Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana 1600 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70133

Technical skills are useful, but strategy and critical thinking are what determine success. This is exactly the idea that spawned the first-ever Nonprofit Strategy Institute, presented by the Tulane Center for Public Service (CPS).

Since September, 14 CPS community partners have met monthly to tackle important issues, asking not just “How?” but “Why?”

JJPL’s mission is to transform the juvenile justice system into one that builds on the strengths of young people, families and communities to ensure children are given the greatest opportunities to grow and thrive. We have three key program objectives to achieve this mission: to reduce the number of children in secure care and abolish…

If Orleans Parish Prison is capped at 1,438 beds, down from the current 3,500, where will the extra inmates go? With changes in pretrial detention policies, some will likely be awaiting their court dates at home instead of stuck behind bars. Advocates for a smaller jail also hope that the hundreds of convicted criminals serving time at OPP will be shipped to state prisons, where they can receive job training and other programs not available at local prisons.

Bridge City Center for Youth was Louisiana’s model detention facility after the state reformed its deeply dysfunctional juvenile justice system nearly a decade ago. But increased fights among youth at the center and other problems cited in a Times-Picayune investigation by reporter Laura Maggi are worrisome signs of backsliding.

The new $35 million campus that is replacing the maligned Youth Service Center will include 40 beds, six juvenile courtrooms and offices for the district attorney, public defenders, the clerk of court and the New Orleans Police Department’s juvenile bureau.

As the number of kids in Louisiana’s secure youth institutions fell during the past decade, advocates hoped the resulting savings would be channeled into programs that help juvenile delinquents stay on the right path. Instead, the savings have simply been banked by the state in recent years, according to Dana Kaplan, director of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana.