Harris County approves $60M plan to repair juvenile facilities

Harris County Commissioners Court voted to approve a roughly $60 million capital improvement plan over five years to repair long-deferred problems at juvenile probation department facilities across the county. County leaders said the work targets known damages and deficiencies that officials warn could threaten safety, operations and the juvenile court system if left unaddressed.

County engineering officials identified the Youth Village in Seabrook and the Katy Leadership Academy as two sites needing extensive work. Planned repairs range from installing backup generators to fixing detention doors, replacing exterior windows and improving lighting around the campuses. The projects are intended to keep facilities safe and operational while preventing costly emergency repairs later.

Sam Peña, chief of Infrastructure Services for Harris County Engineering, framed the plan as corrective and preventive. "The issue is that those things need to be maintained. They need to be replaced. We're working towards developing a plan that's sustainable and financially more responsible," Peña said. He also stressed operational and human safety concerns: "We have to ensure the safety of the staff and the vulnerable population that exists in these facilities."

County documents detailed a backlog of deferred maintenance that officials attributed in part to past funding shortfalls and supply chain constraints. Peña warned of financial and operational consequences if repairs are postponed: "If we don't do them and it results in an emergency, the cost goes up beyond what we would normally expect to pay."

Officials said priorities will be life-safety and code-compliance items that directly affect the county's ability to house and supervise youth. "Any time we have to displace the residents from those locations, it causes a backup in the system," Peña said. "Anything that has to do with life safety or code compliance or keeping the doors open is what we're going to prioritize."

For Harris County residents, the approved plan aims to reduce the risk that facility problems will interrupt juvenile court schedules or displace youth, which can ripple through probation caseloads and court dockets. The county will phase projects over the five-year period to spread costs and limit operational disruptions, county engineers said.

The plan shifts attention to oversight and execution: taxpayers and community stakeholders will be watching how the county stages projects, controls costs and minimizes impacts on residents, staff and the young people served by the probation system. Implementation now becomes the crucial test of whether the county can turn capital funding into safer, more reliable juvenile facilities without producing new operational bottlenecks.