Trust Me On This

SESSION INFO

Tuesday, January 7, 2020
2:15 PM - 3:45 PM
Session Type: Workshop

Caddo Parish Juvenile Court and the Juvenile Probation Department have worked hand in hand with our community partners to develop innovative interventions for youth who are at high risk for human trafficking and are victims of human trafficking. This approach began in 2013 with the development of the Caddo-Bossier Community Response Team. This multi-disciplinary team calls on community partners to meet every two weeks to discuss, staff and develop trauma informed and comprehensive service plans for high risk youth and victims of human trafficking. This approach has been replicated in other parishes in Louisiana with training provided by our staff. In 2015, the Specialized Intensive Probation Unit was implemented with two, highly trained and skilled Probation Officers who supervise a caseload of high risk and confirmed victims that are involved in the juvenile justice system. On March 1, 2019, the first trafficking specific Specialized Court in Louisiana was introduced in Caddo Parish. S.T.A.R Court. Succeeding Through Achievement and Resiliency, was modeled after the STAR Court Program in Los Angeles County and uses a phase system and incentives to encourage the participants to follow the conditions of probation, make better choices and participate in long term treatment, support and recovery. This specialized response system to human trafficking has provided unique opportunities, treatment and support for our youth and also for the community at large.

SESSION PRESENTERS

Laurie McGehee
Manager of Probation Services, Caddo Parish Juvenile Services


Laurie McGehee is the Chief Probation Officer for the Juvenile Court for Caddo Parish, Shreveport, Louisiana. She has served in the Juvenile Justice System for over 34 years. Mrs. McGehee is the 2014 recipient of the Don E. Wydra Memorial Award for Excellence in Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. She is a Certified Court Administrator through the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the National Court Services Association. She is a member of the American Probation and Parole Association and serves as the secretary for the Louisiana Association of Drug and Specialty Courts. Mrs. McGehee has been working in the field of human trafficking awareness and prevention for many years and developed the first Multi-Disciplinary Team specific to human trafficking in the State of Louisiana. In 2015, she developed the first Specialized Intensive Probation Unit and, in 2019, the first Specialized Court for high risk youth and victims of human trafficking involved in the Juvenile Justice System in Caddo Parish. In addition, Mrs. McGehee serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the YWCA of NWLA, the Vice President of the Shreveport Mayor's Women's Commission and is the Director of the FREE Coalition to End Human Trafficking in Louisiana. She also serves on committees for the Louisiana Governor's Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. She is a Nationally recognized speaker in the areas of Restorative Probation Practices and Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention.