Louisiana is a combination state.  Delinquency services are organized at both the state and local level in Louisiana. Parish (county) governments, parish boards and commissions, juvenile courts, and law enforcement departments administer secure detention.

How is detention organized?  

Secure detention in Louisiana is organized at the local level, with several facilities having regional catchment. Parish government funds secure detention services, which parish boards and commissions, juvenile courts, and law enforcement departments administer.

The Louisiana Children's Code, Article 839, provides for the "informal adjustment" of referrals prior to the filing of a petition. The adjustments can be entered by the local prosecutor or officers designated by the court to handle delinquency intake and have a six-month time limit, which may be extended for one additional six-month period under the Children’s Code Article 840.

The Louisiana Children's Code outlines the rights of victims of juvenile crime in Article 811.1. Under the code, local prosecutors are required to provide victims information about their case, including apprehension and/or taking into custody of an alleged delinquent, release of an alleged offender pending adjudication, escape of an offender from a secure facility.

Local juvenile probation departments provide probation and parole supervision services. Juvenile probation officers working for the Youth Services, Office of Youth Development (OYD) are called Probation and Parole Officers/Juvenile.

A Baccalaureate degree (with experience substitutions) is required for state juvenile probation/parole officers. All juvenile probation officers are required to complete the POST (Peace Officer Standard Training) certification at one of the approved POST academies in the state.

Commitments are made to the custody of the Youth Services, Office of Youth Development (OYD). The Louisiana Children's Code, Article 901, provides guidelines for the court to consider when deciding to commit youth to OYD; however, no statewide tool for making structured commitment decisions is required.

Louisiana does not have an independent juvenile parole board at this time. Rather, the committing court is required to set a maximum term or duration for a public or private placement and has final authority for release decisions for both public and private commitments.

Probation and Parole Officers/Juvenile working for the Youth Services, Office of Youth Development (OYD) provide statewide aftercare supervision through 13 district offices, including service to the 5 locally administered juvenile probation departments. All youth leaving residential placement (secure and non-secure) who either remain in custody or are placed under supervision (parole) have access to the entire menu of services.

Louisiana’s purpose clause is rooted in the Standard Juvenile Court Act.

Lower Age: 10 

Upper Age: 16

Extended Age of Delinquency Jurisdiction: 20

At present, a statewide detention screening tool is not applied to detention decisions. Depending on the requirements of the local court, juvenile probation departments may add structure to the process by requiring the use of risk scaling instruments and needs assessments.