Louisiana Multi-Agency Resource Center (LaMARC)

MISSION

The mission of the Louisiana Multi-Agency Resource Center (LaMARC) is to improve public safety and minimize formal involvement in the juvenile justice system through early intervention, comprehensive assessment, and coordinated access to appropriate services for underserved youth. LaMARC is a single entry point and coordinated approach to youth services that assists local systems of care in managing community resources efficiently and effectively in Lafayette Parish. It also provides a non-threatening, inclusive atmosphere for parents or non-system youth seeking information. 

HISTORY 

The LaMARC is a pilot program initiated by the Office of Juvenile Justice in Lafayette, LA— in response to the increasing juvenile crime rates in the area. The OJJ aims to establish the LaMARC in collaboration with community stakeholders and reinstate the success of the original Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) in Lafayette parish. The LaMARC will function as a central point of contact for all youths who come into contact with the juvenile justice system or are at risk of doing so. Its goal is to enhance alternatives to formal court procedures and confinement and to improve access to evidence-based services for youths and their families.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES 

Fundamental fairness: All system participants deserve bias—free treatment, including youthful offenders, their victims, and their families.

Recognition of juvenile-adult differences: The system must consider that juveniles are fundamentally and developmentally different from adults. 

Recognition of individual differences: Juvenile justice decision-makers must acknowledge and respond to differences in young people's development, culture, gender, needs, and strengths. 

Recognition of potential: Young offenders have strengths and can grow positively. Giving up on them is costly for society, so investing in them makes sense. 

Safety: Communities and individuals deserve to be and to feel safe. 

Personal responsibility: Young people must be encouraged to accept responsibility for their actions and their consequences. 

Community responsibility: Communities are obligated to safeguard the welfare of children and young people, support them when they need it, and help them grow into adults. 

System responsibility: The juvenile justice system is a vital part of society's collective exercise of its responsibility toward young people. It must do its job effectively.