The Core Blog

Note: this post is an edited and condensed version of a wide-ranging conversation held between Judge Byrne and Texas Appleseed staff. Judge Darlene Byrne was first elected to the 126th Civil District Court in Travis County in 2001. She took over all child welfare cases in 2007, and also has the crossover docket of all children who are involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She helped her court become a Model

This year, Texas Appleseed staff and volunteers traveled all over the state to interview over a hundred youth who were experiencing homelessness. They told us of devastating abuse that drove them onto the streets, the cold and hunger they faced, the complete absence of any adult they could trust. In spite of these stories, we were deeply moved by the openness, warmth, and resilience of the youth we met. You can hear their stories directly

Texas Appleseed’s youth justice reform work epitomizes what a relatively small but mighty advocacy organization can do to improve the treatment of youth who become ensnared in the juvenile justice system. Reforms advanced by Texas Appleseed in the juvenile justice arena have, over the years, helped to change the lives of thousands of youth – youth who otherwise would have been cast out of school, locked up, and denied the opportunities owed to all children

Jim Bethke, Executive Director of Texas' Indigent Defense Commission, discusses the passage of the Fair Defense Act of 2001 and its implications for all Texans. This video is part of Texas Appleseed's 20th anniversary. #TXAppleseedTurns20 Director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission Discusses Groundbreaking Fair Defense Act Video of Director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission Discusses Groundbreaking Fair Defense Act

In 2015, Texas Appleseed released Suspended Childhood: An Analysis of Exclusionary Discipline of Texas’ Pre-K and Elementary School Students. The first-of-its-kind report quantifies thousands of discretionary suspensions that are given to pre-K through second graders every year. It also points out the disparities in who receives these types of suspensions: Black children, boys, and students with special education needs are pushed out of class at unequal rates compared to their peers. We believe that these

On December 15th, 2016, Texas Appleseed and Texans Care for Children released Dangerous Discipline: How Texas schools are relying on law enforcement, courts, and juvenile probation to discipline students. Data in the report show that students in Texas schools are arrested, sent to adult criminal courts, referred to juvenile probation, and experience use of force incidents at alarming rates, often for relatively minor misbehaviors. Meanwhile, the budget for school security services is often many multiples

In 2010 Texas Appleseed released a groundbreaking report on policing in Texas schools. The report documented the explosive growth in the number of police in schools, prompted in part by the now-discredited narrative of a generation of “super-predators” entering schools and controversial “broken-windows” theories of policing. From the ‘90s to the present day, the number of school resource officers on campus in Texas grew by leaps and bounds. The report showed that school police in

When a loved one deteriorates in health or mental capacity and can no longer manage their own money, we, as family members, often are the ones to step in. But with limited experience, it can be a maze to figure out the right things to do. As part of an effort to prevent elder financial abuse, Texas Appleseed is partnering with AARP Texas to adapt the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Managing Someone Else’s Money series

One our taglines at Texas Appleseed is “Sowing the Seeds of Justice.” And, as any gardener knows, it can take a long time and a lot of work to see those seeds grow and bear fruit. The Michael Morton Act and criminal discovery reform is one example of the persistence we know it takes to achieve real reform. Michael Morton was convicted of the murder of his wife and sentenced to life in prison in

Texas cities are taking the lead — both standing up to predatory payday and auto title lending and encouraging market-based fair loans. In September, Texas Appleseed released a city toolkitto share success stories of local efforts to expand fair lending one community at a time. The Community Loan Center, a homegrown employer-based small loan program, is one of a growing array of positive loan products expanding in Texas. Longview, Texas, is the latest Texas city

We are excited to have Sara Pratt, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs at HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (now with the civil rights law firm of Relman, Dane & Colfax), talk about her perspective Texas' landmark 2010 Conciliation Agreement, which re-directed more funds to Texans hardest hit by the 2008 hurricanes. Moving Toward Fair and Equitable Disaster Recovery Video of Moving Toward Fair and Equitable Disaster Recovery Over the

In March of 2013, I was introduced to the scourge of payday and auto title lending in Texas. I am embarrassed to say that I had been ignorant of this vicious and aggressive predatory industry. Dallas had recently developed a municipal ordinance that some other cities were adopting to do all that could be done apart from state action to protect their citizens. Faith leaders and community nonprofits were banding together with city council members