The History of Juvenile Incarceration in the United States: A Partial Timeline
1825
New York House of Refuge opens and houses youth for rehabilitation and treatment. The first institution was designed to accommodate poor youth deemed by authorities to be on the path toward delinquency.
1828
After the House of Refuge opens in New York, other cities, such as Philadelphia, build institutions with similar rehabilitation ideologies.
1856
First girl's reformatory, the State Industrial School for Girls, opens in Massachusetts.
1899
The first juvenile court was created in Chicago, Illinois, through the Illinois Juvenile Court Act. The purpose of this act was to no longer place children in adult facilities.
1902
Legislation authorizes the State Penitentiary's Board of Control to establish an institution for white youth aged 7 – 18. This led to the 1904 Legislative Act 173 that created the State Reform School (also called the Louisiana Training Institute – LTI) for white male youth in Monroe.
1908
The Louisiana Legislature, in Act No. 83, creates a court to deal with the "children" of Louisiana.
1912
The first federal agency that primarily addresses children's problems, the United States Children's Bureau, is established.
1914
The Practice of Diversion is established at the Chicago Boy's Court. The goal of diversion was to provide treatment for juveniles outside the formal juvenile justice system.
1916
An eight-year-old black boy is sent to Angola Prison for Adult Men for stealing canned goods.
1925
All but two states establish separate juvenile justice systems.
1926
The State Industrial School for female youth opens in Ball, Louisiana.
1938
The Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act (FJDA) leaves the state juvenile justice system as the preferred alternative for youth arrested for violating federal laws.
1944
Prince v. Massachusetts: The Supreme Court rules that no minor boy under twelve or girl under eighteen shall sell newspapers, magazines, periodicals, or other merchandise articles in the streets or other public places.
1949
The State Industrial School for Colored Youth opens in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to accommodate African American youth.
1951
Congress amends the FJDA with the Federal Youth Corrections Act.19, granting youth offenders tried as adults in the federal system special rehabilitation outcomes.
1961
Congress passes the Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Offenses Control Act. This act provides grants to local government and private nonprofit agencies to fund projects that focus on methods used to prevent and control crime committed by youth.
1967
In re Gault: Supreme Court decision requiring juvenile courts to respect juveniles' due process during their proceedings. This ruling gives individuals the right to receive fair treatment under the law of minors.
1969
The U.S. District Court orders the desegregation of juvenile facilities. Integration begins immediately; the first black students are received at LTI Monroe, and twenty white students are transferred to LTI-Baton Rouge (Jetson Center for Youth).
1970
Winship Case: Courts decide that in juvenile court proceedings involving delinquency, the standard of proof for conviction should be the same as that for adults in criminal court.
1972
A youth correctional facility opens near New Orleans, Louisiana, known as Louisiana Training Institute-Bridge City.
1974
Congress passes the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDP) to explore organizations focusing on better opportunities for youth.
1975
Louisiana affiliates with the JJDP Act, and within the same year, forms the Office of Youth Development (OYD).
1988
The US Supreme Court rules that imposing the death penalty for murders committed by an individual under the age of sixteen violates the Eighth Amendment.
1989
The United Nations Human Rights Commission ratifies the Rights for Children. Every child deserves proper nutrition, shelter, and free elementary education.
1990
As part of the 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Agreement to End Juvenile Life Without Parole states that no child should be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment.
1993
Crime Rates Increase Nationally: Public media creates and portrays the story of an emerging “superpredator” class of adolescents. These stories disproportionately highlight minority youth and violent offenses—a generation of young people, particularly Black teenagers, who are more ruthless, vicious, and less amenable to change.
Ware Youth Center opens as a detention center, school, and several group homes in Red River Parish.
1994
The Tallulah Correctional Center for Youth (TCCY) opens in Tallulah, Louisiana, under a private firm. Over 80% of the youths confined were African-American.
National Juvenile Justice Laws:
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
The most significant crime bill in the history of the United States. This act called for a greater police presence nationally and added billions of dollars to fund additional prisons.Zero Tolerance Policy
This policy passes to prevent the possession of drugs or weapons on the grounds of a school. Therefore, the one who possesses the item will be banned from the item and punished.
1996
Department of Justice notifies the State of Louisiana that it would investigate the State's secure juvenile correctional facilities, including the Jetson Correctional Center for Youth in Baton Rouge, the Training Institute at Bridge City, the Louisiana Training Institute at Monroe (later renamed Swanson Correctional Center for Youth), and the Tallulah Correctional Center for Youth.
1997
Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL), now the Louisiana Center for Children's Rights, opens. Staff is met with overwhelming complaints of violence and abuse in juvenile prisons.
1998
With the highest juvenile incarceration rate in the United States, the number of Louisiana youth confined in juvenile prisons reach nearly 2,000.
The Department of Justice files a suit against the State in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, alleging unconstitutional conditions of confinement at the Jetson, Bridge City, Swanson, and Tallulah facilities.
2001
The American Youth Policy Center identifies Missouri as a blueprint for reform in juvenile justice. 85% of youth in the program were productively engaged in education or employment at their release.
2002
The Close Tallulah Now! (CTN): The Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL) in coalition with Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), Building Blocks for Youth (including the Youth Law Center and Justice Policy Institute), and Grassroots Leadership spearhead the campaign. The Louisiana-based Coalition for Effective Juvenile Justice Reform forms in early 2003 and plays a critical role in closing Tallulah Youth Prison.
2003
The Juvenile Justice Reform Act (Act 1225) orders the closure of the Tallulah Youth Prison and mandates that the savings from the closure go to community-based alternatives.
2004
Tallulah Youth Prison closes.
2005
Roper vs. Simmons: The Supreme Court finds imposing capital punishment for crimes committed under the age of 18 unconstitutional.
During Hurricane Katrina, more than 100 detained youths endure horrific conditions in the storm's aftermath. Many are without access to food or water for three to five days.
2009
Louisiana Legislature Converts Juvenile Institution into Regional Treatment Facility: The Jetson Center for Youth closes as a juvenile correctional facility and is converted into a regional treatment facility.
2010
The Supreme Court holds that juvenile offenders may not be sentenced to life without parole unless found guilty of homicide.
Louisiana Legislature passes resolution to move the state closer to the "Missouri Model" of Juvenile Justice.
2011
Administrator John Anderson accuses OJJ and Deputy Secretary Mary Livers of “Retaliatory Harassment”. Anderson’s suit contends he complained about “appalling” conditions at three Louisiana youth centers.
New Orleans Juvenile Detention Center Sets New Policies to Protect LGBT Youth: The Louisiana Department of Human Services and the New Orleans juvenile detention center—the Youth Study Center (YSC)—introduces a new policy designed to protect the safety and dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth under their supervision.
2012
Advancements in Louisiana Juvenile Justice:
Sexual Exploitation of Youth
Louisiana Protects Child Trafficking Victims from Prosecution for Prostitution: Youth victims of trafficking may not be adjudicated as delinquent for prostitution-related offenses.Conditions of Confinement
Louisiana Legislation Aims to Improve Education for Committed Youth: This policy passes to help ensure all youth committed to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections receive a quality education.Adjudication and Sentencing
Louisiana Prohibits Life-Without-Parole Sentences for Non-Homicide Offenses: Louisiana passes legislation to end juvenile life without parole for non-homicide offenses.School-to-Prison Pipeline
Louisiana Law Helps Ensure Education of Youth in Juvenile Justice System: Louisiana now allows students expelled from school to attend alternative education programs.
2013
Advancements in Louisiana Juvenile Justice:
Adjudication and Sentencing
Louisiana Replaces Mandatory Life Without Parole Sentences for Youth with 35-Year Mandatory Minimums.Youth Involved in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems
Louisiana Aims to Better Serve Crossover Youth: The Louisiana legislature passes a law to better serve youth in the juvenile justice system who need mental health or child welfare services.
2015
41 states set the maximum age at 17 years, and 9 states at 16 and 15 (New York and North Carolina at age 15). The trend has been to increase the minimum age and keep these adolescents under the jurisdiction of the juvenile courts.
2016
Act 501: Raises the age of juvenile jurisdiction in Louisiana to seventeen
Act 499: Juvenile Justice Accountability and Cost Effectiveness Act. This act calls for data regarding youth in the juvenile justice system to be reported publicly by OJJ.
Act 617: The Safe and Fair Return Act. It sets forth revised laws on how public defenders work with young people after being adjudicated into OJJ’s custody.
Act 500: Creates a specialized system for measuring youth progress in the alternative schools located at OJJ facilities.
BreakFree Education applies to open a new school inside the New Orleans juvenile detention center (the Youth Study Center). The Travis Hill School opens in August.
2017
A guard at Ware Center for Youth tells a young girl that her grandmother doesn’t want her anymore; that evening, the youth hangs herself.
Louisiana expends $11,669 per pupil on average. By contrast, Riverside Alternative spends nearly $100,000 per student in the same year.
2018
According to the National Institute of Corrections, Bridge City and Swanson-Monroe are not conducive for rehabilitating youth. The physical structure and environment of juvenile confinement facilities significantly impact youth behavior and the likelihood of violence.
2019
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) files a class action lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Health, claiming it failed to provide mental health services to children and families. Instead of offering appropriate mental health services, the state relies on psychiatric hotels and prisons to fill in the gaps.
Sixty-four young people attempt suicide at Ware Youth Center.
2020
School shutdowns begin in March 2020 following the national break-out of COVID-19. Most students qualifying for special education services in OJJ secure facilities miss educational hours owed to them under their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
2021
The local sheriff’s office investigates allegations regarding Sexual Abuse at Ware Youth Center. They release no information regarding the investigation.
Acadiana Center For Youth in St. Martinville opens in July 2021; From this time until at least November 2021, there is no education at all at St. Martinville for the youth housed at the facility.
2022
Youth violence committed by youth is up 30% in New Orleans. City government cuts funding to juvenile courts by 20%, a total of $540,000 since the pandemic.
A lawsuit is filed against Governor John Bel Edwards, the Louisiana Department of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice to stop the transfer of juvenile inmates to Angola Prison.
The state, under Governor John Bel Edward’s direction, transfers 10 young people from the Bridge City Correctional Facility for Youth to Angola Prison, an adult maximum-security prison located on the grounds of a former slavery plantation.
The New York Times releases an article titled “‘Dying Inside’ Chaos and Cruelty In Louisiana Juvenile Detention,” an investigation based on interviews with people previously held at Ware Youth Center. It reveals the rampant abuse experienced by the young people who were in custody. The youths report being choked, beaten, as well as enduring sexual abuse for phone privileges by the wards.
William Sommers, Deputy Secretary for Youth Services in Louisiana, resigns following multiple riots and escapes reported from the Bridge City Center for Youth.
March 20, 2023
A letter signed by lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights (LCCR), the ACLU National Prison Project, the ACLU of Louisiana, Loyola University, New Orleans College of Law, and Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children is sent to the U.S. Department of Education advocating for the children in custody at Angola Penitentiary, in addition to “requesting a broader investigation into the system of education in Louisiana’s secure care facilities.”