Acadiana Center for Youth (ACY) opened in March 2019 in the town of Bunkie, Avoyelles Parish.
The site is just off U.S. Hwy. 71 at Bordelon Road. It sits on 20 acres formerly in agricultural use. ACY is a state-of-the-art secure therapeutic treatment center for youth, and will be Louisiana’s first facility built specifically to accommodate LAMOD, the therapeutic treatment model in place in all of OJJ’s facilities. LAMOD, the Louisiana Model for Secure Care, is based on the highly-respected “Missouri Model,” which incorporates therapy and family involvement for juvenile delinquents. ACY will house up to 72 youth requiring intensive treatment in a therapeutic, secure environment.
ACY primarily serves youth and families in the southwestern area of the state. Youth receive services closer to home, with greater opportunities for meaningful family involvement and community re-integration. Research shows that youth whose families participate in their treatment are more successfully rehabilitated; they are more likely to re-integrate successfully into their communities; are less likely to re-offend; and more likely to remain in their communities as productive, wage-earning, tax-paying adults.
The campus includes nine buildings, including administration, housing units, gymnasium, a school with classrooms and a vocational-technical area, a kitchen and dining hall and maintenance buildings. Included on the site will be a soccer field and outdoor basketball court. A state-of-the art, 12 foot tall arched barrier (“candy cane”) no-climb fence encircles the perimeter.