Amidst a big budget shortfall, figuring out how to pay for programs that keep youth out of "lock up" has been tough, but officials say they’ve made strides.

Wednesday, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and Texas Youth Commission seemed to paint a rosy picture with how they've progressed to legislators, but some say problems persist.

Tamera doesn't deny her son did wrong.

After two years in juvenile detention and probation services, a judge ruled he had to go to a Texas Youth Commission facility. It was a facility Tamera heard had recently made sweeping changes after a sex abuse and cover-up scandal.

"I knew it was going to be different this time, but the very first week he was in TYC, he was assaulted. The same week, the advocacy groups came out with reports saying there were still problems in TYC," Tamera said.

She said her son was beaten up by another youth inside while TYC officials watched.

Several Texas advocacy groups also say problems with staffing persist.

Recently, officials sent a formal complaint to the U.S. Justice Department asking for an investigation into continued unsafe conditions and inadequate staffing, among other issues at TYC.

But before state lawmakers Wednesday, TYC Executive Director Cherlyn Townsend said systemic change is happening.

"I think one of the things is not repeating problems of the past that have been corrected. I think that we are making great progress. We still have a long way to go and anytime there's any allegation we need to investigate it fully and we are," Townsend said.

Townsend told legislators her group is reviewing the recent advocacy groups' allegations, and are even meeting with them next month to try to help address the issues together.

Despite calls for abolishing TYC altogether, Rep. Jim McReynolds, D-Lufkin, said that's not going to happen, but he said bettering diversion programs to keep juveniles out of such facilities will help those youth and the state.

"Keeping a child in a community, that is not a harm to society or to themselves, is so much better than confinement or TYC,” he said. “It's so much cheaper to keep a child on probation than incarcerate them."

But for Tamera and her son, TYC's a reality.

"I am afraid everyday for his safety. He's afraid everyday for his safety," she said.

It's a fear she hopes can subside if such systemic change is truly happening.

State agency officials warned how cutting any more from their budgets would be detrimental to building a better program.

State lawmakers told them to approach their budgets as a family would.