Informer: Violent sexual offenders not admitted at Methodist Children’s Home
Published 1:44 pm Monday, October 24, 2011
I heard that the Methodist Children’s Home of Southwest Louisiana on La. 27 north of Sulphur is for juvenile criminals and that most are there for sex and violent crimes. Is this true?
No, said Steven Franks, the home’s program director.
“They are not violent sexual offenders,” Franks told The Informer, which toured the home Friday. “A violent sexual offender goes to jail, not really a treatment facility — at least not this one. We’re not built for that.”
The children at the home — it accepts those ages 12-17 — were all referred by either the state Office of Juvenile Justice or the Department of Children and Family Services, Franks said.
The home is licensed to house 32 children and has 28 beds, but officials only ever plan to house a maximum of 24, Franks said.
Still, the home, which sits on 39 acres of land just north of Houston River Road, was built to accommodate any necessary expansion, he said.
Most of the 14 children now at the home came from New Directions, a Lafayette treatment center that closed in July, he said. That facility “was designed specifically for kids with backgrounds that included sexually inappropriate behavior,” Franks said.
“The kids, while they displayed some inappropriate behaviors, or some of them have, kids that end up in this sort of setting have oftentimes been the victims of neglect and abuse — very often,” he said.
“More than anything, our kids, they’re more like regular kids than they are like something else. They are just kids.”
The children attend classes, taught by Calcasieu school system teachers, from 8 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. and then take part in recreational activities — football, basketball, fishing, Franks said. Monday evenings are devoted to life skills training, and the children have hourlong group therapy sessions Tuesday-Thursday, he said.
Franks, who has a doctorate in marriage and family counseling, reiterated that the home’s residents, whatever their problems, are still only children.
“The behavior problems we have with kids are more like regular kids’ — things like not wanting to get up in the morning to go to school,” he said.
“It’s typical: They don’t want to go to school, they want to stay outside and play longer than they’re allowed … . Those are more normal problems. And they are normal. Imagine if you had 14 kids, the problems you would have. And those are the problems we have.”
Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services Inc. runs three children’s homes, including the one in Sulphur. The others are in Ruston and Mandeville.
The homes will accept children who contend with the following problems, as listed on the group’s website:
Adjustment problems related to the family, communication difficulties, lack of respect for rights of others, running away, persistent lying, stealing within the home, argumentative, non-compliant behaviors, physically aggressive, lack of emotional bonding, or violations of family rules.
Problems related to personal and emotional functioning, poor self-esteem, impulsivity, inadequate judgment-making skills, low frustration tolerance, depression and temper outbursts.
Problems functioning within the community and social relationships, stealing, vandalism, difficulty in maintaining peer relationships, sexual promiscuity, acting out or aggression.
Educational difficulties related to disruptive or delinquent behaviors, poor academic performance, or exhibiting mild to moderate learning disabilities.
Among the children the homes won’t accept, according to the website, are those who exhibit “chronic violent behavior”; are pregnant; require specialized diets; can’t control their bodily functions; and those that have “severe psychiatric disorders which require hospitalization.”
Additionally, the site reads, “children who are actively suicidal, homicidal, psychotic, mentally handicapped (IQ below 65), serious criminal offenders, severely physically handicapped, or actively abusing substances will not be considered for admission.”
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The Informer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is researched and written by Andrew Perzo, an American Press staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098, press 5 and leave voice mail, or email
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