|
|
| La. Reform Panel Backs More Rehabilitation, Urges Closing of Juvenile Prison |
| By Times-Picayune |
| Published: 03/17/2003 |
|
Louisiana should close one of its four juvenile prisons and use the savings to expand rehabilitation programs closer to the young offenders' homes, a legislative commission decided March 6. At the final meeting of the Juvenile Justice Commission, the panel of 11 lawmakers considering how to revamp the state's juvenile justice system adopted a slew of proposals originally recommended by an advisory board of juvenile judges, advocates and law enforcement representatives. Rep. Mitch Landrieu, D-New Orleans, said the proposals will be turned into legislation for the session that begins March 31. Most measures adopted by the commission were noncontroversial, such as the need to expand the number of community-based programs for delinquent youths. Of the 1,546 inmates in the state's juvenile prisons in 2001, 77 percent were nonviolent offenders. Opposition from state corrections and law enforcement officials is more likely to surface over how quickly to move away from the traditional juvenile prisons, how to pay for new programs and which agencies will be responsible for rehabilitating the young criminals. In addition to the suggestion to close a prison, another possibly controversial recommendation is a proposal to shift responsibility for oversight of young offenders from the Department of Corrections to the Department of Social Services or a new agency. If the Legislature approves it, that proposal will be developed in the next few months for consideration by the new governor in 2004. Officials with the Department of Corrections and the Louisiana District Attorneys Association urged caution in moving forward with both ideas. Although the prison-closing recommendation adopted by the commission did not specify a facility, the often-criticized juvenile lockup in Tallulah is clearly what lawmakers had in mind. 'The bad investment of Tallulah has been a dismal failure,' said Sen. Donald Cravins, D-Arnaudville, referring to the prison officially called the Swanson Correctional Center for Youth, Madison Parish Unit. Critics have been advocating closing the prison for years, citing a pattern of abuse of prisoners by officers and fellow inmates, not only when it was operated by a private company in the mid-1990s but also after the state took over in 1999. But closing the prison also comes down to money. 'The issue of closure is paramount,' said Joseph Liu with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an advocacy group that has evaluated the Louisiana juvenile system. 'You need to close a facility to fund alternatives the state needs to build.' The commission adopted the foundation's recommendation that the population at one juvenile prison be gradually reduced in the next year, while creating new residential programs to take in those inmates. The closing would provide net savings of about $10 million, Liu said. The catch to closing the Tallulah facility is a cooperative endeavor agreement that Department of Corrections Secretary Richard Stalder signed with the town of Tallulah in 1994 obligating the state to pay off the privately owned prison's bonds. Louisiana officials cannot stop paying the debt, terminating the agreement, without jeopardizing the state's bond rating, officials say. Because the annual debt payments total about $3 million, that would leave $7 million to spend on alternative programs each year, Liu said. By April, the Department of Corrections will house 225 offenders at Tallulah, part of a lawsuit settlement requiring it to reduce the population at the facility. The agency also has begun work on a 72-cell lock-down building at the Louis Jetson Correctional Facility in Baton Rouge, which could house juveniles from Tallulah when it is completed in December or January, said Trey Boudreaux, undersecretary with the agency. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think