Parish to start program for troubled children

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Each year, thousands of children get into trouble with the law and face serious consequences. But what if you could change how these kids think?

Nbc 6 news reporter Karen Hopkins found a new technique coming to a local parish that could help lots of children get back on track.

Derrick Thompson says as a child, he got into trouble, especially at school.
“I terrorized the classroom, pushing chairs and tables out of the way." He says he grew up in a single parent home, without a lot of guidance and attention. "I never knew how to adjust so I just acted out.”

Now Thompson along with 18 Volunteers for Youth Justice are learning how to help children before it’s too late. About 40 kids go through the Caddo parish juvenile court system each month.

This January, the parish plans to require all offenders take the Facts of Life course. The eight week program teaches how behavior affects happiness.
Dr. Douglas Ramm developed the Facts of Life in 2002. It centers around ten core values that children should try to enhance, from companionship to freedom.

Caddo parish juvenile court judge Paul Young says the program shows results. The Westmoreland county juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania started the Facts of Life 5 years ago. Today the number of children incarcerated has decreased 40 percent.

Young says the program could pay for itself by keeping children out of detention centers. It costs $10,000 dollars a year to keep one child at the detention center. Young hopes this new program will save not just taxpayer dollars, but lives.

The program would cost $100,000 to fund. The Caddo parish commission and state Office of Juvenile Justice would split the cost. Judge Young says both support the program, but still have to approve the funding before classes start this January.