Texas Juvenile Justice Department may eliminate 20% of executive staff

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The new head of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD), Mike Griffiths, plans to shake up agency management, the Austin Statesman's Mike Ward reported today, reducing the number of top supervisory staff by as much as 20%, and has handed out writing assignments to agency leaders asking how they hope to fit in with thenew management stucture and soliciting suggestions for improving the agency. Reported Ward ("Juvenile agency plans to rescind pay raises, reduce management ranks," Sept. 11):

Griffiths said he will make public his new organization chart for the agency that runs Texas' youth corrections programs, perhaps as soon as today. And he said he plans to quickly begin filling the jobs.

As for the raises, Griffiths was clear: "I'm going to make sure the salaries at this agency are in line with legislative directives."

Griffiths briefed the agency's Austin headquarters staff on those details during an afternoon staff meeting on Tuesday, and top managers were given a two-page form to select their "preferred leadership roles" in the remade agency.

The form listed 16 jobs. Agency officials said about two dozen executive-level officials were asked to complete the novel, at least for state government, writing assignment.

On the form, they were asked to list the two leadership roles they would like to fill. They were then asked to list the top three action steps to take those jobs or divisions "to the next higher level of achievement."

Griffiths provided a copy of the form to the American-Statesman, unusual for an agency that has spent much of the past five years withholding details of its problems from the media and lawmakers.

"We are going to be transparent as we move forward," Griffiths pledged.

"I've got thick skin. I'm hardheaded, and I will work just as hard as anyone can to turn this agency around."

Griffiths is touring the agency's lockups and briefed legislative leaders on details of the shakeup.

Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston, said he believes Griffiths plans to cut perhaps as much as 20 percent of the senior staff as part of his reorganization.

Griffiths said the details of his plan will emerge clearly in coming days.

Two dozen managers seeking 16 jobs would mean cutting even more than 20% of executive staff if things really turn out that way. (Two more have already been let go.) Grits is looking forward to acquiring copies of those manager "writing assignments" once they're completed. They should make for interesting reading.

N.b.: Commenters should accept Griffiths challenge to "list the top three action steps to take [the agency] 'to the next higher level of achievement.'" Please don't turn this comment string into a series of screeds about who should be fired. That's Griffiths' call, not yours, and the sort of prattle that tends to accompany such suggestions quickly becomes counterproductive.