DCFS is a vital and critical component of Louisiana’s Child Well-being Infrastructure. Because DCFS is responsible for a significant portion of the Protection, Justice, and Safety Domain of Child Well-being, it must be highly functional and stable. Louisiana needs a plan for child well-being. In recent decades, Louisiana has witnessed DCFS perpetually “fixing” itself. In fact, fixing DCFS is a…
Posts published in “Protection, Justice, and Safety”
Protection, Justice, and Safety are essential for child well-being.
News: 04/30/2025 Louisiana’s Jackson Parish Jail Violates Regulations, Holds Kids, by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, writing for The Appeal. (This news report is about the facility that sought to incarcerate children in shipping containers. Louisiana, we must do better.) “OJJ licensing specialists visited the jail multiple times between July and February and found the facility violated state regulations 83 times. The…
Invariably, when we hear, “Louisiana found the bottom,” someone responds, “Oh, yeah? Give me a bigger shovel!” Last month, by a vast majority, Louisiana’s citizens rejected four Constitutional amendments. The amendment beaten most soundly across the state would have permitted the Legislature to put children in adult prisons for any crime it chooses. Essentially, with its proposed constitutional amendments, the…
News: 02/19/2025 Louisiana’s incarcerated youth lose their holiday furloughs. Senators ask why. by Julie O’Donoghue, From the States. Since the end of last year, the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice has blocked incarcerated minors and young adults entitled to regular home visits, called furloughs, from visiting their families during major holidays. The reason: There were too many problems, such as…
by Julie O’Donoghue, Louisiana Illuminator November 8, 2024 In a special lawmaking session focused on tax policy, Louisiana lawmakers are also quietly moving legislation that could lead to more underage youth being sent to adult prisons. The Louisiana Senate’s Judiciary C committee voted 4-1 Thursday in favor of a state constitutional amendment to remove limitations on the number of crimes…
News: 10/23/2024 Louisiana Task Force on Child Sexual Abuse Investigation Processes met about the handling of child abuse cases by Louisiana’s Department of Children and Family Services. According to Nolan McKendry’s report in The Center Square, Task force expresses concerns over handling of child abuse cases, “The hearing featured testimony from Kathleen Stewart Richey, a former juvenile court judge in…
News: 09/09/2024 Louisiana moves further from therapeutic detention. On July 1, Louisiana’s legislature passed authority for the licensing of Juvenile Detention Centers from the Department of Children and Family Services to the Office of Juvenile Justice. In itself, this is not unusual because many states’ juvenile justice agencies are responsible for licensing juvenile detention facilities. However, in Louisiana, a state…
Shipping container detention standards must be included in Louisiana’s Minimum Licensing Standards for Juvenile Detention Facilities, or the practice of housing children in converted “sea cans” must be explicitly prohibited to ensure the safety and well-being of children. Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services is categorically against the use of converted shipping containers for the detention and incarceration of…
Update: 05/16/2024 Read Louisiana Lacks Standards to Protect Children Held in Converted Shipping Containers: an Advocacy Paper on Behalf of Louisiana’s Children, released by Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services. Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services opposes the use of converted shipping containers for the detention and incarceration of children. If Louisiana permits their use, the state must…
The number of Louisiana children in foster care is on the rise. Following a remarkable three-year decline in the number of Louisiana children in foster care from August 2018 to August 2021, the number of children in Louisiana’s foster care system has returned to numbers that were normal ten years ago. Following a significant decline from Fall 2018 to Summer…