The Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) serves an essential role for the state in protecting our communities and working to rehabilitate youths away from a life of crime. As essential as it is, however, its budget must also respond to significant agency changes, such as the two-thirds reduction in youth populations. The questions raised in this budget brief may have altogether valid answers, warranting that TJJD stay the budget course it charts today. It may also expose significant taxpayer savings that the Legislature can and should demand, if necessary.