OJJ center in Bunkie will create 124 jobs

   A new state juvenile detention center will create more new jobs for the Bunkie area than originally expected, a state official told the Bunkie Rotary Club on June 24.

   Johnny Qualls, deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ), said the Acadiana Center for Youth will employ about 124 when it opens next summer. Initial estimates called for about 100 new jobs. Qualls told the Rotarians that at least 100 of the new jobs will be filled by people in this area. Others will be transferred from existing facilities.

   All of the jobs will be Civil Service and the hiring should start in the next six to eight months. Hiring will be done in tiers, he said. The director and administration staff will be hired first and attend a five-week training course. Once the top tier of employees is hired and trained, hiring for other positions will begin.

    Qualls expects to hold  job fairs and other events to attract prospective employees for the center.

    There had been some concern as to whether the state would provide the funds needed to hire and train personnel for the Acadiana Center.  The House of Representatives pulled funding but the Senate was able to put the $3.6 million back in the state budget. The funds stayed in the budget and were not deleted by Gov. Bobby Jindal, so that threat is passed.

    Mayor Mike Robertson said Qualls’ comments were welcome news, especially after the community was rocked by Gulf Coast Spinning Plant’s announcement last week that it would be locating its operations in Shreveport and is halting work on the site in the Bunkie Industrial Park.

    “We are celebrating the 120-plus jobs the Acadiana Center for Youth will bring to our community,” he said.

   The state-of-the-art facility  will be Louisiana’s first youth detention center built specifically to accommodate the Louisiana Model -- called LAMOD. LAMOD is a therapeutic treatment model used in  all of OJJ’s facilities. It focuses on rehabilitation and therapy rather than punishment for crimes. 

   Qualls told the Bunkie Rotary Club that opening the Acadiana Center will not create too many detention center beds in the state. It was a concern that the state was increasing the number of detention center beds that resulted in the temporary elimination of the $3.6 million to fund hiring and training. The non-profit Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana wanted the funding eliminated so the state would have to eliminate detention beds in older facilities before opening any new facilities.

   “The opening of the Bunkie facility will involve a staged, gradual transition of youth from Swanson in Monroe and Bridge City,” Qualls explained. “The number of youth served in secure care in the state over the last three years has plateaued.”

   The facility will house up to 72 youth who require intensive treatment in a therapeutic but secure environment, he said. The average salary at the center will be about $50,000.

    “OJJ worked for several years to find an appropriate location for a new, regional, state-of-the-art therapeutic secure care facility to serve youth in southern and central Louisiana.”

    Qualls said another attractive component is thePicard recreation center, located between Bunkie and Hessmer on La. Hwy 115. The center, until last year operated by the state Department of Education, is now an OJJ site offering activities for youth, residential cabins and a meeting hall. He said the center is very busy during the summer but slows down during the winter. He is hoping many of the OJJ meetings and training sessions can be held at the center when it has no other groups booked.