Nearly 10,000 independent child care businesses across the state employ over 15,000 employees and support tens of thousands of additional employees across all industries by providing early education to their young children. Yet, in 2024, Louisiana’s child care landscape continues … Read More
Child Welfare
Louisiana Kinship Navigator
Introduction Kinship Care is the full-time care if children by relatives or others who have a kinship bond with a child and whose parents are not living in the home. You may be a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, sister … Read More
Engaging Black 2SLGBTQIA+Youth in Advocacy
Introduction Welcome to the Engaging Black 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth Implementation Guide. Created between 2020-2023 by the QIC-2SLGBTQIA+ community, this guide is a resource for professionals who are new to, or struggling with, engaging Black 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in their work. There are … Read More
Child Maltreatment
Overview All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories have child abuse and neglect reporting laws that mandate certain professionals and institutions refer suspected maltreatment to a child protective services (CPS) agency. Each state has its own … Read More
QRTP Policy Brief: Staffing the Role of the ‘Qualified Individual’
INTRODUCTION Background The Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First) introduces a shift in the way states serve children and families at risk of separation and out-of-home placement. Family First gives child welfare systems the opportunity to utilize Title IV-E … Read More
Child-Specific Recruitment For Older Youth
Finding permanent homes for older youth in foster care can be challenging. These youth can face barriers to adoption, such as perceived behavioral issues or worries about attachment, and often transition to adulthood without permanent connections. This leaves them without the … Read More
Opportunities for State Leaders to Safeguard LGBTQ+ Students’ Learning, Connection, and Safety
Introduction Approximately 2 million young people identified as part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and additional identities (LGBTQ+) community in 2020, and federal data from 2021 show that 1 in 4 high school students identify as lesbian, … Read More
Black Emerging Adults Identify Protective Community Resources That Promote Their Well-being
This brief reports findings from a virtual community mapping study on protective community resources (PCRs). Participants included 12 Black “emerging adults”: seven women and five men, all ages 18 to 25. The study highlights: Emerging adulthood is a period of development between … Read More
Mentorship as a Pathway to Opportunity: A Conversation With Artis Stevens
A Leader Shaped by Community and Mentorship Stevens’ leadership journey began in Brunswick, Georgia, as the youngest of eight children in a family led by a preacher father. Surrounded by examples of community empowerment, Stevens was encouraged to forge his own path … Read More
2025 Federal Poverty Level Standards
As required by Section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) updates the poverty guidelines at least annually and by law these updates are applied to … Read More