Our children’s future starts with all of us.
How are Louisiana’s children?
Nearly everyone agrees that children are our future. However, the data makes it clear that we have not successfully made children our priority.
Agenda for Children works to improve the well-being of Louisiana’s children through policy, research, and advocacy. We use national and local data on child well-being in the areas of Economic Well-being, Health, Education, and Family and Community to paint a portrait of how children in each of Louisiana’s parishes are doing. We use that data and policy analysis to push for policies that will create equitable opportunities for all children.
Economic Well-Being
Our state’s future economic prosperity depends on connecting today’s children and their families to the opportunities that can help them thrive. Having enough food, stable, safe housing, and adequate healthcare-should be a given for every child in our state. When kids live in a stable environment, they can reach their full potential. Learn more
Health
Children deserve to grow up healthy and strong. Unfortunately, data show that Louisiana children experience poorer health outcomes than their peers around the country. Louisiana also regularly ranks among the bottom ten states in such basic health measures as the child and teen death rate. Learn more
Since its founding in 1984, Agenda for Children has worked to increase and preserve government support for families, improve the quality of childcare and K – 12 public education, increase children’s access to health care, make the foster care system work better, and overhaul the juvenile justice system.
Education
Research has shown that creating the conditions for a child’s success in the classroom begins before the child is even born. If we want our children to be successful it is incumbent on us to ensure that our policies and budgets are focused on supporting the healthy development of children from the prenatal period through early adulthood. Learn more
Family & Community Context
Children thrive when their families are thriving, and families can be successful when they live in supportive communities with quality opportunities for learning, working, and leisure. Over the past decade in Louisiana, we’ve seen the number of children living in high-poverty neighborhoods increase to 19% in 2019, more than double the national average of 9%. Learn more
Advocate
Dr. Nagle transformed Louisiana’s early care and education system during his time in Louisiana. Not only did he co-create the state’s first quality rating system, he created Louisiana’s pioneering School Readiness Tax Credits. The credits have put millions of dollars directly into the hands of underpaid teachers and directors, and given high-quality programs much-needed funding.