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| Missouri officials to aid Louisiana on juvenile justice |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/23/2004 |
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Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced last Tuesday that Louisiana will be getting help from Missouri in ongoing efforts to overhaul the state's much-criticized juvenile justice system. Missouri's system, with its emphasis on smaller, community-based facilities for youth who commit crimes, has been hailed as a model. It has a recidivism rate a quantum leap below Louisiana, where until recently the focus has been on locking up youngsters in adult-style prisons. About 70 percent of those in the system in 1995 wound up back in it - whether in its adult or youth wing. In Missouri, only about 7 percent return after five years. Louisiana officials have made several tours of the Missouri system - the most recent was two weeks ago, when Blanco administration officials inspected the program. The result is last Tuesday's announcement of a partnership with Missouri, in particular with Mark Steward, director of the Missouri Division of Youth Services and a leader in that state's reform efforts. Steward will be advising Louisiana officials on how to proceed with its reform efforts, which began in 2003. Already, Louisiana has closed its youth prison at Tallulah, which rocked by abuse scandals throughout the 1990s, and a partially separated the youth justice administration from the Department of Corrections, widely seen to have failed in this area by critics who point to recidivism and abuse problems. But the sharpest critics, inside and outside the Legislature, say Louisiana still has a long way to go before it can be said to have reformed its juvenile justice system. In particular, they call for a new state department to handle the matter - something Blanco has resisted - and a wholesale transition from youth prisons, to community treatment centers. |
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