Office of Youth Development Brings National Assessment Team to Youth Facility

BATON ROUGE, La – As the Office of Youth Development (OYD) continues to reform the state’s juvenile justice system, which includes regionalization of services, the agency has invited the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to visit one of its youth facilities to evaluate its operations and make recommendations for best practices.

NIC representatives will visit Jetson Center for Youth in Baker, near Baton Rouge, in November to assess its operations, identify strengths and weaknesses, and suggest ways to ensure that quality services are in place for youth in an environment that is conducive to healthy decision-making, according to OYD Deputy Secretary Simon G. Gonsoulin.
The National Institute of Corrections may be asked for additional assistance in the future to address potential areas for improvement, said Gonsoulin.

NIC provides needed assistance to states with technical assistance grants and various offerings of trainings for correctional staff. NIC is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and does not charge states for its assistance. NIC was created in 1974 to focus national attention on corrections, confinement and imprisonment practices in the U.S. NIC provides free consulting, training and research and information services to federal, state and local juvenile justice agencies.

Jetson is one of three facilities operated by OYD to house and treat youth adjudicated delinquent. OYD also operates Bridge City Center for Youth in Bridge City, Jefferson Parish, and Swanson Center for Youth in Monroe.

While acknowledging that Jetson houses the statewide programs for sexual offenders as well as the most aggressive youth in the system, Gonsoulin noted that altercations and any violent acts by youth are unacceptable and that staff continually seeks ways to minimize them.

“Safety of our youth and the staff who care for them is of paramount importance to us, as stated in our strategic plan,” Gonsoulin said. “We are inviting national experts to join us in identifying best practices to institute at Jetson, to ensure that the institutional environment is safe and stable for youth who find themselves in the deep end of the juvenile justice system, and the staff who work with them in this setting.”

In accordance with the agency’s five-year strategic plan adopted in December 2005, OYD is moving forward with plans to open a secure center for adjudicated youth in the Acadiana area to bring needed services to youth and families in that region. Well before the Acadiana Center for Youth opens its doors, currently slated for December 2008, OYD wants to ensure that its newest institutions will open their doors with best practices in place.

OYD’s strategic plan provides for widespread reform in the juvenile justice system, and calls for regionalized services, following a national trend toward smaller facilities located throughout the state. Regionalization allows for increased opportunities for family and community involvement critical to the successful treatment and rehabilitation of youth.

“Louisiana has benefited from the expertise that national experts bring to the table and we are striving to implement identified best practices to better serve our youth,” Gonsoulin said. “We look forward to having the assistance of experienced juvenile corrections professionals to help us move this facility forward,” he said.


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