Juvenile Facility Proposed
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Edtors
Voters across a nine-parish area that includes St. Landry will have the opportunity later this year to decide whether to approve a sales tax that funds an Acadiana regional juvenile detention center.
If the tax is approved in the majority of the parishes, the juvenile facility accommodating offenders ages 10-17, will be located at a yet undermined location north of Interstate 10, St. Landry Parish president Jessie Bellard said during a Wednesday morning press conference at the former Indian Hills Country Club.
Bellard is the director of the Acadiana Regional Juvenile Justice District.
The Wednesday press conference attended primarily by elected law enforcement, state district court judges and parish and municipal officials, indicated that if completed, the 96-bed, 30,000 square-foot juvenile center covering about 12 acres, could cost as much as $75 million to construct and $11 million annually to maintain.
Bellard noted that the Acadiana Regional Justice District was created by legislative mandate in 2023 includes Acadia, Allen, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis, Vermillion, Iberia, St. Martin and St. Mary in addition to St. Landry.
A proposed 1-cent sales tax that if approved in all of the nine parishes, will support the construction phase of the juvenile facility, Bellard said.
The amount of the tax would be reduced, Bellard said, to perhaps as much as one-quarter of a cent in order to maintain the operational and maintenance costs of the juvenile center.
Nearly a decade ago, St. Landry residents had a chance to locate a state-funded juvenile facility in St. Landry, but strong opposition from residents who lived near several of the proposed locations, caused the initiative to wither.
The facility is now operating in Avoyelles Parish near Bunkie.
Purpose Of The Facility
Bellard added that the proposed juvenile center would be comprehensive, addressing the overall educational and emotional needs of youths who would be located there.
“It’s not a jail. We are looking to create a place that when youths come out, they can become someone who is placed on the right track. Right now what is being done is not helping them,” Bellard said.
Judges who place juveniles in facilities have a difficult job, said Bellard, since it’s often a problem to ascertain what type of assistance is necessary for offenders.
Often Bellard said, there is a dilemma finding accommodations for juveniles, due to lack of bed spaces in areas covering several states.
Rising Costs For Juveniles
Bellard said that last year juvenile incarceration issues cost St. Landry at least $500,000. The average cost per day for detaining juveniles is normally $250 per day, according to Bellard.
Other parishes experience the similar juvenile costs as St. Landry, Bellard added.
Locating the Facility
Bellard said the juvenile center needs to be located north of I-10 due to evacuation issues.
At this point, a site for the facility has not been identified, but Bellard said the center needs to be located in a rural area.
The Juvenile Problem
State District judges Laura Garcille and Charles Cravins attended the press conference.
Cravins pointed out that court systems are handling more cases involving youth.
“We are seeing things now that we never would have thought we would see. It’s easy to say that (a juvenile issue) is a family problem, but those family problems become all of our problems,” Cravins pointed out.
Cravins said there is a need to solve juvenile-related issues.
“What I see as a judge is there needs to be some remedy needed for the problem that we have or at least have a serious discussion about what we have to do about this problem,” Cravins added.
