BATON ROUGE, La. – Today, American Correctional Association (ACA) auditors gave perfect scores to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Division of Probation and Parole (P&P) during the reaccreditation audit. ACA staff conducted a thorough review of the Probation and Parole’s policies, procedures, and practices this week, and praised the Division, calling it a cohesive unit that runs effectively and efficiently. The Division of Probation and Parole must obtain 100 percent on mandatory standards, and 90 percent on non-mandatory standards in order to receive accreditation. P&P scored 100 percent on both mandatory and non-mandatory standards. ACA accreditation is a voluntary process, but one that is tremendously important to the overall safety of the public, P&P staff and those under community supervision.
The ACA requires reaccreditation every three years. Some of the things auditors look for include:
- Written policy and procedures to establish a training and staff development program for all employees
- Assessments that cover administration and management, the physical plant, Division operations and services
- Quality of life concerns for staff and individuals under community supervision, and programming available to those under community supervision
“Accreditation is a good indication of the high levels of public safety and professionalism in our Division of Probation and Parole,” said Secretary James M. Le Blanc. “I'm very proud of the men and women in this division who work very hard each day and strive to make this one of the best community supervision divisions in the country."
"We do the best we can do to influence people's lives," said Eddie Porter, ACA Corrections Consultant. "You never know who you are having a positive impact upon. But I will praise you, you are having a positive impact on the people you supervise."
"My Probation and Parole staff are the key to the success of our reaccreditation," said Pete Fremin, director of the Division of Probation and Parole. "We have a dedicated staff who are are committed to public safety, and genuinely passionate to the successful rehabilitation of the people they supervise."
ACA grades each participating community corrections division across the country on 174 standards, 6 of which are mandatory.
The reaccreditation process continues in August at the American Correctional Association's summer conference in Boston, Massachusetts. At that time, representatives from the Department’s Division of Probation and Parole will go before the Commission on Accreditation to defend the results of the audit.
