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Louisiana committee hears statewide reentry overview from DOC leadership
Summary
Department of Public Safety and Corrections officials told a legislative committee the state runs education, vocational and transitional programs across state and local facilities, detailed pre‑release ID and benefits enrollments, and said six regional reentry centers are operating with partnerships to place transitional specialists in local jails.
Department of Public Safety and Corrections officials told the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice on Jan. 14 that the state offers a range of in‑custody and pre‑release services designed to reduce recidivism and improve public safety.
Secretary Gary Westcott and Assistant Secretary Renee DeLucia said the department’s reentry mission prioritizes staff and prisoner safety, provision of basic services, and opportunities for education, treatment and work readiness before release. The department presented statewide counts and program metrics and described efforts to ensure people leave custody with documentation and immediate supports.
DeLucia said state facilities include Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola), David Wade Correctional Center and the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW), and that the department maintains transitional specialists in roughly 36 local jails and program staff in about 40 facilities. She said six regional reentry centers remain after consolidation: Caddo, Plaquemines, Lafayette, Rapides, Lafourche and the West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.
Officials told lawmakers the state seeks to provide vital records and identification prior to release — including birth certificates, Social Security cards and, at Louisiana State Penitentiary, driver’s licenses — and said Medicaid and SNAP enrollments are initiated months before release for eligible people. DeLucia described a Louisiana Works “higher network” employment portal that will allow incarcerated jobseekers to build profiles and submit resumes to employers ahead of release.
The department also presented education and technical training data. Officials said HiSET and industry‑based certification programs operate in state and local facilities in partnership with the Louisiana Community and Technical College System and universities; they reported hundreds and thousands of enrollments and certificates across fiscal data presented. The department described the STEP (short‑term expanded program) facilities at Phelps Correctional Center, Franklin and Richland — operational in 2025 — and reported 968 enrollments since inception, of whom 408 have released and 37 have returned to custody, a 9% return rate cited by staff.
Lawmakers asked for follow‑up data, including recidivism measures over multiple years and program placement details for local jail populations. DeLucia and staff said they are updating data sharing agreements with other state agencies to track employment NAICS codes and program outcomes and committed to providing more granular figures to the committee.
