Article archive / November 1, 2013
Originally published: . Volume 5, No. 3. Source pages: 7.
The Office of Juvenile Justice published its strategic plan for 2014 recently, noting that its mission is to protect the public by “safe and effective individualized services to youth, who will become productive, law- abiding citizens.”
The authors also noted that the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) has a vision of “quality system of care which embraces partner- ships with families, communities and stakeholders to assist youth in redirecting their lives toward responsible citizenship.”
To develop the strategic plan, the OJJ participated in statewide stakeholder meetings and asked participants about juvenile justice reform and next steps.
Results of these meetings, suggested that the top priority area was in the area of “services,” noted the authors. “This group further clarified this recommendation by calling for better access to services, timeliness of services, and clear linkages to the right services for certain populations of at-‐risk youth and juvenile justice youth.”
The authors also wrote that “Ensuring youth with mental health needs are appropriately diverted to the mental health system (Louisiana has traditionally high rates of youth with mental illness in the juvenile justice system, sometimes as a way to access services, and also because there is no clear way for youth to get effective mental health services prior to their involvement with the juvenile justice system; there was a clear desire to correct this problem).”
The complete Strategic Plan can be downloaded from the OJJ at http://ojj.la.gov
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.