Johnson County approves TBRI training contract with Texas Christian University

Christy Breuther, Johnson County’s juvenile detention director, told commissioners on June 12 that the county would partner with Texas Christian University and the Karen Purvis Institute of Child Development to bring trust‑based relational intervention (TBRI) train‑the‑trainer programming to practitioners across Indiana. “This contract allows us to partner with Texas Christian University and the Karen Purvis Institute of Child Development to bring TBRI,” Breuther said.

Breuther said court services wrote a grant in the amount of $350,000 for this portion, with a separate $80,000 partnership through Reach for Youth under House Bill 1361, which she said supports the statewide effort. She described the training as a train‑the‑trainer model that will provide 150 seats statewide, with the juvenile justice system receiving about 100 of those seats and Johnson County guaranteed a minimum of 10 seats.

The board moved and seconded approval during the meeting; commissioners voted by voice and the motion carried. The approval covers the contract and associated grant‑funded training arrangement as presented by Breuther.

Breuther framed the program as intended to reduce recidivism and improve care and services for youth in detention: “We believe that, implementing TBRI in all of our facilities in the state across state of Indiana ... will help in reducing recidivism.” The presentation included budget and seat allocations as the primary justifications for county participation.

The board did not record individual roll‑call votes in the transcript; a voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Next steps described by staff include executing the contract pending legal review and coordinating scheduling so Johnson County staff can occupy its minimum guaranteed seats.