2007 KIDS COUNT Data Book Released: Child Well-Being in Louisiana at a Glance

Louisiana ranks 49th in the nation in a new state-by-state study on the well-being of America’s children. The 2007 KIDS COUNT Data Book reveals that Louisiana improved on three of the 10 measures reflecting child well-being and experienced setbacks on seven since 2000. The 2007 Essay discusses the need for all children in
foster care to develop strong, lasting family connections. The Essay also sets an ambitious national goal to preserve, strengthen, rebuild, or find permanent families for every American child who is at risk of not having one.

Over 6,700 Louisiana children are in need of a permanent family connection.
In 2004, 6,743 children under age 18 in Louisiana lived in foster care at some point during the year, a rate of 6 per 1,000 children. That year, 265 children in the state aged out of the system without having a permanent family. Nationwide, 10 children per 1,000 under age 18 lived in foster care with 22,718 leaving the system at age 18 without a stable family environment.

Louisiana placed in the bottom ten nationally in nine out of ten categories.
Nationally, Louisiana ranked within the bottom ten in nearly all categories, aside from its teen dropout rate. Its infant mortality rate was the worst in the nation at 10.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004, compared to the national rate which was 6.8. This rate had increased by 17 percent in Louisiana since 2000, while the national rate had improved marginally over the same period.

Rate of idle teens reduced by one-third.
The percentage of teens not attending school and not working fell by 33 percent between 2000 and 2005 from 15 percent to 10 percent, which was the largest improvement Louisiana experienced among any indicator. Nationally the rate only improved by 11 percent.

Louisiana’s high school dropout rate improves.
The best indicator for the state was its high school dropout rate, which dropped by 27 percent, from 11 percent in 2000 to 8 percent in 2005, and is comparable to the national trend, which fell from 11 percent to 7 percent in the same period of time.

Higher percentage of teens dying.
While the national teen death rate fell slightly from 2000 to 2004, Louisiana experienced a 13 percent increase. In 2004, 96 teens died per 100,000 in the state, up from 85 in 2000.

View the full report online at the Annie E. Casey Foundation's website. For more information on the Louisiana data or to obtain a copy of the 2007 National KIDS COUNT Data Book, please contact Judy Watts or Teresa Falgoust at 504-586-8509.

2006 Louisiana KIDS COUNT Special Report on Child Care Released: Child Care Gaps in Louisiana Affect Families and Businesses

NEW ORLEANS— Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Louisiana’s children under the age of five regularly attend some form of non-parental child care. These children are cared for in a range of settings; including child care centers, family child care homes, in-home providers (a.k.a. “nannies”), Head Start sites, and public pre-kindergarten programs. The percent of Louisiana’s young children using child care is significantly higher than the national average of 65%, according to a parish-by-parish report issued by Agenda for Children, Louisiana’s statewide child advocacy organization.

With over 499,000 Louisiana children under 13 living in homes where there is no “stay-at-home” parent, child care programs provide essential support for working parents, while at the same time providing for the healthy growth and development of the children in their care.

The 2006 Louisiana KIDS COUNT Special Report on Child Care, produced by Agenda for Children, documents the impact, the successes, and the challenges of child care and early education in our state. The parish-by-parish profiles show child care capacity, subsidy payments, child care costs, and family income data. In a state that consistently ranks 49th in child poverty, child care is an essential support for families struggling to make ends meet. Yet, high quality care is out of reach for many working families, due to issues of affordability, access, and other barriers such as a severe scarcity of care for infants and toddlers, as well as children with special needs.
“Child care costs and concerns about the quality of care contribute to workforce shortages, job turnover, and, in the storm- impacted areas, the pace of repopulation,” says Judy Watts, President/CEO of Agenda for Children.
Other features of the report show that:
* Louisiana lost hundreds of child care facilities pursuant to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
* The mean hourly wage for a child care worker in Louisiana is $6.55, the lowest in the nation
* Each child care job generates 1.27 jobs in the larger economy, indicating that the child care industry is an essential  component of the state’s economic infrastructure
*A family earning the median income in Louisiana would spend 13% of its income on center-based child care for just one child. Nationally, the average family spends just 7% of its income on child care costs.
*The overarching barrier to improving the quality of child care in Louisiana is the persistence of low wages in the industry

The report also features news of successful programs and promising practices on the horizon. The state’s Department of Social Services (DSS) is preparing to implement a Quality Rating System for child care centers that will provide guidance for parents and incentives for providers.

The success of the LA-4 pre-kindergarten programs in the schools is featured, as well as upcoming assistance aimed at helping child care centers recover from the 2005 hurricanes.

For more information, or to obtain a copy of the report, contact Judy Watts or Teresa Falgoust at 504-586-8509. The report is also available online at http://www.agendaforchildren.org/documents/childcarereport.pdf.

64% of New Orleans Child Care Centers Remain Closed in Katrina’s wake

NEW ORLEANS – Hurricane Katrina wiped out over 200 of the licensed child care facilities in the City of New Orleans, leaving many families scrambling to find daily care for their children while they go to work. There are currently 98 open child care centers in New Orleans, a decrease of 64% from the 275 centers operating here in August 2005.

Agenda for Children and the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center produce a map (available at http://www.gnocdc.org/maps/orleans_child_care.pdf) that shows the locations of currently operating child care centers – many of which are full to capacity – as well as the locations of those in operation before the storm and now closed.

According to licensing data supplied by the Louisiana Department of Social Services, most of the surrounding parishes are also demonstrating significant shortfalls in child care capacity. After months of having just one open center, St. Bernard now has two open centers, out of a former twenty-six. Jefferson Parish lost about 13% of its child care capacity, compared to a population size that is roughly unchanged since the storms. Plaquemines Parish lost three out of its previous fourteen centers, a decline of 21%.

Child Care Resources, a child care resource and referral program of Agenda for Children, has been receiving 15 to 20 calls per day from parents looking for child care. Many of these calls come from parents living out of state who are unable to return to jobs waiting for them in New Orleans because they can’t find reliable, accessible child care. Given the lack of options, many parents can only find care far from their homes, adding transportation difficulties to an array of obstacles that already challenge family functioning, particularly for parents who don’t have a car. Other families have had to resort to leaving their young children with relatives in distant states, but often these arrangements don’t hold up. One mother who called looking for child care wound up sending her baby out of state to the grandmother. Another called looking for child care because grandmother called from a northern state to say “come get the baby!”

Parents looking for child care in the Greater New Orleans area, as well as the Houma/Thibodaux area, can call Agenda for Children at (504) 586-8509 for assistance. Experienced parent counselors will assist families in making the best possible child care choice for their children, whether they prefer a licensed center or a family child care home.

Operators of child care centers and family child care homes impacted by the storms are also encouraged to call Agenda for Children, at the phone number above, if they would like guidance to resources for repairing and re-equipping their facilities.

For more information, contact Judy Watts or Teresa Falgoust at 504-586-8509.

Rewarding a Tireless Effort:
Louisiana Child Advocate Receives National Award

New Orleans, LA (June 15, 2005) – Twenty years after founding Louisiana’s statewide child advocacy organization, Agenda for Children, President and CEO Judy Watts is being recognized by child advocates from across the country with the 2005 Florette Angel Memorial Child Advocacy Award for her outstanding work speaking up on behalf of Louisiana’s children.

Watts will be honored during Voices for America’s Children’s 21st Annual Forum of Chief Executives, taking place at the Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle, WA, from June 12-15, 2005.

The award, established in 1993 after the death of Florette Angel, an outspoken child advocate from West Virginia, is given annually by Voices for America’s children, a national child advocacy organization with members in 45 states. The recipient captures Angel’s spirit through exceptional leadership, innovative advocacy, and effective service on behalf of children and their families.

Legislators, governors and their staffs have come to depend on Watts’ advice and expertise. “Judy has influenced the state legislature in their process of prioritizing funds for children’s services even during times of tightened state budgets,“ said Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. “Working with service providers, funding agents, politicians and community leaders alike, she has not only articulated the problems at hand, but brought the necessary constituents to the table to achieve a solution,” concluded Sen. Landrieu.

Prior to founding Agenda for Children in 1987, Watts worked in several educational settings from schools to community centers, teaching young children and helping provide fellow teachers with the necessary tools for success.

With experience under her belt, Watts took on the task of working to ensure that all Louisiana’s children can thrive. She embraced child advocacy as her cause realizing it represents an ongoing struggle for families.

“This work began before we were here and will continue after we’re gone,” said Watts. “My job is to do my part, always to the best of my ability,” she said.

Agenda for Children works to strengthen and protect Louisiana’s children, their caregivers and communities. Under Watts’ leadership the organization has been extremely effective in bettering the environment for children in Louisiana. Among Agenda for Children’s many accomplishments are:

· Expanded health care coverage for uninsured children and pregnant women.
· Passed mandatory child care licensing in 1985, led Louisiana’s part of the nationwide effort to pass the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant, benefiting working families who depend on the availability of quality, affordable child care.
· Defeated proposals to disregard anonymous reports of child abuse in Louisiana.
· Defeated some of the harshest components of the plan to deliver cash assistance to Louisiana’s most vulnerable families.
· Passed juvenile justice reform act in 2003 that led to the closing of one of Louisiana’s four juvenile prisons in June 2004.

“Judy is the very best example of everything a leader in child advocacy should be: She is passionate without being threatening, she is honest without being self-righteous, she is smart without being pompous, and she is in it for the long term,” said Carol Kamin, Executive Director of Children’s Action Alliance of Arizona.

Watts is a member of the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board and the New Orleans Children and Youth Planning Board. She was selected by a coalition of supporters, including the City of New Orleans and the Alliance for Human Services, to co-chair the Children’s Services Collaborative, a position she has held since 1997. Over the last 20 years, she has shared her experience and vision with other members of Voices for America’s Children where she served as a member of the Board and Executive Committee.

 

June 2, 2004
AFTER TALLULAH: WHAT THEN?
An interim report on the implementation of Act 1225