Invariably, when we hear, “Louisiana found the bottom,” someone responds, “Oh, yeah? Give me a bigger shovel!”
Last month, by a vast majority, Louisiana’s citizens rejected four Constitutional amendments. The amendment beaten most soundly across the state would have permitted the Legislature to put children in adult prisons for any crime it chooses.
Essentially, with its proposed constitutional amendments, the Louisiana Legislature forced all of us to dig to the very bottom of what we are willing to accept as an official response to juvenile crime. Louisianans spoke with remarkable unity and clarity.
We know in our hearts that children are not adults. Their crimes are not committed for the same reasons. Their entire lives are still before them. Like all people, we in Louisiana are filled with hope for our children. We know that children and adolescents have juvenile minds. This is the reason that Louisiana has a juvenile justice system.
So, last month, Louisiana identified the bottom. Today, the only appropriate response is to realize that our obligation to our children requires that we begin building from the bottom up. We must develop the Child Well-being Infrastructure that our children need.
We in Louisiana identified the bottom by rejecting the Legislature’s desire to incarcerate children in adult courts for any reason it wishes. I believe now is the time for our Legislature to put away the shovel of adult incarceration for children.
Instead, Louisiana must now focus on its crumbling Child Well-being Infrastructure. We have so much work to do in Louisiana to fill in the service gaps, eliminate the barriers that prevent children from accessing the care they need, and begin building out the array of services our children require.
Legislators, Louisiana’s message was straightforward. We must put away the shovel of adult incarceration and build good services for all our children.
Rick Wheat
Director
Center for Child Well-being