Teens as Texas Jail Guards: Teen girl in tan pants and dark uniform jacket sitting outside a red brick building on a low red brick entryway wall

Texas prisons and jails are recruiting more teenagers to shore up guard shortage

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When Justtice Taylor began working at Smith County Jail last year, the inmates made fun of her, and her coworkers worried she wasn't mature enough for the job.

She was, after all, still a teenager.

“People were skeptical of me being so young and coming straight out of high school,” said Taylor, an aspiring homicide detective who was 18 when she was hired as a corrections officer. “Some high schoolers don’t have their heads straight, but I’m one of the ones focused on my career.”

Taylor is among a small but growing number of teenagers taking jobs inside of Texas’ prisons and jails, which face persistent staffing shortages.

Proponents say hiring 18 year-olds is a win-win: The recent graduates fill a critical staffing need while also jump-starting their career right out of high school, some starting at a $65,000 annual salary.

But critics contend that teenagers lack the emotional maturity needed to work with inmates, many of whom are older and struggle with mental illness or substance abuse issues.

Who is correct?