Court adopts juvenile diversion plan, appoints juvenile case manager; stipend left for later research

The Atascosa County Commissioners Court on Oct. 15 approved a juvenile diversion plan required by state action (referenced in the transcript as 'house bill 31 86 in 2023') and appointed Irene Torres as the juvenile case manager for Justice of the Peace Precinct 4.

Russell Persifka, presenting the plan, said the statute requires every JP and municipal court to have a diversion plan by Jan. 1 and indicated he had adopted a plan effective Oct. 1 for his office. The court moved and approved the adoption of the plan.

Persifka also requested that Irene Torres — described in the record as having about 10 years’ experience and two years in JP4 — be appointed juvenile case manager so the county could claim the position and retain related state funds. The court approved the appointment by recorded voice vote.

Persifka proposed a $200 monthly stipend beginning Jan. 1, 2025, to be paid from the juvenile diversion fund to compensate the juvenile case manager for added duties. Several commissioners expressed concern about equitable treatment across precincts, the availability and source of funds, and whether other JP courts had comparable arrangements. A commissioner moved to delay action and directed staff to research funding and parity across precincts; the transcript records no final vote on the stipend. The judge indicated there is time before the Jan. 1 statutory deadline to return with more information.

The court’s actions at the Oct. 15 meeting consolidated the county’s compliance step (adopting the plan and designating a case manager) while leaving a compensation question unresolved pending additional research and discussion.