LAFAYETTE, La. — The Lafayette Juvenile Detention Center has introduced a new program designed to provide educational and emotional support to incarcerated youth in an effort to reduce recidivism.
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 55% of juveniles are rearrested within a year of their release from detention centers.
Arsenio Andrus, LJDH training compliance coordinator, hopes their new initiative will help break the cycle.
"It's important to remember that the individuals in this facility are still children," said Andrus. "Children have the capacity to grow, change, and learn, and I believe everyone should be afforded a second chance."
R.I.S.E. (Reformative Instruction and Skills Enhancement) is structured to support detained juveniles not only academically but also in developing essential life skills.
The R.I.S.E curriculum includes classes on:
- Mindfulness and preparation for the HiSET (High School Equivalency Test)
- Lessons in emotional fluency
- Philosophy
The courses are taught in a classroom on the detention center's campus, where juveniles learn how to regulate their emotions, make informed decisions, and better navigate their personal challenges while serving their time and once they leave the center.
“So when they are released they have something but every youth is different its all individuals. So there’s no specific time frame that they are going to stay here, we just want to be able to let R.I.S.E to be tools and resources for when they get out," he says. "It can be receiving a HiSET, or taking one HiSET and passing that or just getting breathing techniques to help them when they are outside."
For those released before completing the program, the detention center has partnered with VITA, a volunteer organization that helps young adults continue their education by teaching them academic skills.
