State lawmakers denounced the Texas Youth Commission almost two years ago for its systemic inmate abuse and widespread mismanagement.

Now, some of the agency's loudest critics have found themselves improbably fighting to save it.

A state advisory panel voted earlier this month to combine the state prison system for juvenile offenders with the less troubled Juvenile Probation Commission.

The move still requires legislative approval but would put both agencies under the helm of the new Juvenile Justice Department overseen by an 11-member board appointed by the governor, according to a report issued this month by the Sunset Advisory Commission.

Administrators from both agencies, however, argue the proposed merger would delay needed reforms at the TYC and dwarf the focus on probation, which is widely seen by juvenile justice experts to have better rehabilitative results than institutionalized lockup.

"I do not believe the report is an accurate portrayal of the Youth Commission today," TYC Executive Commissioner Cherie Townsend said in a prepared statement. "I'm afraid the recommendations are not only outdated, but, if adopted, will be counterproductive to our reform efforts."

IS TYC WORTH SAVING?

The Sunset Advisory Commission — a legislative body that reviews the policies and programs of more than 150 state agencies every 12 years with an eye toward eliminating waste, duplication and inefficiency — estimates the merger of the TYC and the Juvenile Probation Commission could save the state more than $28 million a year.

In addition to eliminating staff redundancies, the Sunset commission proposed shuttering three facilities in rural areas, keeping youth felons in lockups closer to their hometowns and eliminating redundant databases on the youths' education and mental and physical health.

County-administered probation departments serve 95 percent of the youth in the Texas juvenile justice system, while the TYC serves less than 5 percent, according to the Sunset panel's report.

Most of the teens that end up committed to TYC facilities have previously been through local probation programs.

"To work effectively, the state's juvenile justice programs need to fit together seamlessly with county probation services," the report states.

But state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, a Sunset member who voted against the merger, said abolishing the agency could slow down needed reforms as the TYC struggles to work out administrative kinks with its new partner.

"They've really made some positive changes," he said. "But you don't want to combine a good agency with a bad one."

Hinojosa, D-McAllen, drafted the flagship TYC reform bill during the 2007 legislative session that mandated smaller youth-to-guard ratios, removed misdemeanor offenders from secure facilities and formed a special prosecution unit to better handle claims of inmate abuse.

State lawmakers piled on to support his proposal in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal at one West Texas TYC facility and a U.S. Department of Justice report that found the Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg did not have adequate measures in place to assure the safety of its inmates.

Since then, the agency has added more security cameras, cut its inmate-to-guard ratio in half and implemented a new system to evaluate and draft progress plans for each incarcerated youth.

"We need to look at the (Sunset) recommendation closely," Hinojosa said. "It's only been recently that TYC has had a permanent director."

EVINS EFFECT

Critics of the plan say it ignores some of the most pressing issues still facing the TYC.

A governor-appointed panel recommended in 2007 shifting toward more dorm-like facilities and placing more emphasis on rehabilitation to avoid the violent situations that occurred in some of the agency's barracks-like lockups.

Analyzing a series of youth riots and abuse allegations at the Evins facility in Edinburg, the U.S. Department of Justice found that keeping too many youth offenders in one room may have escalated already violent situations.

Department lawyers have since settled a lawsuit requiring the TYC to implement a number of reforms at Evins such as limiting the use of force only to maintain security and developing a more open system for inmates to report abuse.

"The attention that was given to Evins was certainly productive," said state Rep. Aaron Peña, whose district houses the youth lockup. "We have made steps, but it's not enough."

Evins is not among the youth lockups scheduled for closure should the Sunset measure pass, but the facility will almost certainly lose some staff under an agency-wide elimination of 430 jobs announced Jan. 15.

The Sunset proposal will now go before the full Legislature for final discussion and vote. It could be altered, accepted in full or rejected in the coming months.