Advocates for Louisiana’s Children consider our state’s practices and compare them with the new lessons from child well-being research to inform ideas about opportunities to improve Louisiana for Children. Is it possible to improve Louisiana for children by enhancing our Child Well-being Infrastructure? Certainly, it is!
The evidence from other states and the research findings on Child Well-being available for all of Louisiana’s Child advocates to read online shoutss an unequivocal “Yes!” States can and do take action to reduce Child distress and improve Child well-being and child welfare systems.
Because Louisiana ranks so poorly for Child well-being, Child advocates push for immediate improvements to make Louisiana a better state for Children. Fortunately, we are not required to reinvent the wheels.
While improving Child well-being has not been among Louisiana’s top priorities, we can learn from other states that have been very intentional about improving child well-being and maintaining healthy conditions for Children. Louisiana’s Child advocates can find valuable guidance in their reports. In addition, data and published research from universities, the federal government, and private organizations and associations stirs new ideas for improving conditions for Children.
Louisiana’s Child advocates can check this page for updates about data sources related to Louisiana’s Children, and current research related to Child distress, Child well-being, and Child welfare.
Data Sources
Maternal and Child Health Data Indicators – Louisiana Department of Health.
These indicators provide a snapshot of health statistics common to Maternal and Child Health issues. Data are available at the State, Regional, and Parish Level.
Journal Articles
Henry T. Puls, Matthew Hall, James D. Anderst, Tami Gurley, James Perrin, Paul J. Chung; State Spending on Public Benefit Programs and Child Maltreatment. Pediatrics November 2021; 148 (5): e2021050685. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-050685
CONCLUSIONS: “State spending on benefit programs was associated with reductions in child maltreatment, which might offset some benefit program costs.”