Scott Matthew, executive director and chief juvenile probation officer of Williamson County Juvenile Services, was named chair of the Texas Juvenile Justice Board by Gov. Greg Abbott Dec. 21.

The Texas Juvenile Justice Board is responsible for developing and implementing rules governing the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. The board, made up of 13 members, includes various juvenile services officials and advocates from around the state. The term for Matthew—assigned to the finance and audit, safety and security and executive committees—will expire Feb. 1, 2025.

Matthew serves as a municipal judge for the cities of Jarrell, Granger and Bartlett, according to a county news release. A member of the Texas Probation Association, Texas State Bar Juvenile Committee and the Texas Municipal Courts Association, Matthew also serves on the advisory council of the Correctional Management Institute of Texas at Sam Houston.

Williamson County Juvenile Services is in the midst of expanding its facility, as the county works to increase capacity at the Juvenile Justice Center with the addition of a new 69,000-square-foot, two-story space. Meanwhile, Matthew and other officials have continued the Transformative Justice Program—which in October received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice—in an effort to divert young people charged with nonviolent felonies away from the criminal justice system.