Wednesday, May 23 2012 10:59 AM EDT2012-05-23 14:59:35 GMT
Detectives are trying to find out who shot and killed a 26-year-old man and why late Tuesday night. They have identified the victim as Jeremy McKenzie. More >>
Detectives are trying to find out who shot and killed a 26-year-old man and why late Tuesday night. They have identified the victim as Jeremy McKenzie. More >>
Wednesday, May 23 2012 11:45 PM EDT2012-05-24 03:45:29 GMT
The mother of a two-year-old who drowned earlier this month has been charged in connection with the case.According to reports, Fallon Gautreau, 22, and her mother left Gautreau's daughter to play in theMore >>
The mother of a two-year-old who drowned earlier this month has been charged in connection with the case.More >>
Wednesday, May 23 2012 10:32 AM EDT2012-05-23 14:32:55 GMT
After getting a call from his elderly neighbor about a "small" snake in his yard, Heathwood resident Andrew Philson took a look around when he got home and was surprised to see a 15-20 foot long intruderMore >>
Andrew Philson and his 3-year-old son will sleep a little on edge knowing that the alleged 15 to 20 foot long snake spotted in their backyard on Tuesday has remained elusive.More >>
Wednesday, May 23 2012 2:50 PM EDT2012-05-23 18:50:40 GMT
People living in a Baton Rouge neighborhood are dealing with a bit of a mess after a fire hydrant was hit Wednesday. Witnesses said it was a school bus.More >>
People living in a Baton Rouge neighborhood are dealing with a bit of a mess after a fire hydrant was hit Wednesday. Witnesses said it was a school bus. More >>
Wednesday, May 23 2012 6:05 AM EDT2012-05-23 10:05:47 GMT
Drivers in Baton Rouge currently waste an average of more than 19 hours of their lives in traffic each year, but that isn't the worst in the country.More >>
Drivers in Baton Rouge currently waste an average of more than 19 hours of their lives in traffic each year, but that isn't the worst in the country.More >>
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
The new state budgets is forcing agencies across the board to pinch
pennies. One program that helps hundreds of at-risk youth isn't even in
the budget.
AMI Kids was founded nearly five decades ago when a
juvenile judge in Florida sentenced young people to work on fishing
boats as punishment for committing crimes.
The program came to Louisiana in 1987, serving children and teens who have no other alternative for school.
"We're
very successful. We have an 85 percent success rate," said AMI Regional
Director Gregg Kleinpeter. "We have a third party tracker - the
Juvenile Justice Research Center out of Tallahassee, Florida does all of
our statistics for us."
Juvenile court judges refer or sentence
at-risk kids to AMI, where teachers and counselors work with both the
kids and their families.
Gabrielle Bynum attended AMI after being convicted of grand theft auto.
"While I was here, I got my GED," said Bynum. "They mailed my scores back and said that I passed."
The
bulk of AMI's funding comes from the Office of Juvenile Justice. But
without a contract, AMI's nine locations in Louisiana will be forced to
close their doors.
"There's a gold mine, these kids a damn gold
mine here with these kids and diamonds in the rough and we either gonna
mine them and help them to succeed with us or they gonna fall down the
cliff," said Kleinpeter.
AMI leaders say the Office of Juvenile Justice provided the facilities around $4.5 million - just under $80 per student per day.
They say that's a drop in the bucket when compared to the nearly $400 per day in costs to keep the kids in jail.
"Those
kids deserve a chance. Those kids are kids that came from dysfunction
and they need this type of intervention that we provide," said
Kleinpeter.
9 News call the Office of Juvenile Justice to find out why AMI was targeted for the cuts, but our calls were not returned.
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