The Office of Juvenile Justice have prohibited incarcerated youth who qualify for at-home visits from taking leave during major holidays. State senators want to know why. (Photo by Julie O’Donoghue/Louisiana Illuminator)
Two Louisiana senators are raising questions about why Louisiana’s youth prison system recently banned at-home visits for incarcerated minors for holidays including Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day.
“There is part of being home for the holidays that is just a tradition. …. It seems very punitive,” Sen. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, said at a legislative hearing Tuesday.
Since the end of last year, the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice has prohibited incarcerated minors and young adults entitled to regular home visits, called furloughs, from visiting their families during major holidays.
The reason: There were too many problems such as curfew violations and escapes. Parades and large family gatherings, in particular, have led to violations, Courtney Myers, assistant secretary of the Office of Juvenile Justice, told the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children.
The agency implemented a “black out” on holiday visits, but young people granted furloughs are still allowed to go home right before or right after those dates, Myers said.
People incarcerated in the state’s juvenile prison system, who are typically age 13 to 21, are only granted home visits if their leave is approved by the head of the Office of Juvenile Justice, local district attorney and a judge. They must demonstrate good behavior and have made progress in their rehabilitation to qualify, according to a state policy put in place in 2023.
Home visits can last from eight hours to 14 days. For some young people, they occur on a monthly basis. Parents and guardians must also participate in three family sessions with state staff before furloughs are granted.
The incarcerated youth must wear ankle monitors while at home and submit to drug screenings before and after the leave takes place, according to the policy.
Jackson and Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, said they didn’t think it was fair that every incarcerated youth on furlough should be denied holiday home visits because others have acted out.
Holiday furloughs should be used as incentives to encourage better behavior among incarcerated youth, they said.
“So you’ve been penalized for something someone else has done?” Barrow said. “I really would ask [the Office to Juvenile Justice] to reconsider this.”
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