Welcome to Mid-Week Intermission! We usually like to ask folks for a song to go with their interview – anything come to mind? Is there one you like to play before starting a session of Transformative Youth Justice?
Judge Hernández: When I think of a song to go with this interview, I automatically think about Morning Asana by Londrelle. It represents the energy and balance I hope participants receive in the program.
LC: Most people won’t know what Transformative Youth Justice is. Can you tell us more about the program?
Judge Hernández: The Transformative Youth Justice (TYJ) Program is a court-led diversion program for individuals between the ages of 17-20. The program utilizes a holistic community-centered approach to provide participants with developmentally-appropriate support, intervention, and case management. This age group is experiencing a pivot moment in their brain development, and the program takes this into consideration to help decrease recidivism for this age-group long-term. By focusing on intentional programming held in the community instead of the courtroom, the program helps eliminate systemic barriers to community support and increases long-term success for the participant.
The goal and vision of TYJ is to reduce recidivism and increase public safety by building a continuum of care centered in holistic community support for all program participants.
LC: How did TYJ start and how did you get involved?
Judge Hernández: TYJ started in 2023 as a collaborative effort between myself and Travis County Attorney Delia Garza. There is significant research that shows that a non-traditional docket approach, community support, and one-on-one case management will help decrease recidivism for individuals between the ages of 17-20. I took the time to meet with national research organizations to address justice system involvement among emerging adults of this age and began implementing the research into practice by creating the TYJ structure.
Motivated by my own lived experience of being system impacted, I worked with county Attorney Garza to create a program that was holistic, research-driven, and trauma-informed to help decrease system involvement for the youngest members of the adult justice system. Within a month of being on the Bench, I moved the program into community space and began building a resource network to host monthly resource fairs for the participants. The program continues to maintain a recidivism rate of less than 10%.
LC: TYJ has been taking place at the Long Center for over a year now. Why did you decide to find an “unconventional” space to host it?
Judge Hernández: I intentionally reached out to the Long Center to discuss hosting our TYJ monthly meetings because the Long Center represents community, creativity, and soul. There are so many soulful events that take place at the Long Center, but many of our participants have never even stepped into the venue. By hosting our meetings at the Long Center, we remind our participants that they belong. The space is intentionally designed to create a welcoming environment of creativity and soul, and you can feel that in every monthly TYJ meeting. By hosting our meetings at the Long Center, we intentionally create space that calms the nervous system, creates safety, and makes it easier for the participants to connect with the resources on-site.
LC: How does being in a creative setting help set the tone for the program?
Judge Hernández: We are intentionally creating an innovative approach to a diversion program. Think TED Talks for youth impacted by the justice system. Being in a creative setting allows us to create a tone of inspiration and hope for the program. Every month, we host speakers that present on topics like “making good choices,” “trauma responses,” “how to start a business,” all with the idea to inspire. We want participants to walk away from each meeting with the belief and knowing that they can change the direction of their lives. Being in a creative space helps us instill that belief into every single meeting.
LC: How have you seen the program and the impact change in the last year since switching locations?
Judge Hernández: We are bringing participants to the heart of the city by hosting TYJ meetings at the Long Center. You can see the impact of the location in the demeanor of each participant. They feel safe, they feel inspired. Since moving locations, we’ve had many participants bring their children and/or parents with them to the monthly meetings. It’s become a space of resource connection and support. Typically, in a traditional court program setting, participants would attend meetings in the courtroom. The courtroom can be a very triggering space for people, which makes people apprehensive to ask for help or support. By moving the meetings into the Long Center, we help remind participants that we are all interconnected and it’s okay to ask for help and support. At the Long Center, participants are asking for help, leaning into the resources, and working to make better decisions for themselves.
LC: What do you hope the program achieves in the future?
Judge Hernández: I hope the program becomes a national model for reducing recidivism for the youngest population impacted by the adult justice system. I dream that the program turns into a multi-agency program that brings together many sectors of our community to help address a major community issue. Together, we can create impactful change, and I’m grateful for the Long Center partnership to help bring this program to life!
Thanks for telling us more about Transformative Youth Justice!
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