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House committee reviews OJJ FY26 plan: Jensen Center to reopen as juvenile reception, state says it needs more beds and staff
Summary
The Office of Juvenile Justice presented a $197.9 million FY26 budget and a plan to reopen the Jensen Center as a reception and diagnostic facility, adding 77 positions and 44 beds; OJJ officials said the state is at capacity and about 40 youth are in local detention awaiting state beds.
Deputy Secretary Kenneth Lofton and Undersecretary Jason Starnes presented the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) FY26 recommendation and details on the plan to reopen Jensen Center for Youth as a primary juvenile reception and diagnosis center.
OJJ’s FY26 recommended total is $197,900,000, with $175,900,000 (about 89%) in state general fund. The Fiscal Division told the committee the department’s average annual spending rate since FY20 is about 6.8%. OJJ said interagency transfers and federal grants support a small portion of programming, and the department is implementing juvenile electronic monitoring in New Orleans with roughly $1 million in revenues from the city to support supervision staff.
On Jensen Center, OJJ said the FY26 operational budget for the facility is $15.4 million. The request transfers an existing $2.8 million and 31 positions from Acadian Center for Youth at St. Martin (as that facility closes) and asks for an additional $12.7 million to support 77 net new positions, a medical contract and 44 operational beds for reception and diagnostic use. OJJ described reception operations as initial medical, psychological and educational assessments intended to classify youths for appropriate tiered placement in secure care or placements closer to home.
Committee members asked about staffing and turnover in front‑line juvenile justice specialist positions. OJJ officials said juvenile justice specialist 1 (entry level) has historically high turnover, starting pay around $18/hour with overtime that can boost annual compensation nearer to $40,000; training has been extended to about five weeks and the agency has added premium pay in some posts. OJJ reported 1,070 authorized positions state‑wide with 139 vacancies as of Dec. 30 and said secure facilities currently house roughly 320–325 youth. The department said it currently has about 40 youth held in local juvenile detention centers waiting for state beds.
Lawmakers asked about mental‑health services and capacity. OJJ said mental‑health treatment beds are limited; Swanson Center handles the most intensive mental‑health cases. OJJ officials said the agency is expanding vocational and education programming and working with community colleges and local partners to provide welding and heavy equipment training in some facilities to improve reentry outcomes.
Ending: OJJ asked for hiring‑freeze exemptions for urgent frontline roles and said the Jensen reopening and other capacity steps will be priority items as appropriators review FY26 funding.
