AUSTIN -- Governor Rick Perry has named a former aide to President Bush as the new conservator of the troubled Texas Youth Commission.

Richard Nedelkoff was a Texas criminal justice director under then-governor George W. Bush before serving Bush as director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance in Washington. Most recently, he's been chief operating officer for Eckerd Youth Alternatives. That's a private, not-for-profit firm in Clearwater, Florida, that serves at-risk youth.

His pending appointment was first reported by The Dallas Morning News.

There have been two conservators for the agency since last spring. That's when state leaders ordered an overhaul of the youth commission to address a scandal stemming from the sexual abuse of inmates and agency mismanagement.