Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice

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The Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) a cabinet-level Louisiana state agency that provides youth corrections services in the state.

The full official title of the agency is Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Youth Services, Office of Juvenile Justice (DPSC/YS/OJJ).[1] The agency has its headquarters in the first floor of the State Police Building in Baton Rouge.[2]

History

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections previously handled the care of juvenile prisoners.[3] In 2003 the Louisiana Legislature voted to turn the department's juvenile division into a cabinet level agency.[4]

In 2004 the juvenile system separated from the adult system.[5] It was established as the Office of Youth Development (OYD), and it was given its current name by the Louisiana Legislature in 2008.[6]

Beginning with the creation of the OJJ, the agency adopted a model used by the Missouri Division of Youth Services, the youth corrections agency of Missouri. The OJJ worked together with that agency and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.[4]

Institutions

Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice is located in Louisiana
BCCY
BCCY
JCY (closed)
JCY (closed)
SCY
SCY
WYC (♀)
WYC (♀)
OJJ secure facilities

The state operates three secure institutions for boys.[1]

The male institutions include:

  • Bridge City Center for Youth (BCCY) - Bridge City, unincorporated Jefferson Parish[7]
    • Riverside Alternative High School is located at BCCY.[8]
    • By 2005 the center gained a "family intervention room."[9] Around that time the center was being designed around the Missouri model, but staffing issues and issues with inmate behavior remained as of 2012. Turnover occurs since jobs with less stress but the same pay scale exist in the New Orleans metropolitan area, where Bridge City is situated.[10]
  • A. L. Swanson, Sr. Center for Youth (SCY) - Monroe[11]
    • Southside Alternative High School is located at SCY.[11]
    • There is a branch center, Swanson Center for Youth at Columbia, which opened in 2013 in the former Columbia Community Residential and Employment Services (CCRES) center for disabled persons.[12]
  • Acadiana Center for Youth (ACY) - Bunkie
    • In August 2014 construction began, and it is scheduled to open in 2016. It is on 20 acres (8.1 ha) of former agricultural land off of U.S. Highway 71.[13]

The OJJ uses the Ware Youth Center to house adjudicated girls.[14] It is located in unincorporated Red River Parish,[15] about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) from Coushatta. The center is on 125 acres (51 ha) of land.[16] The current facility opened in 2009;[14] the 40,400-square-foot (3,750 m2) facility includes a 26,000-square-foot (2,400 m2) administration building, several cottages, and a 3,855-square-foot (358.1 m2) training building.[17]

Former institutions

Former male institutions:

  • Louis Jetson Center for Youth (JCY) - unincorporated East Baton Rouge Parish, near Baton Rouge and Baker[18] It as previously referred to as "Scotlandville" after the nearby community.[6]
    • Scenic Alternative High School was located at Jetson.[18]
    • On October 1, 1948 the State Industrial School for Colored Youth, established that year by the Louisiana Legislature, opened. In 1956 it began housing both boys and girls. In 1969 racial desegregation occurred and the name became Louisiana Training Institute –East Baton Rouge. It became known as the "Louis Jetson Correctional Center for Youth", and then the "Louis Jetson Center for Youth", in 1995 and 2005, respectively.[6] The Louisiana Legislature had ordered Jetson closed by June 30, 2009.[19] Instead the center remained open, and after downsizing, it kept its name.[20] At the end of the facility's life, only a portion of the campus was in use.[21] 76 inmates were at Jetson prior to its closure.[4]
    • The center closed on January 26, 2014. The prisoners were transferred to Bridge City and Swanson early that morning. The decision was not announced in advance.[4]

Previously girls were housed in the old Ware Youth Center, the Florida Parishes Detention Center in Covington, and the Terrebonne Detention Center in Houma.[22]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Home." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on June 30, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Contact Us." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on June 30, 2010. "Office of Juvenile Justice State Police Bldg. 1st Floor 7919 Independence Blvd Baton Rouge, La. 70806"
  3. ↑ "Institution Index." Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. February 10, 2001. Retrieved on September 23, 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 McGaughy, Lauren. "Louisiana juvenile justice official apologizes for those 'hurt' by Jetson Center closure" (Archive). New Orleans Times Picayune. February 20, 2014. Retrieved on December 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ "History of Juvenile Justice in La." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on September 23, 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Jetson Center for Youth’s Residents Re-located to Other OJJ Secure Facilities Last Night" (Archive). Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. January 26, 2014. Retrieved on December 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Bridge City Center for Youth." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on June 30, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Dr. Roy L. Higgins named Principal of BCCY / Riverside Alternative High School." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. July 1, 2010. Retrieved on August 30, 2010.
  9. ↑ Gyan, Joe Jr. "Juvenile facility changes begin Homelike dorms among Bridge City projects." The Advocate. July 15, 2005. News 1 B.S. Retrieved on August 30, 2010.
  10. ↑ Maggi, Laura. "Bridge City youth center, once a model correctional facility, is far from it now" (Archive). The Times Picayune. April 29, 2012. Retrieved on December 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Swanson Center for Youth." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on June 30, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Swanson Center for Youth at Columbia." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on December 17, 2015. "132 Hwy 850, Columbia, LA 71418 (physical address)"
  13. ↑ "Acadiana Center for Youth (ACY)." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on December 17, 2015.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Girls Secure Care." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on June 30, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Contact Us." Ware Youth Center. Retrieved on December 19, 2015. "Address 3565 Highway 71 Coushatta, Louisiana 71019"
  16. ↑ "LICENSING/MEMBERSHIP" (Archive). Ware Youth Center. Retrieved on December 19, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Ware Youth Center New Facility for Girls" (Archive). Prevot Design. Retrieved on December 20, 2015.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Jetson Center for Youth." Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on June 30, 2010.
  19. ↑ Alexander-Bloch, Benjamin. "Expansion of juvenile jail suggested." The Times-Picayune. Thursday October 9, 2008. Retrieved on August 30, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Legislative Briefs." The Advocate. June 26, 2009. Retrieved on August 30, 2010. "The Jetson Center for Youth is still being reformed into a more treatment- friendly, regional center, but it will keep its name as Jetson."
  21. ↑ "State closes youth prison in Baker" (Archive). Associated Press at The Times Picayune. January 26, 2014. Retrieved on December 18, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Girls Secure Care" (Archive). Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. May 5, 2009. Retrieved on December 19, 2015.

External links

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