Research says therapy and education are needed for juvenile

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A potential ‘at ease’

Harris County youth boot camp may replace rigorous drills with therapy

By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON

Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Jan. 28, 2009, 11:03PM

Trainees perform drills for parents and relatives during July 2002 graduation ceremonies at the Delta Boot Camp in west Harris County, north of Katy. Juvenile Probation chief Harvey Hetzel said there will be less emphasis on such drills in the future.

Harris County may scrap rigorous physical training and rigid military-style drills at its Delta Boot Camp in favor of a program that uses therapy to attack the emotional and behavioral problems that led the young people into crime, officials said Wednesday.

The county opened a juvenile boot camp in 1994 to offer chronic young offenders one last chance to shape up before they would be shipped off to do hard time at a Texas Youth Commission facility.

Officials hoped the facility’s strong emphasis on military structure, drill and discipline would help the 14- to 16-year-old residents change from trouble-making boys into responsible men.

But Harris County Juvenile Probation chief Harvey Hetzel said Wednesday that research since has shown that young offenders are more likely to respond to counseling and education than to discipline alone.