BATON ROUGE, LA - Governor Kathleen
Babineaux Blanco today announced the five judicial
districts that will receive funding and technical
support for juvenile justice reform as part of the
five-year, $7.5 million Models for Change initiative,
supported by the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation. The five judicial districts
include the following parishes: Jefferson, Rapides,
Calcasieu, Caddo, St. Mary, St. Martin, and New Iberia.
At a press conference in the Louisiana State
Capitol, Gov. Blanco was joined by Julia Stasch,
MacArthur's Vice President to announce the five
participating judicial districts and celebrate the
launch of Models for Change in Louisiana's communities.
"We have made incredible progress in the past few years
toward creating a more balanced, fair, and effective
juvenile justice system, making Louisiana a recognized
leader in juvenile justice reform," said Gov. Blanco.
"The Models for Change initiative enables us to expand
upon our recent progress and develop more local
programming and services for young people who find
themselves in trouble with the law. I am proud of these
parishes, which have made juvenile justice reform a
priority. This commitment of funds is the first of more
to come."
"Last June, Louisiana was one of four states chosen to
participate in the Models for Change initiative because
of its ongoing efforts and committed leadership at the
state and local levels," said MacArthur's Julia Stasch.
"After the hurricanes hit and the State was left to
confront the challenges of recovering and rebuilding,
MacArthur stepped back to assess the implications and
timing. We quickly established that juvenile justice
remains a high priority, and that in dealing with
emergency and crisis, the State is now more committed
than ever to efficiently and effectively use resources
for lasting reform."
"Given the capacity of our higher education
system, we are in an excellent position to lead this
effort, and we look to engaging in this work," said
Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. E. Joseph Savoie.
The Board of Regents will oversee the work of Models for
Change in Louisiana.
The judicial districts were selected following a process
that evaluated a number of criteria, including the
districts' commitment to juvenile justice reform, their
track record of collaborative relationships in seeking
policy change and improvement, the likelihood of
achieving the goals of the initiative, and their
potential as a bellwether for other areas.
Reform efforts will focus on three areas, which were
determined after research and numerous conversations
with state and local officials. They include: 1)
reducing the disproportionate contact of minority youth
with Louisiana's juvenile justice system; 2) increasing
the availability of community services for young people
in trouble with the law that reflects current knowledge
about what works; and 3) improving access to effective
programs and services that can serve as alternatives to
formal processing, especially for those who need mental
health and other specialized treatment. Some funding
will also be used for statewide efforts to ensure that
work carried out at the local level through Models for
Change is aligned with the State's goals for reforming
juvenile justice.
Models for Change In Louisiana
In June 2005, Louisiana was selected to be part of the
Models for Change initiative, along with three other
states: Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington. The
states were selected because of their strong juvenile
justice leadership and the likelihood that they will
reach a tipping point that could help stimulate change
in other states.
Under the direction of Governor Blanco,
Louisiana's juvenile justice system has been transformed
from a corrections model to one that is centered on the
treatment and rehabilitation of youth. Last May a U.S.
district judge dismissed a 1998 federal lawsuit against
Louisiana's juvenile justice system, citing substantial
improvements in youth safety and treatment, as well as
significant progress toward implementing a milestone
statewide reform strategy for the way the state treats
its troubled youth.
The Foundation awarded a grant to the Louisiana
Board of Regents in partnership with the Louisiana State
University System to serve as the lead entity
coordinating the initiative's activities in the state.
Debra DePrato, M.D., was appointed to serve as the
project director in February, 2006.
Models for Change promotes a juvenile justice system
that is rational, effective and developmentally sound by
creating reform models to hold young offenders
accountable for their actions, provide for their
rehabilitation, protect them from harm, increase their
life chances, and manage the risk they pose to
themselves and to public safety. The initiative seeks to
develop and support replicable, system-wide change that
can serve as models for other states to learn from and
emulate. By examining change in different states, Models
for Change aims to broaden understanding of success in
different regions, making it easier to generalize the
lessons learned and replicate progress nationwide.
The MacArthur Foundation does not endorse any
single reform model, but promotes successful reform
through a collection of approaches and interventions
that recognize the developmental differences between
adolescents and adults. By virtue of their immaturity,
young people are more likely to take risks, more
susceptible to peer pressure, and less able to foresee
the consequences of their actions.
The Models for Change initiative also provides
grants to national organizations that together
constitute a national resource bank that acts as a
source of knowledge, tools, training, technical
assistance, and strategies for advocacy and public
education for initiative participants.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,
headquartered in Chicago, is a private, independent
grantmaking institution dedicated to helping groups and
individuals foster lasting improvement in the human
condition. With assets of approximately $5.5 billion,
the Foundation makes grants totaling $200 million each
year.
The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's People
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