In spite of outcry from groups, 18 youth transported to state penitentiary and other facilities to 'improve safety'
In spite of outcry from groups, 18 youth transported to state penitentiary and other facilities to 'improve safety'
OJJ is in the process of contacting the youths’ families and legal representatives to inform them of the relocation.
Office of Juvenile Justice officials completed the first phase of adjudicated youth transfers yesterday (Wed. Oct. 19) as part of a “comprehensive plan, both short and long-term, to address the need to provide better care for youth and improve safety for youth, staff and surrounding communities,” officials said.
According to a news release, OJJ transporters safely moved eighteen youth to secure care facilities throughout the state. Ten youth from Bridge City Correctional Center for Youth were moved to Swanson Center for Youth at Monroe. Four youth from Acadiana Center for Youth at St. Martinville and four youth from Swanson Center for Youth at Monroe were moved to the temporary West Feliciana Center for Youth facility at Angola—for a total of eight youth currently housed at the West Feliciana Center for Youth.
OJJ is in the process of contacting the youths’ families and legal representatives to inform them of the relocation.
Over the summer, disturbances at the Bridge City Center for Youth led OJJ to stabilize conditions at that facility by transferring some high-priority youth from BCCY to other OJJ facilities while work was conducted to prepare the temporary West Feliciana Center for Youth facility.
In a Monday news release, the OJJ named the West Feliciana Center for Youth as the “temporary facility” that “will be used to rehabilitate youth that identify as needing intensive therapeutic services.” Though the facility is a part of Angola and on Louisiana State Penitentiary grounds, it’s separate from the location where adult inmates are housed.
In June, the legislature passed and Gov. John Bel Edwards signed Act 693 into law which created a tiered system of low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk juveniles within OJJ’s secure facilities based on assessments.
Local and national community groups have petitioned and sued the Governor’s office in an attempt to prevent youth transfers citing the need for better care and services for juvenile offenders. Read “Youth Advocates demand more than a pause.”
OJJ said it “constantly assesses the youth in our care to determine what facility and level of care is best for their development, their safety, and the safety of those around them.”
