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Lawmaker claims plan to house violent youth at Jetson facility in Baker may be scrapped

1 year 6 months 2 weeks ago Monday, September 12 2022 Sep 12, 2022 September 12, 2022 7:38 PM September 12, 2022 in News
Source: WBRZ

BAKER - Where to house criminal youth remains uncertain, but one state lawmaker says the Governor's plan to move them to Baker is likely dead.

"The Jetson facility I don't think is going to be workable. I haven't heard the details of that but there seems to be a push away from that and using the Angola facility to take care of these individuals that need to be taken care of," Senator Pat Connick said.

The Jefferson Parish lawmaker says he's heard the 25 juvenile offenders at the Bridge City Center will likely wait in Angola instead until a new, more secure facility in Monroe is built.

"Short term is the Angola model, where if you are acting up and causing trouble that's' where you're going to go."

The goal to move 25 juvenile offenders to Angola was only supposed to be temporary until renovations at the Jetson Center in Baker are complete.

Monday, the Governor's Office saying nothing has changed in their plan. They are waiting for a court ruling to come down at the end of the month on whether kids can be transferred to Angola.

A group filed the class-action lawsuit claiming there is not a clear plan in place on how the teens will stay separated from adult offenders at Angola or how their needs will be met.

City leaders in Baker have been leery of the plans. No one from the city returned calls from WBRZ, and Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome was unaware of any changes.

"I haven't had an update on that. No, so I don't have an update for you," Broome said.

More concrete updates should be available at a meeting in Baker on Friday, Sept. 16.

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