The state Office of Juvenile Justice is paying the Jackson Parish Sheriff's Office about $130,000 per month for 30 youth beds at the local jail — whether occupied or not.
OJJ entered into the juvenile housing agreement last September, as a federal judge ordered the agency to transfer incarcerated teens from a temporary facility on the grounds of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. The judge called conditions at the Angola site "intolerable" in a scathing critique of the state's decision to house teens in the former Death Row building after several escapes and other incidents at juvenile facilities in the summer of 2022.
Documents filed in federal court last week outlined the contract between OJJ and the Jackson Parish Sheriff, along with allegations that the state is stonewalling plaintiffs' efforts to obtain most of the records related to the jail. The filings are part of a lawsuit filed by incarcerated youth against the state over the Angola decision and, now, conditions at the Jackson Parish Jail.
An OJJ spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Youth were moved from Angola to the Jackson Parish Jail in September to comply with the judge's order.
But following the youths' transfer, some claimed in court filings they were being harshly treated — facing similar conditions to what they experienced at Angola. They alleged they had been sprayed with mace, forced to wear shackles while showering and denied basic services, such as counseling and regular schooling.
At the time, OJJ officials suggested that when the new Swanson Center for Youth in Monroe opened, Jackson Parish Jail would be emptied of those teens in its custody. A few months later, OJJ said the Jackson Parish Sheriff “indicated a desire to continue to provide unit space" for youths in the state juvenile justice system. OJJ said it would continue its partnership with sheriff, primarily for juveniles whose cases were still pending and who haven't yet been sentenced.
After Swanson opened in May — more than a year after officials initially said it would be completed — juveniles in state custody remain at the Jackson Parish jail.
“Young people in the juvenile justice system must never be locked up in adult jails or prisons, without the education and rehabilitative services the law entitles them to," said David J. Utter, one of the lawyers for the class of youth in OJJ’s custody. "The Jackson Parish Jail is an adult jail that is harming children in OJJ’s custody. The fact that Louisiana is misusing so many taxpayer dollars to harm kids is appalling."
According to the contract, OJJ entered into a two-year agreement with the Sheriff's Office in September 2023. The document, which notes the deal can be ended with a month's notice, details a per diem of $143.51 for every reserved juvenile bed at the jail.
"This will guarantee that OJJ retains bed space for the number of beds contracted," the agreement says. "OJJ wishes to secure and hold 30 unoccupied beds for a juvenile."
Costs per month average about $130,000. In addition, OJJ officials agreed to pay all medical costs related to the youth at the jail.
If a youth ends up in the hospital for an extended stay, OJJ will pay an hourly charge of $40 for Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Office personnel to remain present, the contract says. And if OJJ wants the Sheriff’s Office to transfer a youth to court, it must pay $0.64 per mile.
All of these charges are added to a monthly bill for the agency.
The contract also requires the Sheriff’s Office and OJJ to coordinate “educational and programming needs of OJJ’s youth.”
Donovan D. Shultz, chief investigator with the Jackson Parish Sheriff's Office, said in an email that 25 OJJ youth were in custody at the facility as of Friday morning. Thirty-one other juvenile inmates were also at the jail.
OJJ has used more than 30 beds at different times, Shultz said, but no more than 34. The jail maintains 60 beds for juveniles and 315 for adults.
It has been a difficult few years for OJJ. After escapes and other turmoil that plagued several state youth prisons, officials sought to increase security at the facilities, divide offenders into categories based on risk level and take other measures to mitigate the chaos — including implementing the Angola plan.
Aging youth prisons and shifts in models of care have also led to a scramble for bed space while some facilities are repaired and others revamped.