The Numbers

The Art in Incarcerated Environments (AIE) program is being conducted at the Youth Study Center located at 1100 Milton, New Orleans, Louisiana. The Youth Study Center (YSC) is the detention facility for youths who have been charged with a crime but still waiting for a trial.

In the year 2003, one thousand one hundred thirty-one youths spent time at the YSC. The duration of their stay ranged from 1 day to 18 months. Ninety-nine point nine percent of them were "African American". The age range of the youths who can be housed at the YSC is 8 - 17. The actual ages tend to range from about 10 - 16. It is rare when a child younger than 13 is detained.

It costs $59.19 per day to house a youth in the YSC. Over a year's time that comes to 21,604.35. It would cost less to send them to college. The YSC can house 82 youths at a time. That's $4,853.58 per day or $1,771,556.70 per year. That's almost two million dollars.

There are much more productive ways to spend 2 million dollars every year. One such alternative is an arts program which would help redirect these youths to more productive activities. As more funds are invested in this program the result will be fewer youths coming back into the center due to the absence of positive alternatives to the activities that led to their initial detention. That is the ultimate objective of this program.