Sen. Cloud bill would enhance OJJ system Tiered system bill before Senate committee

Senator Heather Cloud has been fighting to enhance the structure of the Office of Juvenile Justice including the OJJ Facility in Bunkie.
Senator Cloud authored a bill which was heard in Senate Committee on Judiciary B supporting Senate Bill 323 that would require the Office of Juvenile Justice to implement a tiered system within facilities.
The proposed tier system would rank those sent to serve at the facilities into either low risk, moderate or high-risk juveniles.
“The goal is rehabilitation,” Senator Cloud said. “There is an opportunity while these juveniles are in our state’s facilities to provide them rehabilitation and equip them in all facets, whether it is health, education or workforce needs.”
Cloud referred to the current model as “chaos, but this bill is a foundational bill to meet the needs of the youth by setting up a structure of success.”
OJJ Secretary William Sommers also addressed the committee outlining a detailed plan describing how the changes would be implemented throughout the system.
As of Thursday (May 5), the bill was still pending in the Committee House Administration of Criminal Justice.