Forcht-Wade Correctional Center was a state prison facility in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Caddo Parish Caddo Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de Caddo'') is a parish located in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 237,848. The parish seat is Shreveport, which developed a ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The prison, operated by the

Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS&C) (French: ) is a state law enforcement agency responsible for the incarceration of inmates and management of facilities at state prisons within the state of Louisiana. The agency is headquart ...

, was located in the Eddie D. Jones Nature Park in

Keithville Keithville is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies to the south of Shreveport, Louisiana, Shreveport along U.S. Route 171. Although unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP c ...

. The prison also controlled the Dr. Martin Forcht Jr. Clinical Treatment Unit, a facility located near Spring Ridge.

History

The Caddo Parish commission donated the site of Forcht-Wade to the State of Louisiana in 1977. The donation included some structures that existed on the site. The contract involved in the handover states that if the state does not use the facility within a two-year period, the Parish will receive the land back. Forcht-Wade was originally a full prison,Staggs, Sean.
Forcht Wade Correctional Center to close this summer
" ''

KSLA-TV KSLA (channel 12) is a television station in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate KTSH-CD (channel 19). The two stations share studios on Fai ...

''. February 9, 2012. Retrieved on October 25, 2012. and it served as a division of the

David Wade Correctional Center David Wade Correctional Center (DWCC) is a Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections prison located in an unincorporated area of Claiborne Parish, between Homer and Haynesville, Louisiana. The prison is located near the Louisiana-Arka ...

.Adult boot camp teaches discipline
" ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

''. June 23, 2002. Retrieved on October 25, 2012. "The Legislature expanded the program to Forcht Wade, a division of David Wade .. By 1999 Caddo Parish donated the former Caddo Parish Detention Center to Louisiana. The State of Louisiana implemented a $6 million renovation program so the facility could become a facility for the chronically ill and geriatric and house around 600 prisoners. By 2002 the

Legislature of Louisiana A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...

added a boot camp program to the prison. In 2009 the State of Louisiana announced that it was converting Forcht-Wade into a substance abuse treatment center for men. Therefore,

Elayn Hunt Correctional Center Elayn Hunt Correctional Center (EHCC) located in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, is a multi-security- level Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections institution for adult men. It is the second-largest prison in Louisiana and is located about ...

would begin to process incoming male prisoners from all areas of the state. Hunt also expanded its nursing unit to accommodate prisoners from Forcht-Wade's nursing unit. In 2010 Forcht-Wade became a substance abuse treatment center, with a capacity of 500 prisoners. During that year, a new chapel was built at Forcht-Wade.Prison chapel frame goes up; more donations needed
" ''

The Shreveport Times ''The Times'' is a Gannett daily newspaper based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Its distribution area includes 12 parishes in Northwest Louisiana and three counties in East Texas. Its coverage focuses on issues affecting the Shreveport-Bossier market, ...

''. March 1, 2010. News. Retrieved on October 25, 2012.

Closure

In February 2012 the state announced that the prison will close on July 1, 2012, due to state budget cuts. The state argued that operating Forcht-Wade as a standalone treatment center was not cost-effective. 139 employees would be out of work. The state said that the closure would save a little over $4 million in the 2013 fiscal year and $8.6 million in the 2014 fiscal year. Originally the state planned to move the treatment center to David Wade. The prison closed. Ultimately the Steve Hoyle Rehabilitation Center was moved to the

Bossier Parish Bossier Parish ( ; french: Paroisse de Bossier) is a parish located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 116,979, and 128,746 in 2020. The parish seat is Benton. The principal city is ...

Correctional Center.Forcht-Wade Correctional Center
."
Archive

. Retrieved on October 23, 2012. The prisoners in the rehabilitation center and the other state prisoners, about 250, were sent to the medium and maximum security facilities at the Bossier Parish facility. Other Forcht-Wade prisoners were sent to work release programs or to David Wade. The State of Louisiana designated Forcht-Wade as a place to house prisoners in case of a hurricane evacuation that affects other facilities. On October 1, 2012, the commissioner of Caddo Parish, Ken Epperson, proposed replacing the prison with a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

,Caddo Commissioner proposes zoo
" ''

''. October 1, 2012. Updated on October 5, 2012. Retrieved on October 25, 2012. or with another type of economic use. Epperson planned to introduce a resolution in the parish government that would ask the state to turn over the closed property ahead of the two-year limit stated in the contract, so the parish could use the land sooner. The facility has since been demolished.

Function

The main prison was located in the property of the Eddie D. Jones Nature Park in

, an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

. The facility had of land.Johnson, Kristi.
Caddo commissioner wants ex-prison back sooner than later
" ''

Shreveport Times ''The Times'' is a Gannett daily newspaper based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Its distribution area includes 12 parishes in Northwest Louisiana and three counties in East Texas. Its coverage focuses on issues affecting the Shreveport-Bossier market, ...

''. October 1, 2012. Retrieved on October 25, 2012. The prison also controlled the Dr. Martin Forcht Jr. Clinical Treatment Unit, a facility located in the former Caddo Detention Center, situated near Spring Ridge.Old Caddo prison to become home to aging, ailing inmates
" ''

''. January 19, 1999. Retrieved on October 25, 2012. The unit housed geriatric and chronically ill prisoners. The prison served as a reception center for new prisoners. Male inmates northern parishes entered the DOC system through the Wade Reception and Diagnostic Center (WRDC) at the Forcht Clinical Treatment Unit."Classification–Where Inmates Serve Their Time."
Inside the System: How Inmates Live and Work
'.
Archive
Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. 13/40. Retrieved on June 30, 2010.

References

External links

Forcht-Wade Correctional Center
{{coord, 32, 15, 44, N, 93, 56, 07, W, scale:10000, display=title 2012 disestablishments in Louisiana Buildings and structures in Caddo Parish, Louisiana Prisons in Louisiana