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Once youth are committed to TYC, they are transferred to the Marlin Orientation and Assessment Unit. On average, each youth spends about 60 days at Marlin. During this time, he or she will experience a variety of assessment and intake procedures, including:

• a physical evaluation and medical history
• educational testing and assessment
• psychological evaluation
• social summary
• introduction to TYC’s Resocialization program
• specialized needs assessment (i.e., sex offender treatment needs, chemical dependency needs, etc.)

Based on the outcome of these evaluations, youth are assigned to a residential placement. Most youth are assigned to a secure program. Secure programs include TYC-operated institutions as well as some secure contract institutions. There are currently 15 TYC institutions.

Youth are sent to TYC with either a determinate or an indeterminate sentence. Youth who receive a determinate sentence from the court are given an actual set amount of time that they must serve, or an actual sentence. Their progress through TYC differs from those who have an indeterminate sentence.

Most offenders arrive at TYC with an indeterminate sentence. They are assigned a minimum length of stay, which is the minimum amount of time they must spend in a residential program, and it is calculated based on their classification:

Once youth have completed the majority of their minimum length of stay in a secure facility, they may move to a variety of other placements. They may be moved to a halfway house, a residential contract program, or be released directly to parole. At any of these locations, if a youth commits a major rule violation, or commits a new offense, he or she may be returned to a more secure program. Additionally, youth who commit another criminal offense while under TYC jurisdiction, may be arrested and charged an adults.

Youth on parole are supervised by a parole officer, and may receive some other services, such as specialized aftercare treatment.

Ultimately, if a youth continues to do well on parole by completing required community service hours, attending school regularly or working, attending required counseling, following parole rules and reporting to a parole officer on schedule, her or she will be discharged from the Texas Youth Commission. If a youth has not been discharged by the age of 21, discharge is automatic. TYC authority over offenders ends at age 21.

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