This is the first in a series of posts we will share on Louisiana’s history of chemical agent use against children who are detained or incarcerated. In this series, we take and support three positions: 1) the definition of “chemical agent” in the Louisiana OJJ licensing standards for juvenile detention centers is so broad that it creates real dangers for…
Posts tagged as “louisiana legislature”
Downloadable PDF Version: Open Letter: On SB 462 – Troubled Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline is Not a Model for Louisiana Thursday, April 16, 2026 Members of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare Louisiana Senate P.O. Box 94183 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804 RE: Open Letter on SB 462 – Troubled Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline Is Not…
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…
PDF Version: Open Letter: OJJ, Football, and Children An Open Letter to Members of the Louisiana State Legislature When Deliberating Juvenile Justice-related Items During the Extraordinary Session, Consider the Study Emotional Judges and Unlucky Juveniles 1 Which Finds that LSU Tiger Football Influences the Length of Juvenile Sentences. Dear Honorable Senators and Representatives of Louisiana, The Louisiana Governor, with Proclamation…
Have you wondered how to call your Louisiana legislators? Have you wanted to share your thoughts about a bill but did not know how? You can Find Your Louisiana Legislators here: https://legis.la.gov/legis/FindMyLegislators.aspx Every elected official longs to hear what the citizens they represent desire regarding active legislation. Here’s how you can share your thoughts: 1. Find your Legislators’…
The Louisiana Legislature is active on children’s bills, but Louisiana ranks poorly on child well-being. Would a Louisiana Office of Children’s Ombudsman help? Louisiana’s Legislature is one of the more active among the 16 southern states on bills related to child welfare. When ranked by the average number of bills it addresses related to child welfare matters, Louisiana’s Legislature is…
A Children’s Ombud is a state employee who acts as “an independent, impartial public official with authority and responsibility to receive, investigate or informally address complaints about government actions, and, when appropriate, make findings and recommendations, and publish reports.” An Office of Children’s Ombuds is an independent, impartial state government office with employees responsible for receiving complaints and grievances from…
The following open letter to Louisiana’s Governor and Legislature relates the root cause of DCFS’s current condition to Louisiana’s long history of underfunding and understaffing our state’s child welfare program. Open Letter to Governor and Legislature Regarding Department of Children and Family Services From analyzing information recently published in The Advocate, it seems clear that during the last 15 years,…
As it often does regarding the Department of Children and Family Services, former Governor Jindal’s name popped up in Louisiana news this week in stories about children poorly protected by DCFS. We did not get here today, it’s been a long decline. It is hard to dispute the Jindal administration’s drastic impact on Louisiana’s child welfare system, but in my…