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SUPPORT JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM
Get the Facts:
Louisiana is failing its youth offenders!
| 77% of incarcerated youth in Louisiana are non-violent offenders. |
| $89 million of Louisiana's Office of Youth Development's $127 million budget is spent on incarceration - the most expensive option. |
| Judges have too few options - often only probation with minimal services or incarceration. |
| Within three years, 62% of our young offenders make their way back to prison - that is three times more than in some states which use alternatives to prison. Incarceration is an expensive investment with a poor return. |
| Young offenders often suffer from mental health and substance abuse problems. Locking them up won't make these problems go away. |
Get Smart:
Louisiana can make better choices for our youth!
| Throughout the country, states use successful, low-cost alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders. |
| Louisiana should expand alternatives to youth incarceration: community supervision, day programs and residential beds. |
| Eliminating 350 prison beds can save Louisiana up to $20 million annually, freeing up funds to pay for alternative sanctions. |
| Louisiana must develop a graduated system of sanctions for youth offenders. |
| Include child welfare, mental heath, substance abuse, and other community-based providers in sanction plans for youth offenders. |
A system that does little more than lock up offenders will lead to more crime, not less!
What can you do?
| Visit, call, or write a letter to your legislator - To find your legislator, visit http://www.legis.state.la.us/ |
| Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper |
| Visit, call, or write a letter to your local law enforcement officials |
The Case for Supporting Juvenile Justice Reform
Juvenile Justice in Louisiana
The state of children & Louisiana's Juvenile Justice system today…
- 77% of incarcerated youth in Louisiana are non-violent offenders.
- Within 3 years of release, 62% of youth make their way back to prison for a second tour.
- Louisiana could save up to $20 million by eliminating 350 prison beds and freeing up those funds for low cost effective community-based alternatives.
- It now costs more than $57,000 a year - to incarcerate a child in a brutal and ineffective prison facility - more than it costs to send a young person to Harvard.
Fixing a broken system…
- Child advocates, service providers, churches and others have drafted a simple six-point Platform for Effective Juvenile Justice Reform, which would ensure that Act 1225's mandate for real reform is able to be implemented.
- Louisiana remains one of only 11 states where juvenile justice is administered by the adult corrections system. Louisiana's children would be far better served by the creation of a single entity that operates independently of the adult-style institutions of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
- According to LSU, almost 20% of young offenders suffer from mental health problems. Current systems do not provide adequate treatment for these young people - juvenile justice in the future should focus on education, rehabilitation, and accountability.
Now is the time to...
Join with YouWho to make children and their future a priority in Louisiana.
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