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| Veteran educator tapped to lead reform drive in youth prisons |
| By The Times-Picayune |
| Published: 02/09/2004 |
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A longtime educator will temporarily oversee the drive to reform Louisiana's troubled juvenile justice system, Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced last Thursday. Simon Gerard Gonsoulin was appointed acting assistant secretary for the Office of Youth Development, a Cabinet-level job in which he'll oversee Louisiana's youth prisons as well as community programs for youthful offenders. Gonsoulin has served as the agency's director of education since 2000, and plans to return to that job once a permanent replacement is named. As acting secretary, Gonsoulin will work with a team appointed by Blanco that's charged with implementing a long-range plan to move more young criminals out of juvenile prisons and into community-based settings that many believe are more conducive to rehabilitation. "His knowledge of juvenile justice issues makes him a tremendous asset to our team," Blanco said in a statement. "This is our first step toward reforming juvenile justice in Louisiana." The appointment comes a week after Blanco, acting on a recommendation from the Juvenile Justice Commission, created a "firewall" between the juvenile justice programs and the adult offender programs managed by the Department of Corrections. Gonsoulin replaces Elijah Lewis, who came under sharp criticism from reform advocates and is being transferred to a new position in the corrections department overseeing adult inmates. A former supervisor of special education for the West Baton Rouge Parish School District, Gonsoulin moved to the Office of Youth Development in 2000 after the state signed a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in which it agreed to strengthen services for jailed youths. Under Gonsoulin's leadership, education services improved to the point where the state was released from that part of the settlement agreement. |
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