Joseph Dominick has been a resident of Tangipahoa Parish since early childhood. He began his work with the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center in 1996, coming aboard as an entry level officer – ranked as a Cadet. Shortly after, he was promoted to Sergeant. In 2000, Joseph became a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University; having received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. Not long after this, Joseph was promoted to Lieutenant and, not long after, Captain.

It was in 2005, with the center recognizing the need to move to a more therapeutic environment, Joseph assisted in the transition to such; along with the implementation of a Cognitive Based Therapy (CBT) behavioral model of facility programming. As part of the change, it was then that the center moved away from a formal military/law enforcement rank structure of its officers. At the same time, the need for diversified Gender Responsive Programming was recognized and Joseph assumed the role as the center’s new Director of Female Services; tasked with the responsibility of managing all facets of its female population. This included managing programming for the detention center’s 16 detention beds, in addition to a contract with the state’s Office of Juvenile Justice that provided long-term residential placement for 12 serious and/or habitual offender girls from throughout the State of Louisiana.

Shortly after this transition, Joseph was tasked with an additional management role, as the center’s Facility Manger. Then working dual roles and managing multiple departments of the agency; Joseph functioned as the center’s project manager and oversaw all capital projects. This included two expansions of the facility and many infrastructure improvements. Additionally, he assumed responsibilities in disaster and emergency management, while also overseeing the largest portion of the center’s fiscal budget. This occurred throughout the span of the most recent 15 years of his service with the center.
In March 2016, when he was appointed to Executive Director of the detention center, Joseph became the first employee to have been promoted to every rank within the agency. Later that year, Joseph was conferred with the degree of Master of Public Administration from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. That year also marked his 20th in years of service to the agency.

Kids have been Joseph’s life’s work and he has a passion for helping them and teaching others how to do the same. He is active in the juvenile justice industry, throughout this region and the State of Louisiana, as well as nationally; presenting on therapeutic detention services, gender-responsive programming, bullying, alternatives to detention, and other juvenile justice related topics.