Page 1 of 3
Regular Session, 2013 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 56
BY SENATOR BROOME
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To commend and publicly acknowledge a series of reform accomplishments of the
Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Youth Services, Office of Juvenile
Justice (OJJ).
WHEREAS, the Justice Policy Institute and the Annie E. Casey Foundation issued
reports showing that Louisiana reduced its rate of youth incarceration by over fifty percent
over a thirteen-year period, from 1997 to 2010; and
WHEREAS, both the Justice Policy Institute and the Annie E. Casey Foundation
stated this reduction was one of the most dramatic improvements in the United States, and
Louisiana is being called a national model in reducing the number of youths in out-of-home
placement; and
WHEREAS, the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) recently transitioned to a
regionalized model of leadership and, under this new agency model, divided the state into
three regions, each with a director responsible for youths at all levels of custody and
supervision; and
WHEREAS, this new organization of the agency creates a more cohesive team unit
and allows for more efficient and effective delivery of services; and
WHEREAS, OJJ schools celebrated the high school graduation of fifty-four youths
in June of 2012, including thirty-four graduates from the Swanson Center for Youth's
Southside Alternative High School, nine graduates from the Bridge City Center for Youth,
and eleven graduates from the Scenic Alternative High School at Jetson Center, as well as SCR NO. 56 ENROLLED
Page 2 of 3
the awarding of GEDs to an additional fifty-seven youths while in an OJJ secure care facility
in 2012; and
WHEREAS, OJJ secure care facilities have introduced two new vocational programs,
including Bridge City Center for Youth's auto mechanic program, which saw twenty youths
receiving certifications from its Convergent Technology vocational program, and Bridge
City Center for Youth's culinary arts program, which saw nineteen students receive their
ServSafe certificate, a nationally accredited food safety certification from the National
Restaurant Association; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Department of Education measures the progress of all
Louisiana schools, including schools inside OJJ secure care facilities, and has designated the
schools at both Swanson Center for Youth and Bridge City Center for Youth as a "Top Gains
school", meaning a school within the top third of all 440 Louisiana schools, in light of both
schools improving their performance by doubling their projected growth target; and
WHEREAS, the American Correctional Association (ACA) reaccredited OJJ's
central office in the summer of 2012 after OJJ's central office passed one hundred percent
of the ACA accreditation standards; and
WHEREAS, Bridge City Center for Youth received a formal recommendation for
accreditation by the ACA, which, once achieved, will mean that all OJJ offices and facilities
will be ACA accredited; and
WHEREAS, Harvard University recently recognized OJJ for its innovative
programming for youth, specifically praising OJJ's Service Coordination Model, a
government initiative through the "Bright Ideas" program, an initiative of the broader
Innovations in American Government Awards program at the John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University; and
WHEREAS, OJJ partnered with the Northshore Community and Technical College
and the MacArthur Foundation to establish a model whereby community and technical
colleges work with youth involved with the juvenile justice system, creating an individual
career pathway for participating youth through career guidance, intensive case management
and follow-up, education, job skills training, preemployment services, as well as job
placement services upon completion of their chosen academic program. SCR NO. 56 ENROLLED
Page 3 of 3
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend and publicly acknowledge the Department of Public Safety and Corrections,
Youth Services, Office of Juvenile Justice, for the foregoing series of accomplishments.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Deputy Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Youth Services,
Office of Juvenile Justice.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES