St. Mary's Washington will serve on juvenile justice board

Staff report
Tania C. Washington, who has degrees in business, social work and special education, will be St. Mary’s representative on the newly formed Acadiana Regional Juvenile Justice District board, Sheriff Gary Driskell announced.
The board is made up of representatives from nine area parishes. Driskell was asked to appoint a representative from St. Mary Parish to the board.
Washington is currently a school social worker for St. Mary Parish schools
She has a bachelor’s degree in business administer and a master’s in social work from Southern University.
Her master’s in special education is from Purdue University.
Washington is a veteran of nine years of service in the Army National Guard.
“Ms. Washington’s perspective as a School Social Worker who works with juveniles daily will be crucial in the work of the Board,” Driskell said in a Facebook post. “If we are going to find solutions for the juvenile crime issues we have, her insight will be very important.”
One challenge experienced by local governments has been the limited number of juvenile detention beds in this area.
That shortfall has sometimes forced local authorities to choose between returning potentially violent suspects to the custody of their parents and paying out-of-area detention facilities to house them, sometimes at the cost of hundreds of dollars per day.

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