Mission and Vision
The St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney’s Office, through its Juvenile Division, is committed to helping to build strong children by promoting positive behavioral change, which in turn will have a positive impact on the St. John community at large. This is done through promoting public safety, holding youth accountable for their actions, addressing underlying mental health and/or substance abuse needs, collaborating with community stakeholders, and providing access to pretrial intervention resources and tools tailored to the rehabilitative needs of youth and their families
GOALS
- To decrease crime and delinquency.
- To decrease recidivism.
- To decrease truancy.
- To decrease victimization of youth.
Summary of Achievements
Since taking office in 2015, District Attorney Dinvaut has revamped the way juvenile prosecutions are handled by formalizing pretrial intervention services; implementing a pretrial diversion program for first offenders accused of minor crimes; and effecting a multidisciplinary team approach to handling offenses involving youth victimization. The office is also working continuously to establish protocols to ensure effective collaboration between key stakeholders servicing the needs of families in the community. In 2017, the office was approved for a federal grant to expand juvenile pre-trial services; by partnering with the St. John the Baptist Parish Library, the office’s goal is to provide youth with free access to licensed counseling and resources to equip them to make better decisions.
Statistics
Between January 2015 and July 2017, over 500 cases involving juveniles between the ages 10-16 were referred to the District Attorney’s Office for screening and prosecution, which, on average is 200 cases a year. Under current policies, approximately 10% of these referrals are now being offered diversion so that these children and their families never have to see a courtroom. Roughly 10% of the cases are also routinely referred for family services and support. Once the diversion program is expanded through the grant funding, the office anticipates being able to increase the number of these referrals. In addition to delinquency cases, the office is also responsible for handling all truancy, Families in Need of Services (FINS), and child welfare cases brought before the Court.