Amid a time of turnover and change at the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, Louisiana’s inspector general made a bold accusation that the department is endangering children by not conducting background checks on the coaches in its youth sports programs.
According to Fox 8 News, the Recreation Development Commission CEO, Larry Barabino Jr., is resigning, effective next week. He has been with the department for seven years. His departure comes just a week before a report by the Office of the Inspector General, auditing NORDC’s management of youth programs, is due to be released.
“The OIG found NORDC only had current background checks on file for approximately half of the volunteers who coached youth sports teams in 2025,” said inspector general Ed Michael. “NORDC’s lax procedures for documenting and screening potential coaches, despite policies stating all coaches must pass annual background checks, created a false assurance for parents who likely believed their children’s coaches had been vetted when, in fact, many had not.”
NORDC served more than 5,000 children in 2025 and a majority of its teams and programs were coached by volunteers.
Per its policies, NORDC requires youth coaches to complete yearly background checks, and coaches were required to wear identification while at NORDC facilities; however, the OIG investigation revealed that even the identification rules were lacking enforcement.
“These coaches were responsible for teaching children athletic skills, while positively influencing their physical and emotional health,” said Michael. “Additionally, some coaches were entrusted with handling registration fees and other team finances, with little-to-no oversight from NORDC regarding how those funds were managed and what they were used for.”
The OIG found several coaches within NORDC system who had signed waivers for background checks that the department had never processed with the sheriff’s office. Despite not completing the process, those volunteers were coaching teams in 2025.
In one instance, the OIG found a volunteer coach with 46 criminal charges on his record, dating back to 2000. The investigation revealed another with a record of violent crime.
Ahead of Barabino’s departure and the release of the full investigative findings, NORDC released a statement saying, “NORDC appreciates the Office of Inspector General’s review and accepts its findings and recommendations. We take these matters seriously and are committed to strengthening our processes to ensure all volunteer coaches are properly screened, documented, and approved.”
