Juvenile Assessment Center

In the spring of 2001 the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) / Juvenile Intake Center (JIC) opened as the result of a recognized need for a centralized intake, booking, and assessment facility in Jefferson Parish. The JAC/JIC is a combination of financial, personnel, and planning resources between the Department of Juvenile Services, Juvenile Court, Sheriff’s Office, Public School System, and District Attorney’s Office. Resources are centrally located to overcome traditional barriers during juvenile arrest intake and to facilitate the process and information flow between and among child serving agencies in the Parish.

The staff of the Center includes a multi-disciplinary team of professionals who work in concert to provide a comprehensive intake process, and consists of case managers, correctional officers, a school liaison worker, and administrative and supervisory oversight from involved agencies.

The juvenile intake component is a centralized intake/booking center that coordinates the flow of arrested juveniles in the Parish. Six municipal law enforcement agencies (Grand Isle, Gretna, Harahan, Kenner, Lafitte, Westwego) and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office transport arrested juveniles to the facility for booking, photographing and fingerprinting (as applicable) and the detention status is determined. Juveniles are assigned risk scores depending on their threat to the community. Depending upon their score juveniles are either returned to their parents or placed in detention.

Serving as the critical component of juvenile offender screening and assessment, the juvenile assessment component screens juvenile offenders at the time of arrest. Using a locally-developed instrument, known as the MAJOR (Multi-faceted Assessment of Juvenile Offender Risk), case managers assess for a variety of juvenile risk and protective factors. Once needs are identified, case managers develop a list of community-based referrals to address those factors.

Serving as a hub of information for juvenile offenders, case managers network with community-based agencies to access services for juveniles and their families. The school liaison networks with school personnel to access school-based services.