April 18, 2025

Hi Five for Fore | 21st JDC Juvenile Court Judge Candidate Jenny Fore Part 3

The importance of mentorships...the truancy issue and what it leads to...is "locking them up and throwing away the key" the answer, and what is something Jenny Richardson Fore would like to see changed currently in the 21st JDC Juvenile court...

Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

The importance of mentorships...the truancy issue and what it leads to...is "locking them up and throwing away the key" the answer, and what is something Jenny Richardson Fore would like to see changed currently in the 21st JDC Juvenile court division.

Jenny Richardson Fore for Juvenile Judge sits down with Jim Chapman OF Local Leaders the Podcast Louisiana as we discuss these topics and much more.

Early voting for this election is April 19 to April 26 with Election Day on May 3rd!

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.520
Hey everyone, and welcome back to Local Leaders the podcast

2
00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:07.639
and we are in a part three with Jenny four

3
00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:10.599
who is sitting across from me. She is a candidate

4
00:00:10.679 --> 00:00:17.120
for twenty first Judicial District Juvenile Court Judge. That's a

5
00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:21.519
lot and uh, we're here today to talk about some

6
00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:24.960
things that we didn't go really into detail on the

7
00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:28.480
last podcast that we put out, and we're going to

8
00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:30.960
give you a little bit of information on that. But Jenny,

9
00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:32.039
welcome to the show.

10
00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:34.079
Yes, thank you so much. Like you said, my name's

11
00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:36.840
Jenny Richardson for and I'm running for Juvenile Court judge

12
00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:38.759
and the twenty first JDC and that's going to be

13
00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.359
the parishes of Livingston, Tangeba and Saint Alena.

14
00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:43.320
There you go, and you got that out a lot

15
00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:44.799
better than idea just now.

16
00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:46.479
I've been saying it for a long time.

17
00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:51.840
That's right. And you mentioned that of course, you are

18
00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:54.960
in the runoff now for this election, and.

19
00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:57.320
I want to thank everybody for going out and voting

20
00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:00.479
for me, and I will love for you go out

21
00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:02.880
one more time and vote for me one more time

22
00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:04.040
so we can get this done.

23
00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:07.879
That's right. And so before we go any further, let's

24
00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:11.319
just mention that early voting is coming up.

25
00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:14.079
It is. It's April nineteenth through the twenty six so

26
00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:16.879
it doesn't start this coming Saturday, but next Saturday. And

27
00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:17.719
election day.

28
00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:20.959
Is May third, May third, And look, I usually vote

29
00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:24.000
on election day, or I always have. And the last

30
00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:27.840
podcast I did with Jenny Ford, she said no early

31
00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:30.400
vote because you never know what can happen, and she's right,

32
00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:31.159
and I did.

33
00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:34.719
And how bad was the rain? Oh, in March twenty ninth.

34
00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.359
It was terrible. So it's terrible and we're getting into

35
00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:42.000
baseball season, crawfish boils, everything else, and there's just other

36
00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:44.040
stuff that people want to do. So you have a

37
00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:46.439
week to early vote, and I think that that's just

38
00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:47.840
the best way to do it to make sure your

39
00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:48.319
votes heard.

40
00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:51.599
That's right. And look, we want the turnout to just

41
00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:54.760
keep going up and going up in the tri Parish area,

42
00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:57.879
So make sure you're early vote. You don't have to

43
00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:02.200
worry about any thing occurring, bad weather, what have you

44
00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:06.719
on election day. So let's get into talking about some

45
00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:08.960
of the things that you deal with that you're going

46
00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:11.400
to be dealing with. And the first subject I want

47
00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:14.520
to talk about is foster care. Big subject in I

48
00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:18.000
guess your industry. So let's talk about that real quick.

49
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:23.080
The last episode that we did, you had mentioned that

50
00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:26.599
there's kind of an issue with foster families relative to

51
00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:28.199
the amount of foster kids.

52
00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:32.280
Yes, well, we definitely have the biggest, are the most

53
00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:34.360
kids in foster care and living some parish and even

54
00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:36.319
in our tri parish area in the state.

55
00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:36.919
Yeah.

56
00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:39.280
So, and we have I think in living Some Parish

57
00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:42.000
the least number of foster homes. Yeah. So even if

58
00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.120
our children go into foster home, we want to keep

59
00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:47.680
them around because our main goal of foster care under

60
00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:51.159
the law is reunification and if we aren't, if our

61
00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:54.960
kids aren't close to their bio parents, it's hard to

62
00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:56.400
keep that relationship alive.

63
00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:59.840
Yeah, very good. And let me ask you a question.

64
00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:04.080
Of course, ten plus years in the juvenile court system

65
00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:07.120
and you've seen a lot of things. One question from

66
00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:12.120
someone who doesn't live that life is what are you

67
00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.759
seeing as far as these children. Is it a younger

68
00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:18.439
generation of parents out there now versus what there used

69
00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:18.680
to be?

70
00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:22.039
Yes, I mean that's one of the things. But we

71
00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:26.080
have drug exposure to these children. There is no family

72
00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:31.639
unit at anymore. So sometimes these parents weren't even taught

73
00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:35.479
to parents. Yeah, and so now we have grandparents raising children,

74
00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:38.360
which and they're older and they shouldn't be running after

75
00:03:38.759 --> 00:03:44.120
kids either, so yeah, I mean it's in systematic poverty.

76
00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:46.879
So yeah, we have all kinds of issues. So I

77
00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:51.919
feel like sometimes when our families in foster care get

78
00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:55.680
back on their feet, then something happens, like the flood

79
00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:58.400
of sixteen or Ida or something, and then they're back

80
00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:00.400
in the spot that they were before, after all of

81
00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:01.560
the hard work they put in.

82
00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:06.120
Yeah, and as a juvenile court judge, what role would

83
00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:07.000
you play in that?

84
00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:11.680
So we would have court hearings to determine if the

85
00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.639
parents are working their case plans in order to get

86
00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:15.599
their children.

87
00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:19.439
Back, right, So very good, and that's the goal, right always.

88
00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:23.399
So under state law, the goal, the first goal is reunification, sure,

89
00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:26.959
and that is not always the best goal. And sometimes

90
00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:31.079
when these kids keep coming back into the system, dcfs

91
00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.279
can decide not to work a case plan with these

92
00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:37.600
parents and go straight determination. Or if it's sexual abuse

93
00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:41.360
or if it's something that has to do with a felony,

94
00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:43.800
and these parents could be in jail for years and

95
00:04:43.879 --> 00:04:46.759
years and years. We need to have stability for these children.

96
00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:51.720
So In some circumstances, dcfs can go straight determination, but

97
00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:55.120
the main goal, the first goal would be reunification for

98
00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:56.120
these children.

99
00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.720
Very good and stability, very stability.

100
00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:02.079
We have to have stabilities. So if reunification is not

101
00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:04.920
working and they're not working their case plan, then the

102
00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:09.720
goal gets changed to adoption. Guardianship different a custody of

103
00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:13.879
a grandparent to a grandparent. So yeah, there's other options.

104
00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:18.079
Let's talk about truancy real quick. Obviously the glaring one

105
00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:23.040
of the glaring issues not only in this Triparish area

106
00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:26.839
where you're involved, but also throughout the state. I mean,

107
00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:32.360
it's an issue. You're a big believer and I'm also

108
00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:36.879
a big believer in that truancy creates another issue, which

109
00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:37.399
is crime.

110
00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:40.360
Yes, and I have talked about that my whole time

111
00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.680
on the campaign trail. So we have first and second

112
00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:46.160
graders that are missing thirty and forty days of school.

113
00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:49.360
If we see that, we know something is going on

114
00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:51.920
in that home, and we need to get into that home,

115
00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:54.639
and we need to be proactive and not reactive. And

116
00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:57.439
I'll tell you why. If they are not reading. These

117
00:05:57.519 --> 00:05:59.560
children are not reading by the time they're in fourth grade,

118
00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:02.160
they're more then likely going to drop out of school. Well,

119
00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:04.160
what happens when they drop out of school? They wind

120
00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:07.079
up in the system. And we only pay around ten

121
00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:10.040
thousand dollars a year to educate our kids, but we're

122
00:06:10.040 --> 00:06:13.519
paying over one hundred thousand dollars a year to incarcerate

123
00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.439
one child. Yeah, and that just doesn't make sense to me.

124
00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:19.480
So we need to put some of that money in

125
00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:22.560
on the front end and figure out why these children

126
00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:25.680
aren't going to school and get them in school, so

127
00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:27.759
we are not paying for them for the rest of

128
00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:28.680
their lives.

129
00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:32.639
In regards to truancy. So there's parents out there where,

130
00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:35.959
especially if you're a single parent, you're a single mother,

131
00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:40.800
maybe you've got to work and you can't keep eyes

132
00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.600
on your kids twenty four to seven. Do you take

133
00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:46.879
that into consideration? Is that something that you Yes.

134
00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:48.680
But at the end of the day, a child needs

135
00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:50.920
to go to school. So if we're talking about a

136
00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:54.199
parent that are a kid that's in first and second grade,

137
00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:56.279
we know is the parent's fault that they're not going

138
00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:59.160
to school, So that parent does need to be held accountable,

139
00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.519
and under our Family and Needs of Services Statute, we

140
00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:06.240
can hold a parent accountable. And really that probably needs

141
00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:08.360
to be looked into by the Department of Children and

142
00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:11.199
Family Services because like I said, it could be anything,

143
00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:13.240
and that drugs can be in that home. The mom's

144
00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:15.759
not getting up to take these kids to school. Maybe

145
00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:17.959
she doesn't have a car to take these kids to school,

146
00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:20.199
she's not getting up to put them on the bus.

147
00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:23.079
It could be a number of things. But then if

148
00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.160
we're talking about a sixteen or fifteen, sixteen year old

149
00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:30.040
that's not going to school, well that's probably that child's.

150
00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:32.720
Yeah, the parent probably, yes.

151
00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:35.680
And sometimes these kids just don't want to get out

152
00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:38.079
of bed. Like we have the Sheriff's department that goes

153
00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:39.720
and tries to get these children out of bed. So

154
00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:42.959
at that point that child needs to be held accountable. Yeah,

155
00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:47.480
so we can put them on fends probation and if

156
00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:50.199
they're missing school. Every day they miss of school, they

157
00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:52.319
can spend seven days in the detention center. And that

158
00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:53.279
does happen.

159
00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:57.120
And does the schools themselves communicate with Oh?

160
00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:00.279
Yeah, So we work with Spencer Harris hand in hand.

161
00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:04.519
He is our the truancy at Central Office. So yes,

162
00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:09.199
I talk to him probably every other day because if

163
00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:11.879
I have a kid that is in our system, they

164
00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:14.360
have to have an educational plan. That is one of

165
00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:17.600
the things that they have to have. So even in

166
00:08:17.639 --> 00:08:20.360
our drug courts, if they're in our drug court, they

167
00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:24.120
have to have the option of going to a public school,

168
00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:27.000
even if that's an alternative school. So if they get

169
00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:29.560
kicked out while they're in drug court, that's a different story.

170
00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:31.879
But yes, so a lot of our kids, especially in

171
00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:35.320
Livingston Parish, would be in pine Ridge even if they're

172
00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:38.799
in our drug court. So and Spencer comes in Staff's

173
00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:43.240
drug court with us once a week. So once a week. Yes,

174
00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:46.919
Oh my gosh, she's amazing, so very good. He does

175
00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:50.240
what's best for the kids for sure, but he also

176
00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.519
has to see what's best for their school system.

177
00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:57.480
And it's it really is all about education. I mean,

178
00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:00.519
if they're not there, if they're not in, they're going

179
00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:02.200
to lase opportunities later on.

180
00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:05.320
Yep. And he's also been working with Jennifer Duay at

181
00:09:05.320 --> 00:09:07.799
the Sheriff's apartment. I'm not sure if her title captain,

182
00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:10.679
I don't know. She's high up. She's the head of

183
00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:14.840
the juvenile system at the Sheriff's office. Yeah, so they

184
00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:18.879
have been working together and going out to find these kids,

185
00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:21.399
knocking on doors to see why they're not in school,

186
00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.120
and then if they can't make contact with it with them,

187
00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:27.399
then it gets sent to our court system. So they're

188
00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:30.600
doing some pre stuff in living In parish to get

189
00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:33.600
these children in school. And sometimes it's just a knock

190
00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:36.000
on the doors. What it takes, yea, And that scares

191
00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:38.159
the parents enough to make sure that these kids are

192
00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:38.559
in school.

193
00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:42.279
Yeah, because they know somebody's holding gonna hold them accountable.

194
00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:42.879
Exactly.

195
00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:48.519
Very good. Let's talk about endorsements real quick. Okay, You've

196
00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:51.360
got some pretty good endorsements coming out of Livingston Parish.

197
00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:53.840
As a matter of fact, all eight mayors.

198
00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:56.120
All eight mayors or some of them are mayor lets. Yeah,

199
00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:58.840
so we have that all of that, we have the

200
00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:04.639
sheriff assessor, parish President Representative Roger Wilder, and I also

201
00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:09.200
recently picked up the tangiba Hoe Republican Parish Executive Committee endorsement.

202
00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:13.799
Wow. Very good. I want to talk next about mentorships. Okay,

203
00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:17.519
So the last episode that we did we discuss the

204
00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:21.799
importance of trades and learning these trades. There's some great

205
00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:26.080
trade programs that high schools put out, welding programs, et cetera.

206
00:10:26.679 --> 00:10:31.200
That these kids can get involved in. Not everybody's getting

207
00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:33.519
necessarily made for college, and some people don't want to

208
00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:35.759
go to they've had enough of school after high school.

209
00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:38.159
All of these children don't fit in one box. Yeah,

210
00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:40.240
and not all of them need to go to college.

211
00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:42.120
Some of them need to go to trade route and

212
00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:45.399
are very successful doing the trade route, especially these days.

213
00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:47.720
We talked a lot about it, a lot about that,

214
00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:51.559
but mentorships is something that's kind of dear to me

215
00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:55.639
as well. From experience can tell you that when you

216
00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:58.320
meet a mentor early in life, someone you look up to,

217
00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:03.200
it makes difference because you don't want to disappoint that person.

218
00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:07.240
We have some great programs in the pair in Livingston Parish.

219
00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:11.080
I'm sure it's the same in Tanji Saint Helena where

220
00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:13.799
we have JRTC program.

221
00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:16.840
Yes, Sergeant Gunny, Yeah.

222
00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:19.519
Sergeant Gunny are amazing and he's been.

223
00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:22.440
Doing great things. He's a good mentor. He's a good

224
00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:24.320
mentor for some of our drug court kids.

225
00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:24.879
Yeah.

226
00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:28.919
So, and I've talked about how when our kids are

227
00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:32.200
released from the secure facility Florida parishes, a lot of

228
00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:34.799
them are seventeen and they don't have a mentor. So

229
00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:37.080
we're putting them back in their same environment. So that

230
00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:38.799
was one of the things I wanted to focus on

231
00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:42.279
to get these kids mentors, to keep them on the

232
00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:44.799
right track until they can go get their TWIT card,

233
00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:47.960
until they can go offshore in the plants. If they

234
00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:49.960
don't have somebody to look up to and keep them

235
00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:51.559
on the right track, they're going to go back and

236
00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:53.159
commit a crime. Well, and you know, we have that

237
00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:57.320
Youth Challenge program for kids, and they talk about that. Yes, okay,

238
00:11:57.399 --> 00:11:59.799
so some of the kids that are troubled. You can

239
00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:03.919
start the Youth Challenge program at sixteen years old. So

240
00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:07.519
if all's a international guard, there's three different places that

241
00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:09.320
they have it and they rotate. It's like a four

242
00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:12.519
month program. And so the first two weeks of this

243
00:12:12.679 --> 00:12:16.919
program it's like boot camp all the stuff. People hate it,

244
00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:19.879
but then once they get into it, they do really well.

245
00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:22.120
So if you make it the first two weeks, you'll

246
00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:24.799
be fine. And so I think that there's two courses

247
00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.080
right now. You can get your high school diploma or

248
00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:31.039
you can still get your high set there. But when

249
00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:36.080
you get out of there, there's also a mentor program connected.

250
00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:36.960
To that that's a beautiful So.

251
00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.879
Exactly and so those kids, a lot of those kids

252
00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:42.600
that go there just need structure, just.

253
00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:44.279
Like our Pine Ridge, Yes.

254
00:12:44.440 --> 00:12:47.240
Our alternative school and living some parish. I have kids

255
00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:49.759
that thrive in there because they have structure, because they're

256
00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:53.039
coming from a non family unit. They may just have

257
00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:56.120
a mom who's working three or four jobs, or grandparents

258
00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:58.960
are raising them. They have no father figure. So we

259
00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:01.639
need to get back to mentoring our children.

260
00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:06.000
Yeah, and sometimes in structure, structure huge thing. One of

261
00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:08.120
the most important things in life, and that's what you're

262
00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:09.200
going to get out of the.

263
00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:13.240
Military is not raising our child, No, not at all.

264
00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:16.240
That is what a lot of parents think that these days.

265
00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:18.679
And some of these like I said before, some of

266
00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:22.200
these parents weren't parented, so they don't know how to parent.

267
00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:24.960
I agree, and I really do think our churches need

268
00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:28.759
to get involved to Yeah, even with a foster care thing.

269
00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:32.240
We've been doing a big push around the state to

270
00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:36.440
get families in churches to sign up for foster care.

271
00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:39.960
Because you know, there's like four thousand churches in the

272
00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:41.000
state of Louisiana.

273
00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:43.720
It's just one.

274
00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:47.000
Adopted one child. There would be no children in foster.

275
00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:49.039
Care, no children in foster care, and that's a big

276
00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:52.399
thing for you, something that you can tell you all

277
00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.159
that close to your heart and it's important to you.

278
00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:56.000
Uh.

279
00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:58.519
Let's talk a little bit about things that you do

280
00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.960
outside of everything you do in the juvenile court system.

281
00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:03.720
So you you belonged to a lot of clubs.

282
00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:07.519
I did. I do, and my children belong to a

283
00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:13.000
lot of things as well. So I was team mom

284
00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:16.240
this year for my little girls competitive cheer. She does

285
00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:18.360
live okreg Yeah, she's been doing that since she was

286
00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:21.960
three years old. So for the last three years she's

287
00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:22.279
done that.

288
00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:24.399
Yeah, which means you do that, which.

289
00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:28.000
And then both of them have been in competitive swim

290
00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:30.879
since they were three. So as soon as cheer finished,

291
00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:33.399
I wanted to get her prep for summer swim.

292
00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:33.879
Yeah.

293
00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:37.559
So she's been doing Tac Tiger Aquatics at parts. But

294
00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:40.799
so that's their their schedule for the most part. And

295
00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:44.799
casted kid strong. But I am a member of Kawana's Club,

296
00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:51.320
Pilot Club, Republican Women, the Liberty Bells. I think that's it.

297
00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:54.039
Yeah, that's a lot. That's enough.

298
00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:55.559
That's a lot. Uh.

299
00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:59.080
So you give a lot outside of outside of yourself,

300
00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:02.000
that's always a good thing. Let's get into acronyms. So

301
00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:05.960
we discussed on the last podcast. Look, the juvenile court

302
00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:12.159
system is the cats me out of acronyms. Everything's an acronym,

303
00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:15.120
but there's one called QPI that kind of struck me.

304
00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:17.000
What is that? What does it stand for?

305
00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:21.679
Reality Parenting Initiative? And it's something that DCFS tried to

306
00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:25.639
start rolling out between biological parents and foster parents. And

307
00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:30.080
it's where they work together for reunification because back to

308
00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:33.720
some of these bioparents do not know how to parent,

309
00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:37.120
so a foster parent can help them with that. There's

310
00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:39.879
all kinds of other stuff like sometimes they just need respite,

311
00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:43.080
they have zero help from family. They may not have

312
00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.360
family here. So it's them working together and it's to

313
00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:51.720
just have them have a relationship together. Yeah, so for

314
00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:53.679
the goal of reunification.

315
00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:56.279
That's it, which is a beautiful thing. What's something if

316
00:15:56.360 --> 00:16:00.360
you were in when you are in the your we're

317
00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:03.679
all as the juvenile court judge, that you would maybe

318
00:16:03.720 --> 00:16:07.799
streamline change, make better something you've seen that you can

319
00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:10.240
contribute with changing.

320
00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.799
So I know one thing that I hear a lot

321
00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:15.840
of times is so I don't know for each case

322
00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:19.720
that goes into juvenile court it's confidential, so we all

323
00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.200
have to go into court separate, we all put our

324
00:16:22.279 --> 00:16:25.320
names on the record, hear the case, and it goes

325
00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:28.080
back outside. Yeah, but all of these people are in

326
00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:30.799
a waiting room together, and sometimes that's not a good

327
00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:36.759
thing because there's victims with perpetrators. Sometimes, like the foster

328
00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:39.759
parents and the bio parents don't get along and they're

329
00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:42.120
all in the same room, and sometimes that's a good thing.

330
00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:44.720
But I think that we need to do better, maybe

331
00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:47.759
scheduling these cases out at different times so people are

332
00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:50.360
showing up at different times. Also, like if we need

333
00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:53.200
a victim, just calling a victim to get there at

334
00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:55.080
that time and not have to sit there all day

335
00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:57.279
because they shouldn't have to do that or have a

336
00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:58.279
place for them to go.

337
00:16:58.600 --> 00:16:59.519
So very good.

338
00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:01.399
Yeah, I think that's something that we can work on

339
00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:03.720
for sure, is lock.

340
00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:06.720
Them up and throw away the key to answer no.

341
00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:10.200
So there will be some crimes that these children have

342
00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:12.799
to go and under the law there have to go

343
00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:15.920
and it's lock them up. But even if they're locked up,

344
00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:18.759
they still need resources because if not.

345
00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:20.160
They're going to give out.

346
00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:22.920
Yeah, they get out at some point. So juvenile life

347
00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.440
is just until you're twenty one, So you can only

348
00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:28.519
hold them so long. But if they don't have resources

349
00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:30.920
and stuff that they can do, when they get out,

350
00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:33.519
they're going to be back in the same place, yes,

351
00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:38.240
state prisons. So then there's some things that we can't

352
00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:42.200
just lock them up for, So there's crimes. We have

353
00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:47.799
something called a predispositional investigation and it's our disposition. Our

354
00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:51.319
sitting scene in juvenile court is called the disposition, so

355
00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:56.680
OJJ Office of Juvenile Justice, our probation goes into a

356
00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:00.000
deep dive about everything that has happened into this case

357
00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:03.359
and they do a recommendation, and we in juvenile court

358
00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:07.359
are supposed to go with the least restrictive means, so

359
00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:12.039
that usually is probation. So under the law, we can't

360
00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.440
just lock up these kids, so yes, and then when

361
00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.880
they're on probation, there is numerous resources that we are

362
00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:22.079
giving them for them to stay out of trouble.

363
00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:26.920
So it's huge, And yeah, you're going to get out someday.

364
00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:30.799
Juvenile life, y'all, y'all is only to your twenty one,

365
00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:33.160
twenty one. Yeah, so they're going to get out into

366
00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:35.960
society if they don't have resources, go yep, they're gonna

367
00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:36.279
go back.

368
00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:38.799
And if kids are on probation, they are held accountable

369
00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:42.000
to the Office of Juvenile Justice, will file rules if

370
00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.559
they aren't abided by the conditions of their probation. And

371
00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:50.119
so if they're on delinquency probation for every rule the

372
00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:53.400
first time, for every time that they did something that

373
00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:56.240
they weren't supposed to do, they can spend seven days

374
00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:59.359
in Florida parishes. And so if another rule's filed, it

375
00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:01.839
goes to ten, and then the third rules filed it

376
00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:02.640
goes to fourteen.

377
00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:08.279
Gotcha. So you've had two hundred and fifty plus cases

378
00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:11.799
last year that you dealt with. The question here is

379
00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:15.720
what would you do in a case where a juvenile

380
00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:19.559
that maybe you represented in the past appears before you

381
00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:20.359
as a judge?

382
00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:22.839
So I have to accuse myself. I won't hear those anymore.

383
00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:24.160
Yeah, very good.

384
00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:26.279
So all of those cases I will not be able

385
00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:26.759
to hear.

386
00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:29.079
And is that your option or is that like.

387
00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:31.039
Through the Supreme Court? I gotcha?

388
00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:35.799
Okay, very good. One last question for you. So in

389
00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:39.559
the March twenty third election, you go under fifty two

390
00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:42.880
percent of the vote in Livingston Parish, thirty five percent

391
00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:45.799
of the vote in Tangi and twenty four percent of

392
00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:49.680
the vote in Saint Helena. The third person in this race,

393
00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:55.799
Rebecca Davis Lee, garnered eighty seven hundred and twenty seven votes,

394
00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:00.039
which are now up for grabs, essentially assuming that the

395
00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:02.759
same people vote in the runoff the way they did

396
00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:06.200
the first time. What would you say to the supporters

397
00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:11.200
that supported Rebecca Davis Lee? What would you say to

398
00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:13.240
them as to why they should vote for you.

399
00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:16.640
Well, I am the best candidate and most qualified candidate

400
00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:21.599
by far. So I am the only candidate that works

401
00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:27.000
and represents juveniles. My opponent represents their parents in DCFS cases.

402
00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:30.559
I am. I have I think taken over two thousand

403
00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:35.200
delinquency cases over the last ten years, fifteen hundred of

404
00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:38.799
them being detention cases. She does not have those numbers.

405
00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:41.640
I am the only candidate that works with the school

406
00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:45.200
system on the regular basis. She does not. I'm the

407
00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:49.160
only candidate to staff weekly, staff drunk court weekly. She

408
00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:53.599
does not. So there's a lot of a difference between us.

409
00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:56.920
Yeah, I would say so. And if it experience is

410
00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:01.200
something you see, it's going to be hard to beat

411
00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:02.559
Jenny Forth's experience.

412
00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:05.640
I'm the only one that works with these governmental agencies

413
00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.519
that we have only or on a weekly basis, on

414
00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:11.960
a daily basis, not just the school talking about the

415
00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.480
Office of Juvenile Justice, our Fends program, our Truancy Court.

416
00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:18.440
I'm the only one that works with Florida Paris's Juvenile's

417
00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:20.240
Detention Center on a weekly basis.

418
00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:24.640
What would you say to voters right now as an

419
00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:28.000
exit to leaving this podcast, ask.

420
00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:30.519
Them for their support and vote in the May third election.

421
00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:33.279
And I would ask them to please go out and vote,

422
00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:36.000
and please bring their family and friends out to vote,

423
00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:38.200
because this is going to be a low voter turnout.

424
00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:41.359
Yeah, so one more time. The dates on the.

425
00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:44.920
Boat is April nineteenth through the twenty six that's early

426
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:48.839
voting election days May third. I'm number five on the ballot,

427
00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:50.000
high five.

428
00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.039
For fully, five for four. That's my favorite.

429
00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:56.200
Hi, five for four And yes, please go out. So

430
00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:01.000
Tangrabajoe and Saint Helena have nothing on the ballot except

431
00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:04.000
the juvenile judges race. Yeah, Living Sin is going to

432
00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.119
have a tax renewal. I think that deals with the

433
00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:09.880
school board and the town of Killion is going to

434
00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:14.960
have an Alderman runoff. But other than that, that that's it.

435
00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:15.559
That's us.

436
00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:18.599
So we have to get the people out to vote.

437
00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:22.000
And it's very important. This seat is very important. If

438
00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:24.359
we don't have the right person in there, with the

439
00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:27.440
right experience, our children are going to suffer.

440
00:22:28.599 --> 00:22:30.960
And I've been saying it since the beginning, in my opinion,

441
00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:34.319
one of the most important races of the year, if

442
00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:37.880
not the most. This is our children's future and us

443
00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:41.559
as adults. Yes, you know it's our future too, because it.

444
00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.240
Could be a victim of juvenile crime as well, that's right.

445
00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:46.920
Or your grandparents could wind up in the system. I mean,

446
00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.480
grandchildren could wind up in this system. You just never know,

447
00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:50.240
that's right.

448
00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:53.039
So that's right. Well, thank you so much for coming

449
00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:54.640
on three times.

450
00:22:54.680 --> 00:22:55.960
Yes, oh, I enjoyed.

451
00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:00.400
It is fun for all of you out there again,

452
00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:03.400
go vote. I'm going to put in the description of

453
00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:08.240
this podcast Jenny For's website so you can learn more.

454
00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:10.680
If you'd like to learn more about this candidate. You

455
00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:14.000
can also go back and listen to prior episodes that

456
00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:18.839
she did with local leaders of podcasts and until next time,

457
00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:22.519
I'm your host, Jim Chapman with local leaders reminding you

458
00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:26.279
love your community, support local business, and keep leading thank

459
00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:27.039
you very much,