Legislature approves $7.2 M to openstate juvenile detention center in Bunkie

After once again being left out of the state budget when the Legislature closed its regular session, the Acadian Center for Youth (ACY) in Bunkie was allocated $7.2 million to begin the process of staffing, opening and operating the state’s newest and most modern juvenile detention center. The center is expected to be open by April 2018.

State Rep. Robert Johnson and State Sen. Eric LaFleur made a joint announcement of the good news after the Legislature approved a state budget this past Friday.

“We have put money into House Bill 1, $7.2 million in operations money for Acadian Center for the Youth,” LaFleur said. “It is still not enough to operate the full facility, but nonetheless enough to hire a core team and start operations.”

LaFleur said the center should be operational and providing services to at least 24 juveniles in six months. It will eventually serve over 70 juveniles. The center could have 80 to 90 employees on staff within the next year and will eventually have 124 employees.

LaFleur said Sen. Ronnie Johns of Sulphur deserves special thanks for his efforts to allocate the funds in the budget. Johns is a Bunkie native and a critical member of the team that made sure the facility could open.

“I was excited to learn that the state's budget included funding for the completed Acadiana Center for Youth (ACY) in Bunkie,” Mayor Mike Robertson said. “After a number of disappoints in the past few years, it’s great news to know all of our hard work to secure the facility will come to fruition.

“We are looking forward to the jobs that will be created by the opening of this facility,” he continued. “We are looking forward to having a great working relationship between ACY and the community. I cannot express my gratitude enough to Sen. LaFleur for pushing forward and gaining support for the funding to open the ACY. I also thank Sen. Ronnie Johns, who grew up in Bunkie, who also has been supportive of ACY. I thank all the representatives and senators who supported funding for the Acadian Center for Youth.”

  Beth Touchet-Morgan, executive management advisor for the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ), said the funding allows the hiring process to begin. She could not say how many employees will be hired with this allocation.

ADDITIONAL PURCHASES

“Out of the $7.2 million, there are other purchases to be made -- like equipment and furniture,” Morgan noted. “The hiring will be done in phases, depending on funding. We hope to be fully funded in about a year. OJJ is still committed to hiring 124 employees when fully staffed.”

The funding will allow some housing units at the center to open, but Morgan could not say how many. The entire dining staff and maintenance staff will have to be hired, regardless of the number of housing units opened.

Before the OJJ can begin operations, the Office of Facility Planning must release the project from the construction phase. Morgan said that should happen in the next few weeks.

“We will probably hold another job fair in Bunkie to look for applicants,” Morgan said. “All the positions are Civil Service, so people wanting to apply will have to take the Civil Service exam.”

Once ACY opens, it will have a ratio of six youth for every staff member in each housing unit.

Although construction costs were approved, the Legislature pulled funding for operating costs. Construction recently finished. All that was missing was the money needed to open the doors.

Gov. John Bel Edwards eliminated the center’s operating funds last year as part of his efforts to balance the state budget. The issue was reviewed three times in seven months, but the funds were not restored. It is expected to take four to six months to hire and train employees for the center.

ACY will be using a different method that focuses on therapy, family involvement and rehabilitation and not on punishing the juvenile for crimes committed. The “Louisiana Model for Secure Care” (LAMOD) is based on a similar system, the “Missouri Model” of treatment.

“Louisiana adopted the Missouri model several years ago, and this facility was needed to provide true regional access,” LaFleur said.

This approach calls for addressing the root causes of juvenile delinquency to make long-lasting changes in young people that will prepare them to be able to make positive contributions when they return to their community.

ACY will include a year-round school with six-hour school days. It will offer academic subjects, job readiness, life skills and vocational training. Vocational programs will include carpentry, electrical, culinary arts, horticulture, small engine repair, welding and fiber optic cables training.

2014 GROUNDBREAKING

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the ACY in July 2014, with dirt work beginning the next month. M.D. Descant of Bunkie was the general contractor.

Buildings A, B, and C are 8,500 sq.ft. housing units for the center’s 72 juvenile offenders. Building D includes a full-size gym, classrooms and a vo-tech operations. Buildings E and F will house the facility’s administration and intake operations to process the juveniles upon arrival. Building G is a cafeteria and kitchen. Buildings H and J are maintenance buildings.

The site also has a soccer field and outdoor basketball court, 72,000 sq.ft. of concrete parking and driveways, and is encircled with a 12-ft. arched barbed wire fence. Construction required 5,000 cubic yards of concrete.

“The $27 million facility has been sitting vacant for almost two years,” LaFleur noted. “With the opening of the facility, Louisiana would have completed a long-term plan to provide regional facilities across the state to house, educate and address the needs of our troubled youth.”

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