Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Leaders in Law Enforcement Award

As part of its new Leaders in Law Enforcement Award, Community Foundation of Acadiana (CFA) is honoring one Louisiana sheriff's department for exceptional work in their field. The 2020 awardee is the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Department. Their program Deputies Making a Change (DMAC) provides mentoring to address the incarceration and school dropout rate among vulnerable male youth in Ouachita Parish in Monroe LA. DMAC was implemented by Deputy Kenneth Tramble with the support of Sheriff Jay Russell and a staff of experienced deputies. In 1998, while working as a deputy in the patrol division, Tramble had a desire to make a change in young men's lives. His personal story has been the driving force to reach young men who are at risk to succeed personally, academically and socially, and his passion for helping young men overcome their challenges and grow into honorable men of character led him to establish this successful program. Deputy Tramble, along with Lt. Eric McElroy and Cpl. Marvin McFarland, continues to remind the mentees "you cannot let where you come from dictate where you will go in life." DMAC services male students ages 9-18 by offering support in academics, future planning, hygiene, money management, healthy lifestyle regimens, life skills, college and career readiness, and problem solving. Over the past 12 years, DMAC has directly impacted more than 5,000 students and indirectly addresses the needs of youth at local schools that are serviced by the deputies. The primary purpose of this program is to decrease the amount of school suspension and expulsion, increase school attendance, and maintain or increase grade point averages among at-risk youth in Ouachita Parish. "Identifying a student as high-risk for dropping out or vulnerable to be incarcerated can be difficult," says Tramble. "The DMAC mentoring program has a selection process to effectively serve students attending six schools within Ouachita Parish." The Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Department joins the 40th Judicial District Attorney's Office of St. John the Baptist Parish in receiving this award. Both organizations will be recognized and presented with their awards at an invite-only luncheon at the City Club in Lafayette on Sept. 10. They will also each receive a $25,000 award to be used at their discretion to improve operations and continue to encourage extraordinary performance. All Louisiana sheriff's departments and district attorney's offices were invited to apply and highlight initiatives and programs that have been implemented for the betterment of their communities. A panel of retired law enforcement professionals reviewed all applications and chose the awardees. The first year of this award has been underwritten by the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation. CFA plans to continue this awards process annually to recognize more law enforcement agencies doing exceptional work in the state of Louisiana.

Photo DMAC 22-DMAC Officers and students engaging in activities.

Photo DMAC- DMAC activity interactions.